Last month we held our second annual spring yard sale. As a practicing minimalist, I LOVE getting rid of stuff. But not everything is trash, and extra money is a wonderful thing, especially while we continue to tackle our debt. We made $892 from only two yard sales! Sure, yard sales require some work. But follow my 10 tips for a successful yard sale and you’ll be making money and having fun!
The key to success lies in preparation. You have to plan ahead! If done properly, a yard sale pays off three-fold:
- You get rid of stuff you don’t need or want
- You make money
- You may help people in need of second-hand goods
- Bonus: you get to hang outside, meet people, and talk with your neighbors.
Not convinced? Maybe these 10 tips for a successful yard sale will convince you to give it a shot.
1. Carve out some space for the things you want to sell and add to it throughout the year.
If you wait until the week of your yard sale to run around your house and grab things, you’re bound to miss a lot of opportunities. Designate a space in your attic or basement and accumulate things over the course of a year or when you purge, play #minsgame, decorate for Holidays, or just as you come across things you no longer want. For me, that’s almost every time I clean.
Mike and I have a designated space in our basement we add to year-round.
**PRO TIP**: DO NOT MAKE ASSUMPTIONS OVER WHAT WILL AND WON’T SELL. I cannot stress this enough. You will be AMAZED by what sells and what may not. My mom helped out with our 2017 sale and had said so many times, “Throw that out. It won’t sell.” And each time she was proven wrong. This year, the very first thing to sell was a set of four Simpsons shot glasses. The second? A fake child’s raccoon cap given me to sell by a friend. Even the guy who bought it (for a dollar to make his granddaughter laugh) said, “I bet you never thought that would be one of the first things to go.”
So don’t hold back – put it aside to sell and give it a shot!
2. Hold off until you have a good amount of stuff to sell.
People don’t stop at yard sales unless they look worth their time from the road. Believe me, I know, because I do it, too. A few things displayed on one table isn’t very enticing. People like bang for their buck and want to see variety. Quantity has absolutely been one of the keys to our success. It’s more to lug out and set-up, but it’s worth it – trust me.
3. Coordinate your neighbors.
People are far more likely to stop at your yard sale when they can hit up a few others at the same time. We coordinated our neighbors for both of our yard sales and it’s really helped traffic! Not to mention, you get to hang out with your neighbors and socialize (and in our case, share a few drinks.)
4. Pick a date (and a back-up date in case it rains).
Spring and fall seem to be the most common times of year for yard sales. People won’t come out if it’s too cold. Many people are away on weekends in the summer. Consider what else is going on in your town before you choose a date. A fair or festival can either help or hurt traffic depending on how close you are to the festivities. Also check to see if your town holds a town-wide yard sale. Our town didn’t last year, but we benefited tremendously from an estate sale happening down the street. This year our town did hold an annual yard sale and we paid the $10.00 fee to be included in the advertising.
5. Make sure you have enough tables and tarps ahead of time to display your items.
Display matters. People need to be able to see and touch what you have. Although you could lay everything out on the ground, or keep things in boxes or totes, you’ll do much better if you can display things on tables and book cases closer to eye level. People are far less likely to see what you have if they need to rifle through boxes. Think creatively. We used body stands and plywood to give us two extra tables. We used tarps on the lawn to display baskets and artwork. We used an old bookcase to display books and dvds. If you plan ahead, you can borrow tables from friends.
6. Advertise your sale.
Do not rely on street traffic. There are a lot of people who spend their early weekend mornings going to yard sales either for work or for pleasure. And you better believe they plan their routes in advance by looking up where the sales are going to be. If you don’t advertise, you miss a golden opportunity to sell to those people. One of those people is a guy who re-sells jewelry. The same guy bought every piece of jewelry we had two years in a row for one lump sum.
For advertising, think Craigslist, Facebook, any online or virtual yard sale sites, signs on street corners, fliers in your local coffee shop…. whatever you think will work for your area! Include some high-value or specialty items you’re selling. If you have everything one needs for a new baby, then say so!
**PRO TIP**: Make sure you know if you have any silver, gold or valuable antiques. I don’t know how to tell real silver and gold so we took all the jewelry I wasn’t sure of to a ‘cash for gold’ place. They were more than happy to sort through it all and tell me what was real and what wasn’t. We ended up selling everything that was real to them.
So when the guy came along to buy all our jewelry (most likely in hopes there was real stuff along with the costume and cheap stuff), I knew there wasn’t.
We’ve all heard stories of people finding extremely valuable items at yard sales for cheap. Don’t be the person who unknowingly sells a Renoir for $7.00.
7. Start early.
The most savvy customers are up and out early to score the best stuff. We advertised the start of our sale as 7:00 am, but people were already showing up at 6:45. We planned for this and started setting up at 5:45 am. We sold the majority of our stuff by 9:00 am.
8. Organize your items by category so you can display them all together. THINK MERCHANDISING.
Along with having adequate tables, organization and merchandising matters. For example, with summer around the corner I showcased all of our BBQ, picnic-ware and Americana items right up front. It paid off! People even complimented me for the clever idea and my merchandising. Almost all of it sold.
If someone’s looking for something, they should be able to see it all together. They’re far more likely to buy more. And generally speaking, people are fairly lazy and/or rushed. You have to hook your customer so they know perusing through your yard sale is worth their time or else they’ll take one quick glance and be on their way. A smile and a kind welcome helps a lot for this as well, but more on that in a moment.
9. Don’t price anything, but have an idea of what you will charge for things.
This was my fourth yard sale and I’ve NEVER priced anything in advance. Here’s why: By forcing people to ask me how much something is, I can feel them out and have a conversation. I know what they’re interested in so I can suggest other things in addition or try to sell them on the item if they turn me down, or bargain until we come to an agreeable price. If you price everything in advance, your prices appear firmer and you risk losing opportunities to interact and negotiate. Furthermore, it saves time and work to not worry about pricing anything.
**PRO-TIP**: Be prepared to come down on your prices or start off low. Remember, your goal is to get rid of things. We sold a majority of our stuff for a dollar. We sold quite a bit for even less than that. There was very little need for negotiating and only once did me and a customer not agree. Most people seemed very satisfied with the prices given. Remember, $1.00 is better than nothing and certainly better than something going in the trash or collecting dust.
**PRO-TIP**: Don’t forget the change! It seems nearly everyone hits the ATM before yard sales and is loaded with twenties. I recommend having at least $50 in change, including at least 30 singles and a few dollars in loose change.
10. Be friendly!
Yes, it’s a yard sale, but conversation and friendliness go a long way for everyone. I can honestly say I had a fun time talking to people and there is no doubt it helped increase our sales. Customer service matters whether in a high-end department store or in your driveway. So smile, welcome people, be nice, and HAVE FUN!
