When the weather turns warm, my heart starts to flutter. The snowflakes finally quit falling from the sky and I can encourage my kids to play outside. The flowers bloom without fear of frost. I can finally open the windows, taking in the sweet smells and sounds of spring. The entire neighborhood springs to life, with people waving at each other, taking strolls on the sidewalk, and parks packed with family fun.
As the weather breaks and we begin to feel the very palpable pulse of new life. Out with the old – the cold weather gear and snow shovels and in with the new – the short sleeves and baseball gloves, seems to be my mantra every year. For this very reason, I begin to clear through each room, removing items we no longer use. Clothes that we’ve outgrown get placed in a pile. Appliances that never seem to be used find their way to a box. Decor that we once we loved sits sadly on the floor. It’s time once again to clean up and clear out.
Best of all, this spring time purge is perfectly timed with friendlier temperatures. Why not make a little cash while lightening the load? After all, garage sale season coincides with my instinct to scale back and clean out. But, to host a successful yard sale, you need to employ smart strategies.
Coordinate Your Efforts
The more product available, the more potential lookers. If your schedule allows, host your individual garage sale during a subdivision’s greater concerted effort. You’ll benefit from the neighborhood wide advertising and foot traffic of your neighbors. If you’re like us and don’t live in the confines of a subdivision, choose to host your sale when the closest neighborhood does theirs or move your items to a designated table at a friend’s house.
Advertise Well
A small sign at the end of your driveway might pull in a few interested buyers but you’ll have greater success if you advertise well. Use traditional methods like newspaper ads and large, visible signs outside. Coordinate these efforts with online promotion like Craigslist and garage sale apps.
Host an Online or In Person Presale
Let your friends and family have the first shot at all of your best merchandise. Conduct a pre-sale night online or in person the night before the sale actually begins. The exclusivity allows you to drum up word of mouth promotion and spreads the word further.
Create Online and Driveway Buzz
We all have “big ticket” items with high demand that can entice shoppers to drop by. Pieces of furniture, large fitness equipment, household appliances – large items should be visibly placed where passersby can see them, near the end of a drive. And if you can, post great photos of the same hot selling, desired merchandise on your social media channels and/or Craigslist and apps when you’re able. Not every shopper can snag your great deal, but they might be drawn in and end up making an alternative purchase.
Use Smart Pricing
It’s easy to overvalue our stuff. After all, we know exactly how much we orginally paid and the quality of the product better than anyone else. However, in the end if you’re selling things in a garage sale, more than likely you no longer need or want the item. This means you need to be realistic about your pricing strategy. After all, the item is pre-owned and not brand new (even if you’ve never taken it out of the box). And at the same time, you don’t want to underprice your inventory. You want to make the hassle of setting up a garage sale, the price of advertising, and of course your time worthwhile. Ask yourself what you pay for the exact same item if someone else was selling it.
Skip The Tiny Tags
Pricing items individually becomes cumbersome and time consuming. Instead of filling out tiny tags and labeling every single piece of merchandise you’ll sell, choose to zone things by price. To make the math easier upon checkout, create a table with $0.50 items, one with $1.00 items, one with $5.00 items and so on. That way, if items aren’t selling, you can easily move them around to lower prices without much hassle.
Turn your trash into treasure. You’d be surprised at how much people will pay for items you really would like to move along into a new home. Be smart and remember to use your dividends well. Your garage sale could help you pay off debt, save for emergencies, or maybe even plan a nice summer vacation. May your efforts to clear out the clutter bring home the bacon.
My book is now available: Slaying the Debt Dragon: How One Family Conquered Their Money Monster and Found an Inspired Happily Ever After. You can also check out The Debt Free Devotional
This post contains an affiliate link. That means when you get a great deal or maybe even something for free, you also help our family pay off our mortgage early. And for that, we royally thank you!
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