Planning a Garage Sale

go to yardsalequeen.com there are alot of good tips. Be careful about selling food some towns have laws against this without a permitt. in fact to be on the safe side check your town laws on yard sales in general. on your sign post "rain or shine" if you are planning on having it no matter the weather. Last yr we had ours and it rained so we moved it into the garage and hardly no one came, and the ones who did said they weren't sure if we were still having it because of the rain.

OK- over the years we have some yard sale experience, good and bad. We have had competitor sales take down our signs, shoppers take off labeled price stickers to get an offer of a much lower price, and yes even someone take a leather jacket in plain daylight. My sister's neighbor even had to tell a shopper she wasn't selling the high chair after-all and the shopper stayed for 30 minutes to nag her to sell it, made escalating offers up to double her asking price, it got ugly. On the bright side, we have made money, once my M. didn't have the money for her property taxes and we raised $1,700.00; it was a massive effort to collect all of my siblings' donations, but worth it. Good luck with your sale :) OH be sure to check at your city hall if selling food is allowed, it isn't in my M.'s neighborhood.

You are probably already aware of this, but if you advertise the sale starts at 8 am (or whatever time), there will be people turning up at 6 am. Professional garage-salers so to speak. Sounds like you have everything well under control. Hope you make a packet!

I wouldn't bother selling food...unless your kids want to sell lemonade. Price things 1/3 less than what you bought them for. So if you paid $60.00 for something new then price it at $20.00. Be prepared to take $15.00. Don't worry about make an offer...most people if interested in an item will ask if you will sell it for less. It depends if you really want to get rid of stuff. There are times I've said no or met them half way. Sometimes I've said yes. My biggest piece of advice is to get either an apron or fanny pack to hold your money. My girlfriend had hers in a pencil pouch and put it down, when she turned around it was gone!

I would start posting every day. :) That way the people who look early will see it, and so will the people who check only the most recent ones.

Do get a fanny pack for your money. That way it is always with you and you don't have to worry about someone stealing it. It's not really necessary to sell food. If your kids want to have a stand they could sell the cinnamon rolls and milk. I think hot dogs will add to your work unless you have someone dedicated to them. I had a garage sale the other week and my kids made rice krispy treats and lemonade. They got to split the profits. It was fun for them to have their own stand and make a little money.

Have things neatly organized. Try to hang clothing if you can. One way to do it is hang poles(I used the handles from rakes) between two ladders.
Have sizes separated and clearly marked.

I would post on craigslist earlier in the week and then re-post on Thursday or Friday. Add pictures of your higher priced items.

we advertised for our garage sale several times before the sale, my husband put a ad on about a week before, then another about 4 days before and another the day before. we had so many emails and people come to our sale who saw it on craigslist. our sale was successful because we had everything organized and put out on tables nicely and clothing was washed and hung up. I think it makes people want to shop if you have lots of nice, clean, working items displayed nicely (instead of a large bin to dig through).
food and lemonade will do well too
my girls made $40 on lemonade and cookies!
good luck!

I do a moms of multiples sale and we do a lot of advertising on craigslist and the sale is always a saturday, we start posting a week before. If you can take pictures and post that would help out. When I am going to garage sales I like it when they post lots of information and pictures as well.

I have never bought food or beverage at a garage sale.Are you going to have help manage the sale setting up,cooking,taking money, negotiating, if not then skip the food.I have had good luck with my sales with & without signs I have a big poster I have written down what I have & the cost if it isn't marked I can tell them plus there will be some that take stickers off items & place them on other items thye want that have a bigger sticker price.
Take your money box with you or use a fanny pack or something if not your profits will walk away.

Be sure to put a price on all of your items. If you have to be asked how much everything costs, it will wear you out! It will also detour shoppers like me who hate to ask. If there are not prices, I only ask about the things I really like. I would probably buy more if the items were priced.

Good Luck & have fun!