9 Tips to Set Up a Successful Yard Sale

I know what you’re thinking, you hate Yard Sales. I have a dear friend who loathes them too. We have this friendly banter every year. She loves to sell items on the Facebook Marketplace. She’s patient and invests the time to get her price. While I applaud her efforts, it’s more time than I’m willing to give. My approach moves volume quickly, so to each their own!

And there’s another great benefit to Yard Sales which is the community with your neighbors. While decluttering is great, I look forward to hanging out with friends and neighbors during my Yard Sale. I talk to people perusing my sale and share a cup of coffee with buyers and sellers. Here’s how you can do it too!

Yard Sale Tips and Tricks:

• Collect Sale Items for Several Weeks – Designate a staging area in the garage. Collect a big pile of stuff to sell. Encourage the kids to their own items and allow them to keep the proceeds from their items.
• Set Up and Price Items the Night Before – It’s hard to do pricing when the sale starts and it’s better to think through your prices ahead of time.  Pre-print or buy sheets of stickers for $2, $1, .50, and .25.  Keep prices on the quarter-point for simplicity and change. Ensure that you have a change including small bills and quarters. But don’t be afraid to ask customers for smaller bills. They probably have it and are just hoping you will provide the change for future shopping. Or that you will lower your price.
• Be Prepared to Prove that Electronics Work – Have an extension cord and batteries handy.
• Group Like Items Together – Group housewares and books together in boxes. Offer bulk discounts such as 5 books for $1 or $5 for the entire box. Hang clothing on racks to increase visibility and sales. Set toys on a tarp on the ground so that children can try them. Borrow tables from neighbors to create a welcoming sale for buyers.
• Do Not Sell Junk or Trash – Use this opportunity to throw away items that are past their prime. Attempting to sell low-quality items devalues your sale and will scare off buyers.
• Advertise your Yard Sale on Craigslist, Facebook, and Nextdoor. 
  • Post your ad the day before to ensure it is at the top of the page
  • Include pictures and a general list of items
  • Highlight bikes, kids items, video games, jewelry, and tools
  • Post a sign in your yard the week of your sale
• Open Early – Open no later than 7:00 AM. Include this start time in your ad. Opening before 8:00 AM makes your sale the first stop of many buyers. I often open my garage doors by 6:30 AM. Likewise, I close up around 11:00 AM when traffic dies down.
• Host the Sale 2 Weekends in a Row – Perhaps the community date was rained out with little foot traffic? Advertise your sale again for the following Saturday. It’s easy to run a yard sale that is priced and set up. The work is already done including the advertisement that can be copied to a new date.
• Schedule/Plan a Donation Pick-Up – Immediately after your sale, get rid of the leftovers. Pick up boxes from the local grocery store or liquor store. When the sale is over, box it all up, take an inventory for tax purposes and snap a few pictures. Spend your profits on dinner out!

Conclusion

You worked hard to declutter your house. Do not re-clutter it with yard sale leftovers. We all have buyer’s remorse. Channel this remorse towards better purchasing decisions in the future. Be intentional with items you buy and bring into your home to keep clutter to a minimum.

Now, enjoy the profits, go out to dinner, and send leftovers to a donation center.

Good luck with your sale!