Holding An Effective Yard Sale

Make sure your yard sale is a successful one…

Yard/Garage sales are a necessary evil for most of us.  While it’s generally a great feeling to purge your house (and your life) of items you don’t want/need any longer, the preparation that goes into a yard sale can be daunting.  That said, if you’re going to make the effort to move things out the garage, attic, and closets, then it’s important to do everything you can to make sure you don’t have to put them back!  Here are a few tips we’ve compiled from those who have held successful (and profitable) yard sales.  

Advertising:  

Like most things in 2019, promoting your yard sale online is essential.  Sites like Craigslist and yardsalesearch.com, and gsalr.com are great resources for getting the word out.  

We also highly recommend using social media to promote your yard sale… 

• Create a new event on Facebook and invite all of your Facebook friends. 
• Post a short video that previews some of the items you plan to sell on Facebook and Instagram.  
• Post a tweet with the time and date of yard sale.  Include a photo with some of the items that you plan to sell
• Pro Tip!  If you only have a few things to sell, try and sell them on Facebook Marketplace before committing your weekend to full-blown yard sale. 

Signage:  

This where we see a lot of folks fall short…  Strategically placed legible signs are essential to capturing any drive-by traffic.  Signs should be placed at the entrances to neighborhoods, all surrounding main roads, and at the actual location of the yard sale.  We recommend using professional-looking signs that you can buy a Lowe’s, Home Depot or online.  If you’re on a limited budget, you can make your own signs, but make sure the verbiage is as bold as possible.  Don’t forget to include the date, time(s), and the address of the yard sale.  On the day of the sale, double-check all of the signs to make sure they didn’t go missing or have been damaged.  Be prepared to put out new signs if necessary. 

Pricing:

Before your yard sale, do your best to disconnect with the emotions and sentimental value of everything you’re selling.  Price all items to sell and be prepared to negotiate.  Remember, the main reason for having a yard sale is to get rid of stuff.

Donate:

We always recommend donating whatever you don’t sell at the yard sale.  Unfortunately, this won’t put extra money in your pocket, but it will give you a nice tax write off and likely help others :-). 

We hope these tips help you prepare for your next yard sale.  We always recommend that our clients consider a yard sale as part of their moving process, especially if they have a lot of stuff they don’t want to take to their new home.  It’s a great way to limit the number of boxes that need to be packed and can definitely help provide extra money for moving costs!