Fall is now upon us and if your like many, you may have acquired a few more "goodies" throughout the summer that are now replacing past "treasures" that could be sold or given away to goodwill or a church perhaps.
Well for those of you that choose the route that can put a little money in your pocket and decide that a garage sale is your answer, I've found some great tips from past experts on the subject that I felt should be shared. Make no mistake, I'm not speaking on personal experience here as I am no garage sale guru, but de-cluttering a home is part of its appeal and helping you make the most of your home is my business so I felt this could be a useful blog today to share :)
To start, upon reading some suggestions and noticing that within my own subdivision it holds true, a group sale is often better than one alone. If you can coordinate neighbors and others to help draw a crowd, you'll tend to find better success!
Here are the Tips!
- BE PREPARED - Get the cash a day or two prior to the sale with a role of quarters, a stack of no less than twenty five $1 bills, a few $5 dollar bills and some $10's. During the actual sale, keep the money on you and avoid a cash box. This prevents theft when you least expect it.
- PURPOSE OF SALE - Do you need to make money or are you simply trying to get rid of some things? This will help you determine how flexible you want to be when a buyer shows interest and how willing to negotiate you are. If your goal is to make top dollar, it may be better for you to use Craigslist of Ebay.
- STAGING - Have things ready the night before and stage the area outside if possible. People will be more apt to stop when things are out on the drive-way or lawn. Many are reluctant to go into a dark garage, so you want to make the area inviting to browse and make sure to put your best items closest to the road for all to see and lure them in!
- THINK LIKE A CUSTOMER - Once you think you are ready, walk up to your sale and walk around. Is it easy for one to see all the items? Are prices clearly marked? Are your books on the ground or in boxes and if so, it may be wiser to use a bookshelf or table.
- BE FRIENDLY - When someone approaches your sale, for goodness sakes welcome them and be friendly! Chat with them and they will be more likely to purchase and strike up a conversation on those items they are interested in.
- DISPLAY ITEMS PROPERLY - Example, if you have a set of lawn chairs leaning up against the garage, unfold them and place them in the yard, you'll see them sell much quicker! Displaying books rather than throwing them in a box can also lead to much better sales!
- SET THE MOOD - Play some background music, it may make the area a bit more comfortable rather that complete silence in the yard or driveway. Now thats not a green light for loud and obnoxious music mind you but something like Johnny Cash could be the trick!
- ELECTRONIC ITEMS - If your selling electronic items, make it easy for someone to test that they actually work. They won't want to take your word that the tv or stereo works and will want to have you show them.
- PROMOTE EXPENSIVE ITEMS - Big Tickets items can be tough to sell, but with a little effort it can be done. For example, you have a digital camera...If you can lay out all parts of it and maybe find some information online to print along with the item, it can go a long way in making it more appealing to a buyer.
- KEEP A LEDGER - Jot down a description of each item and how much you sold it for.
Keep in mind that running a garage is NOT ROCKET SCIENCE! However if you put a little effort into creating a successful garage sale then your going to find that your able to move many more items and make more money! Best of luck and I hope this Blog was useful for your upcoming sale.
As always, please share this blog with any friends or family that may benefit from it or that you want to encourage has a sale to move some junk....oops I mean treasures :-)
No comments:
Post a Comment