Last week we learned how not to have a yard sale. How can you avoid a similar fate? By following a few of these tried-and-true secrets.
When it comes to a
yard sale, deciding whether or not to sell that
KISS memorabilia can be the least of your troubles. What if it rains? What if you live on a dead-end street? What if all your customers are hagglers? There is no known formula to get people to magically come over and pay full price to take away your cast-offs, but you can tilt the odds in favor of your success with some careful planning. Here are a few strategies for success:
Yard Sale Success Secret #1: Hold The Sale Rain Or Shine
Put clear plastic tarps over your tables and set up a patio umbrella to stand over. Yes, plenty of people will come. Good Housekeeping's Kristen O'Gorman says that, during a weekend-long yard sale, 90% of the profits came from the day filled with downpours, rather than the picture-perfect day.
Yard Sale Success Secret #2: Go Multi-Family
Some locations are just better than others for holding a yard sale. If you know that your block has little foot or car traffic, join forces with another family in the neighborhood and have a multi-family yard sale. They win because there's more merchandise on display, you win because you get a better location. Don't know another family? Look to Craigslist's yard sale section or community bulletin boards to see who's having a sale soon.
Yard Sale Success Secret #3: Spread Out Clothes
At a yard sale, customers are attracted to items that are out in the open. A glance at your yard sale should easily communicate what you're selling. While most objects can be laid out on a table, clothes present a problem. On a rack, you can't tell the difference between a vintage dress and a tee shirt. Instead, lay out the clothes on the lawn...on top of a tarp, of course.
For more tried-and-true yard sale tips, visit
Good Housekeeping.
Can't get enough yard sale advice? Check out...
Confession: I Had a Yard Sale and No One Bought Anything
How to hold a profitable (and fun) yard sale
Make Cash With a Yard Sale
And to see how a pro throws a yard sale, watch this...
Judi Roaman: We Talk Endlessly About the Next President,…
Reader comments (Page 1 of 1)
find a way to keep out the early birds - charge extra if they show up early...
ReplyI wrote a book entitled Secrets To Having A Successful Yard Sale. Now I have to find the secret to selling it. I haven't found that secret yet - but I'm trying. Any suggestions?
ReplyI like to have a yard sale for a day or two then when I am done instead of packing it all up I leave it out and write a Free Stuff sign to get rid of it all always works.
Reply