Garage Sales - Minneapolis,MN

be willing to wheel and deal with people...don't be stuck on your prices. and have things spread out..i hate going to a rummage sale and can't walk thru. and have everything priced!!! don't have a pile of clothes on a tarp on the ground...hang the clothes up. do some creative displays!!

I had a garage sale a couple of weeks ago, very successful...

First I put an add in the paper,then put signs and arrows up all over town two days before.

I priced everything with pre-printed stickers from Staples. Everything was in dollar amounts, and then I had two boxes of stuff that were marked 25 cents or 50 cents on the box. People expect to see prices, they do not want to haggle. Unless they are looking for specific items and are antiques collectors, they just want to know how much you want for something.

I also had a lemonade and iced tea stand with cookies my daughter helped me make for sale, I honestly made about $50.00 just on drink sales since it was a hot day and people love fresh squeezed lemonade and homemade tea.

All clothes should be hung up and easily viewed, and toys, puzzles, etc. should be on a table for display or on tableclothes on the ground.

If you have a book shelf you can move easily, this is the best way to sell books, price them by shelf, 25 cents books top shelf, etc.

About an hour before you are ready to clean up, drive around and mark your signs 50% off everything...
Once your sale is over, remove any items you do not want to trash or give away, then put a curbside alert on freecycle explaining some of the items up for grabs. People will flock and take whatever they want at this point and you will be left with nothing to bring back into the house.

You can also put a free ad on craigslist in the garage sale section.

Good Luck!

Use Craigslist to let people know about it, and like other have said have large signs that are easily read. Also have your stuff organized and be out and open early. People start in Dallas, TX at 6-7 AM normally.

Advertise! Advertise! Advertise! Go on all the websites for your local newspapers, craigslist, message boards you're on, etc. The main thing is getting people to come. If you have good stuff, it'll sell itself! Good luck!

I go to a lot of garage sales...

I usually get the paper early in the morning, go to the classified and plan my route. So consider placing an ad in your local paper.

Put up signs directing me to your sale. Arrows are great. Remember, it's hard to read those small signs when your driving, date address and arrow. And remember to take down the signs.

I hate asking people how much they want for something. If I really want something, I'll ask or make an offer. But if it's something I'm not sure about I won't bother asking. It's best to put prices on things. To make it easier, I've seen colored stickers with a sign, a table with everything on the table the same price.

Be willing to haggle a little.

If you smoke, don't smoke and don't allow others to smoke. If someone is smoking I leave.

If you have lots of items for 25 cents or 50 cents, make sure you have lots of change.

I don't like having to dig through boxes. It's ok to put things like children's books in a box, as long as you can easily flip through them.

Good luck.

I like to make a box of free stuff (any items I want to get rid of but don't feel right charging for) and put it toward the back of the driveway with a large sign to draw attention. When people drive by and see 'Free' they can't resist. They always start shopping the priced items as they walk toward the box for the freebies. I try to place things in a somewhat organized way so that people don't feel like they're sifting through a junk pile to find things of interest. Lots of signs on the street corners near your home that have BOLD lettering will help. Also make sure you get enough change from the bank ahead of time so you don't run out. Good luck with your sale! :)

try to organize things on the tables, kids clothes, adult clothes, (hang up when possible) dishes, linens, toys etc. if toys have many parts put them into a ziplock back and tape it to the bigger part. clearly list prices. people will sometimes walk away if they don't see prices. be flexible if your going to donate stuff to goodwill then take less if someone offers. I always do my prices and wheel and deal from day one but on last day everything is half price. have a helper to stay with you. people steal. so have someone with you to help out. a free box is always a big draw. if you ahve furniture put it closer to the street to draw peoples eyes. put books so that they can look thru them. lumped in a box is not good. good luck

Nice clear readable signs and put all the really good stuff out front so people can see it while driving by!

I had my 1st ever garage sale last summer and made close to $700.00...it was so fun!

Good Luck!

For me when I am planning on my garage sale days, I look at craigslist to see what people have for sale. I hate the ones that just give an address, and I also hate the ones who say that they have a TON of stuff and there is barely anything there (and I'm talking 1st day within the first 2 hours).

advertise it on craig's list beforehand.

Make sure the way to your sale is clearly marked. I garage sale A LOT with my MIL and our biggest complaint it to find a nice clear sign on the main street, but no direction on how to get there. Arrows, balloons, more garage sale signs, anything. I hate getting lost in an unfamiliar neighborhood. If you don't have tables, sheets make a great way to sort things. I am not a big fan of digging through boxes...I skip a garage sale if it looks like I will have to dig around and see everything. GL!!!

I hate pricing things for a garage sale but I also hate when I go to a garage sale and don't see a price on anything. To get around this I always CLEARLY label each table or area a certain cost (25 cents, 50 cents, etc.) and then the "big ticket items" I label "as marked" that way it cuts down on what you have actually put price tags on :). Good luck!!