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I’m sure we scavengers know our way around buying at a yard sale. Anyone have any tips for hosting one? My friends and I are going to host a yard sale Memorial Day weekend. He bought a house in upstate NY and is trying to get rid of the junk that came with the house – furniture, tools, housewares. I’m getting rid of non-ebay junk like housewares, clothing, and jewelry.
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Here’s a few! We are having one 5/12 -13.
1. Put many attractive matching weatherproof signs out the Monday before. BIG LETTERING with Address, Dates, and times.
2. Put Craigslist ad out the Monday before covering the period. Add photos once sale is set-up.
3. Place announcements on local Facebook Buy/Sell sites with pics.
4. Price everything.
5. Organize by item type.
6. Try not to have multiple consigners as you want to encourage bundling
7. Have most things on tables and have good traffic flow.
8. Have plentty of room for the check-out area.
9. Have a large table for the checkout area.
10. Have plenty of change to get through the event.
11. Get plenty of help.
12. Bags and Boxes! -
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Accept paypal at your sale. I’ve seen this at some garage sales. I think you can get the credit card dongle/reader directly from paypal, although I don’t know where you can request it on their site.
Because there’s a risk of chargebacks on paypal I would limit the dollar amount you accept to what ever you are willing to lose, perhaps $50.
I know most people are honest, but there are some scammy people out there that know how to work the system(s).
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My advice, pick out 10 things you can get $20+ for on ebay and list them. Then take everything else to a thrift store. One hour of time invested and you’ll get $200. Win/win!
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Around here when a yard sale starts at 8am you will get buyers as early as 6am. One reason I haven’t had a yard sale in a long time. I have seen yard sales recently starting at 7am, 8am and 9am. I think it is smart to stagger the times. Me, I’m not a morning person…except on yard sale days to buy not sell!!
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Have a physical barrier while you set up. Dealers here will knock on doors hours early, come on to your property early while you set up, etc. On Craigslist, FB, and Next Door, we don’t put the house number on the ad just the street and cross street, or we add the house number the night before. We have used patio furniture across the driveway with a sign. I put something in the ad that I am serious about no EBs so they know not to waste their time. We start at 7:30 instead of 8 to get a jump on the others.
Have extra help and eyes for the opening 1.5 hours. I wear an apron so I don’t have to guard the cash box. Keep your jewelry near you up on a table. If you bag it up in clear bags it’s easier to count.
I think the best signage is simple arrows and “SALE” at all major intersections from the high traffic streets. People get to wordy with signs and you can’t read them when you are driving by.
We don’t have many sales as they are time intensive and don’t bring much cash unless you have furniture, but it’s great to get rid of things and I enjoy visiting with people. I agree with pricing things at least by category because I tend to go low when I don’t have time. Have fun!
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1. Signs – big, easy to read that won’t fly away
2. Is it an estate that you are selling? estate sales bring even more people
3. Advertise – paper, facebook, craigslist, yardsale sites. List as much of the “interesting” stuff as possible.
4. Greet people when they arrive.Good luck! I wonder how memorial day sales do in other places, seems to be a slow weekend in Tennessee. If I am picking a weekend, I always pick the first of the month. You know, after people get their checks 🙂
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