My Very First Yard Sale!

yeah,like the post before said check with your local newspaper and put in an ad or your local ad online. i don't quite understand the big deal about the sign situation here we just stick a sign with our address at the end of the street both ways and with that and the ad in the paper we are good to go. we just have to have the sign picked up by the end of that day. anyways,hope you make lots of mula. I love garage sales :>).

I would advertise online. Go to local listing places like local newspaper websites and Craig's list. Our city website even has a place to list upcoming yard sales. List specifically what you have and what your sale hours will be - or people will be lining up at the crack of dawn! LOL Also, after about noon, not very many people will come, so don't hang out all day for the few extra bucks. ;) Good luck!

Advertise on Craigslist! It's free. Put an ad up in the baby/kids section, as well as the garage sale section. You can probably advertise for free on your local newspaper online too.

I definitely agree 100% with trying to get some neighbors involved! I am actually going to be walking my street this week to let neighbors know I'm planning a yard sale on Apr 17th. Community/Multi-family Yard Sales always attract a bigger crowd of shoppers because there is more chance for them that they will find things they want/need.

I will post a sign in my fron yard a couple days before the yard sale and will post them at the ends of my busy street the night before. I will also advertise on craigslist. If a couple neighbors join in, I will ask everyone to pitch in $1 or $2 to place an ad in the local paper and pennysaver. If you have any small neighborhood businesses, they may allow you to put a flyer in their window also.

I wear an apron (got some from home depot for free) and keep money in there. As I get bigger denomonations of money, I will put them into my house, just to be safe. Make sure you have plenty of ones, fives and quarters for change.

I can't stress how important it is to put prices on items and to organize them! I buy a pack of the little dot stickers from Walmart (they cost like $1) and I put a sticker on every piece of clothing and just about everything. If I can't put a sticker directly on an item or its an item that has several pieces, I put the item in a ziploc bag and write the info on it (ex: 10 prs infant socks $1). For things like rattles, bibs, etc I had a bin and taped a sign onto it that said "$1 each or 7 for $5).

Be ready to negotiate, especially if people are buying a large quantity of items. I had 2 yard sales last year, at the 2nd one I had a woman come about an hour into it and asked how much for my entire table of baby clothes. I told her the price, she accepted AND she bought a bunch of other items I had also! I ended up giving her some things for free simply because she was buying so much and it was encouraging her to buy more - I certainly didn't want to pack the stuff back up and store it, and I needed the money.

How about posting signs on sawhorses like the realtors use for open houses? Our city In CA also was weird about signs being left forever afterward. We always took our signs down after- but- I never put the address of the house, ONLY the street name. People can find it with the street name only, no one needs (or has time) to memorize the house number as they drive by. I use BIG 3ft x 3 ft neon pink signs. I use huge black samson markers. and always an arrow to point the way:
Yard sale
today
Orion St---->

Try to mark what you can ahead of time. Have plenty of change and dollar bills. try to group like minded stuff together. If I have books, I put them on their side in a very low sided box so people can read the spines. If something is a set, Like a three peice wooden train, I put it in a ziploc bag to keep it together. I did the same thing with barbie clothes and sold them by the bag. If a doll had a brush with it for example, I taped the brush to the arm (or shoes to the feet) with clear packing tape.

Make large, easily readable signs and staple them to sticks. Ask the person whose lawn is closest to the intersection for permission to post them in their yard. Then be sure to immediately take them down after the sale.

On the sign be sure to include your address, the days and the hours.

And.....be sure that they are easy to read, while traveling in a car. I get frustrated with those signs written in light letters that I have to stop the car to read or are too small to read unless I walk up to them. Or when I do arrive at the address the sale is either over or hasn't started yet. I've quit responding to those signs.

I respond to ads in the Garage Sale section of our local paper. I think the cost is minimal.

An added comment unrelated to signs but on a topic I found difficult. Do not let anyone inside the house or in any part of your yard that you aren't using for the yard sale. There are a few people who will walk right into your front door if no one stops them. I had an estate sale inside with a bedroom door shut and a sign on it and still I had articles coming thru the line to pay that came out of that room. A friend told me she had that same difficulty last week.

I do all sorts of special events and I have done lots of Garage sales and Estate sales.I get the best results with the lovcal newspaper and Craigslist.com.

I have learned that people do not like to look at the merchandise that is on the ground. If you can get 6 foot tables you will sell so much more. You can borrow them from your church or you could rent them.. Here in Austin they are only $6.00 each. They allow us to pick them up on friday and return them on Monday morning for this price.

The other thing is to make it short and sweet. Start the sale at 7:00 am (be out there at 6:00 am for the early birds).and close it at 1:00 pm. You will not make that much money after 1:00. State this in your ad.

If you do not plan on pricing each item. Make poster sized price list..

If you have hanging clothes try to find or borrow a clothing rack or hang a pole so people can easily look at these clothes.

Make sure to have all pieces and parts with all toys, games, appliances.. whatever.. Use ziploc bags if you need to put tiny parts in them. Sometimes, I make grab bags of odds and ends. You would be surprised what people will purchase.

Do not allow people in your home for any reason. I keep the door locked and closed. I also keep my cell phone on me at all times. Get a secure box and have change.. Carry it around with you at all times unless you have a partner holding it for you. I get 2 rolls of quarters. 20 one dollar bills 4 five dollar bills 4 ten dollar bills and 3 20 dollar bills. You will be amazed how many people come with 20's and 100's in the morning..

have a blst! Let your neighbors know your plan we do that here in our Hood and the more yards people have to visit, the more it becomes a destination.

Advertise on line - Craigslist is a great place to start. If your area won’t allow for signs, than you may want to do an internet search for local websites that will promote your yard sale - hopefully for free! Make signs and put them in the local grocery store - mall - church - school (if they will allow it). Are your kids old enough to put signs on the windshields of cars in the mall/supermarket parking lot? If the kids aren’t old enough – know any who are? If you aren’t allowed to put a sign where you want is there a designated place in your town that allows signs? Check with your town hall and see what they suggest. If they are as strict as you say they are I’m sure this question was asked already. Good Luck. I’m having my first yard sale in a few weeks too! Gotta get rid of all that baby stuff cluttering up my attic!!