Tips for a Successful Garage Sale
By: Suha Mardelli Haroun
Garage sales are the answer to all your junk pile-ups. Someone, somewhere out there, is ready to adopt your pre-teen candle-stick collection and whimsical bird cage. So here are some quick tips to survive and have a successful garage sale:
1. Wait until your neighbors have collected their paychecks before you start your garage sale.
2. Put a price on everything. It’s hard work but better than having to answer “how much is this?” every 5 seconds.
3. “It” goes to whoever grabbed it first.
4. If the table the ‘junk’ is on is not for sale, have a sign that says so.
5. Better to have lots of small change on hand for those people that ‘just went to the bank machine’.
6. Putting small toys in zip-lock bags with a sign that says “Various Toys – 1$” is more appealing than placing the less desirable toys in a big box that says “Various Toys – 1$ for 5”
7. Keep plenty of grocery bags on hand to put the sold items in.
8. If you’re selling clothes, take a minute and go through the pockets – you might find loose change that’s worth more than the item!
9. It’s the women that love garage sales so to attract couples – display a lawn mower or a drill set to get the men interested.
10. And finally… post a sign that says “All Sales Final”.
