Spring is here and if you are like many people, you see this as a good time of year to do a little spring cleaning, get a fresh start, and do some purging. Yard sales are a wonderful way to make some cash and at the same time give you a deadline to have all of your belonging sorted.
If you are planning to have a yard sale this spring or summer, here are some useful tips:
- Schedule the date far enough in advance so you can list it in the newspaper and free websites posting community events.
- Multi-family yard sales draw larger crowds, so ask some neighbors if they want to have yard sales on the same day.
- Mention your sale in advance to friends, family, and neighbors. Ask if they have a box of things they would like to give to you to sell. Depending on the person and the items, arrange a commission rate on sales from their items.
- Post easy-to-read signs around your neighborhood for advertisement and to help with driving directions.
- Label larger items individually. For smaller items, post signs that say “$1 or less,” “$5 or less,” etc. Categorize these smaller items with the appropriate sign. This will save you time labeling, and it will let people look at things in their price range.
- Place larger, eye-catching items (like furniture) near the road. It may cause someone to stop in as they are driving by.
- Use tables to keep things up off the ground.
- Put toys where kids can reach them so they will play with them while they are there, hopefully leading their parents to buy the toys their kids enjoyed.
- Get plenty of small bills and coins from the bank so you can give change.
- Donate everything you have left over to charity. Load up your car after the sale and take things right away to drop them off. Do NOT bring anything back inside, as it will just become clutter.