Did you know yard sales are big business? According to visual.ly, there are around 165,000 yard sales per week in the U.S. Nearly 700,000 people spend over $4 million and buy nearly 5 million items every week! I’m so happy to hear that many things are given new life and kept out of the landfill! So let me share some tips on how to have a successful yard sale!
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We have had tag sales, as they’re called here in Connecticut, nearly every year for over 25 years. Holding a sale is not without work, but I’ve found ways to minimize the work to maximize the profit.
Picking a Date for your Sale
People love multi-family sales. It makes better use of their time. It makes better use of your time too. By coordinating with neighbors, the work of promoting the sale and putting up and taking down signs is shared. You will also draw even more customers, though they will have your sale and your neighbor’s to choose items from.
It also makes the day of the sale more fun. And if you are doing a sale by yourself, your neighbor can watch out for your stuff when you need to run to the bathroom!
Many sales now start on Fridays, I’ve noticed. Saturday is still your best day. Decide how many days to hold your sale based on how much stuff you have to sell. Also consider how much energy you have to keep going multiple days and still clean up when it’s all over.
Many purchases are made early in the day. Even if you plan to start later, be aware people will start pulling up to the curb before you’re ready! If you’re willing to let them root through boxes that’s up to you. I always ask if they’re looking for something specific that I might have. Collectors tend to come first thing in the morning and can get your sale off to a great start.
Preparing for your Sale – What to Sell
Whenever I’m cleaning or decluttering I often find items I no longer want. So I put them with the tag sale items in the garage or attic. But in the weeks leading up to the sale, it’s worth going through the house and looking for items you can sell. Here are a few places to look:
- Check your bookshelves
- Look through your extra vases and kitchen wares that are in storage
- Go through videos or video games and equipment
- Sort through clothing (I do this with the change of seasonal clothes as well)
- What’s in the garage that you just never use?
- Pick a closet or drawers to declutter
It can be surprising what sells at a yard sale, but the following items are consistent top sellers.
- Children’s clothes
- Shoes
- Toys and craft supplies
- Housewares
- Jewelry
- Tools
- Adult Clothes
When you hold your tag sale, you’ll want to organize the merchandise by categories such as housewares, toys, kids versus adult clothes, antiques, furniture, tools, etc. To the extent you can box up what you plan to sell within these categories, the easier it will be to set up your sale.
Read more: Four Tips to Save Money at Yard Sales, How I Earn Extra Money from Home, Zero Waste Lifestyle
Preparing for your sale – Pricing
Pricing is an important part of preparing for your sale. To know if you are pricing items appropriately, consider most yard sale items sell for about 10% to 30% of retail or about half of the price they’d get at a thrift store. See how Goodwill recommends you value donations.
You can price and tag items individually. Or you can indicate price by category. I don’t price by location. If one table is marked at a dollar and another table at $2, how do I keep track of what item came from which table? It’s pretty common in my area to leave items unpriced so shoppers need to ask or make an offer. This can work in your favor, but it will make some shoppers uncomfortable and could prompt some to leave.
Preparing for your sale – Change, Children and Tables
Don’t forget to go to the bank for change a day or two ahead of your sale. You’ll need plenty of $1s and $5s and a roll of quarters. I stopped getting $10s because I found it was easier to just use the $5s. I tried to ditch the quarters and told myself “nothing below a dollar!” But that changed the minute a little boy wanted a small toy and I said it was a quarter.
If you have kids, give some thought to what they will be doing all day because they’re likely to get bored. If you want to keep them involved, consider letting them sell lemonade or brownies. My kids loved doing that and earning their own money from a very early age. It’s also a great lesson in business.
You’ll need to plan for adequate tables to display your wares. Many people won’t bother to root through a box on the ground or clothes laid out on a tarp in the yard. A piece of plywood over a pair of saw horses can work well. Table covers make everything look better and, I believe, can increase the prices you garner too. I use old sheets – the same ones I use to cover my tomatoes when frost threatens!
Do yourself a favor and prep a spot for yourself too. Pick a comfortable chair and a table for your cash box, notebook to record sales and other supplies. We use a table with an umbrella because sun can be a big issue in the summer. Bring out a book or something to do during the down times. With any luck, you won’t need it.
Comfortable seating with sun protection 
Protect yourself and others by requiring and wearing a mask
Water, snacks, sunscreen, phone, hand sanitizer, mask and tissues are all necessities for me. And so is a “masks required” sign!
