Home of Slightly Cracked Dreams

Garage sales can either be hugely successful or an abysmal failure.

I’ve had a fair few garage sales in my time and unsurprisingly have learned a few things along the way. As we look down the barrel of moving again I’m thinking now might be a good time to have another crack at it. Before I get stuck into it I thought I’d make a list of the things I’ve learned to make it a success.

1. Have prices for everything. People don’t like to guess how much you want for something. Put a price on it to give people an idea.
2. Be prepared to haggle. People like nothing more than thinking they’ve got a bargain. The main focus is to get rid of stuff, not make your first million. If people are going to take two boxes of linen if you drop $1 from the price, do it. They’ll be happy thinking they’ve got a bargain, and you’ll be happy with less stuff.
3. Welcome early visitors. Most people say the opposite, but the most successful garage sale I had made $280, and $200 of that came before the official opening time in the ad.
4. Group products together. A box of linen for $5 is more likely to sell than a box of linen with a 20c each label on it. People will spend the money and take what they want, discarding the rest or using it as rags. Rather than fussing over people trying to find sets and counting out their 20c pieces, you get rid of a whole box in one hit.
5. Band together with neighbours for a neighbourhood sale. This increases the number of visitors and decrease the amount of work. This is very effective if you’ve only got a few things to sell.
6. List your larger items in the newspaper ad. If you have furniture, list it. In my experience furniture is what will get people to your sale in the first place and where the majority of your money will come from. Bookshelves and desks are especially popular at the beginning of the school year as parents try and snare bargains for their kids. Also list if you have kids toys and clothes as a lot of people try and save money by buying those things at garage sales.
7. Have enough change. This is a common recommendation but an important one. Always have enough change. How much is enough? I would suggest $50 - $100 in notes and at least $30 in coins. Last time I started with $80 and it was only just enough.
8. Get help. Friends, family, older children. Anyone who can cover for you while you go to the toilet, stash the big notes or simply to keep the cups of tea coming is going to be welcome.
9. Make plans for the items you can’t sell. Are you going to try again next weekend? Or do you need to book the local charity in advance to collect it at finishing time? Around here someone will visit you during the sale and ask if they can pick up anything you haven’t sold at the end of it. This is a great option if your purpose is to get rid of stuff.
10. Get the kids involved. Help them clean out their toys, sort out the clothes or books and if they’re old enough they can have their own stand to run.
11. Have cold drinks on sale. This can be a simple and effective way of making a few extra $$, buying a couple of boxes of soft drink cans or bottles of water and keeping them in an esky for yourself or thirsty visitors. I’m not suggesting you turn it into a food stall though, but I know when I go garage sale to garage sale I’m always appreciative of a cold drink along the way.
12. Don’t plan anything else for the weekend. Believe it or not it’s exhausting work and the early starts and hard work aren’t conducive to turning around and running off to birthday parties or sporting events. Plan nothing for the rest of the weekend to allow everyone to recover.

And now it’s time to take my own advice and pick a weekend to have our own garage sale and start getting things together.