Promoting your Sale with Signs
When I first held a tag sale after moving to Connecticut, I was annoyed at having to pay $30 to post the sale in the newspaper. I haven’t done that in decades. The number one advertisement we use is signs.
Not all signs are created equal. I don’t know how many times I’ve actively tried to read a tag sale sign and not been able to decipher the information from the car! Information on your signs needs to be large and legible. Signs need to indicate the address of the sale (except for the sign pointing to the final location like the sign below), but unless you assume everyone uses GPS, an arrow pointing in the right direction is hugely important.
You may need to check local regulations for hanging signs. Or at least ask a neighbor who has had yard sales. Ideally, you’ll post signs where they will get lots of traffic, preferably near traffic lights or stop signs.
Because we live just one street off a main road in our town, a sign at the top of our street might bring in enough traffic. Still, we generally put up several signs directing people from other main routes.
Please remember to go back and collect your signs after your sale. Its disappointing to find a sign for a sale only to discover it was weeks or months ago. It’s also better for the environment to reuse your signs. I’ve saved a lot of money on poster board by covering outdated information on my signs with blank labels or paint. Dollar Tree is the best source of foam posterboard for just a dollar.
Promoting your Sale on the Internet
Facebook is a great place to promote your sale. You can post an announcement and photos on your personal page or on group pages such as your local yard sale group or a Mom’s group.
Following are some yard sale sites I’ve used for finding or listing sales.
Setting Up for your Sale
There are four main considerations for how to set up your merchandise and have a successful yard sale.
First, put large items like furniture or appliances closer to the curb so they are can easily be seen by “drive-by” shoppers.
Second, keep small or valuable items near you so people may be less tempted to take a five finger discount. Yes, it happens.
Third, you’ll want to organize your merchandise by categories. The more specific the categories, the more appealing it is to your shoppers.
And fourth, arrange a comfortable place to sit where you have a clear view of everything.
Large tools, bikes and furniture can go on the lawn, just make sure they’re visible from the road 
Keep a cord handy to show that electrical appliances work 
Hanging clothes to display increases sales
Antiques and collectibles are hit or miss depending on who comes to your sale 
Tall items in back and grouped by category 
I only sold a few Christmas items
Haggling and Negotiating at your Sale
Haggling by shoppers is a big part of the sale process. Most people make reasonable offers, but sometimes there are those who get pushy with an offer after I’ve said no.
Try to decide ahead of time what items you’re happy to negotiate price on and which are firm prices. You can mark an item’s price as “FIRM” to prevent most lower offers.
When someone offers a lower price, I often accept it. There’s a good chance that’s all they can spend. Other times I say no or just restate the initial price I asked.
Negotiating can happen on a per item basis, or on a group of items. My preference is negotiating on individual items. Whenever I negotiate on a group of items, I’m more likely to make less than I felt they were worth.
How you handle haggling depends on whether your main goal for the sale is to make as much money as possible, clear out clutter or a combination.
Since my kids are grown, I don’t have kids’ clothes or toys to offer. As you may know, I shop second-hand as much as possible so I’m buying from individuals and thrift shop charities and keeping the money local. Then we use items well and make repairs, and get rid of things when they are completely worn out. Yet, I can still make a reaonable amount of cash.
My neighbors, with kids, made serious money because they were offering items people need. But we discussed one troubling observation: shoppers were not stocking up on winter coats and snow boots, even for kids. It made us wonder if people aren’t planning ahead. I sure hope that’s not a trend.
After your Sale
When your sale is over you will need to make some decisions. Answering the following questions should help.
- Will you be holding additional sales this year or next?
- Do you have room to store leftover items until the next sale?
- Are there items you want to try to sell online?
- Are there items you want to donate to make room?
By deciding the answers to these questions, you can clean up from the sale in a more organized fashion. Box up items to save for the next sale, put donations right in the car for drop off, bring items you plan to sell online into the house as a reminder.
After all the tables are put away, don’t forget to pick up your signs and save them for the next sale.
I hope you benefit from all my experience with holding tag sales so you can make more money and find new homes for your items. Yard and tag sales are one of the best methods of ensuring that our clutter gets a new life and is reused or upcycled. Now, that’s satisfying.
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I’d love to hear about your experience with yard/garage/tag sales. Please share your ideas in the comments.