If you’ve watched my YouTube channel then you know during a year I hit hundreds if not thousands of Garage sales. After So many Garage sales it’s safe to say I’m an expert and I have a few Garage Sale Tips to make your sale a huge success!
Garage Sale Success Tips!
So you’ve decided on the weekend, you’ve started to gather the clutter, I mean the treasures, that you are going to sell. Great! Now let’s get down to the nitty gritty of making this sale a success!
What Sells Best at a Garage Sale
Several things sell well at garage sales. The most important thing is to make sure what you’re selling is in good condition. Don’t try to sell stained or worn out clothing and shoes. Broken home goods aren’t going to fly off the shelves either.
Here’s a list of some of the most profitable things to sell at your garage sale!
- Gently used clothing is a big seller. People like to be able to update their wardrobe for a few dollars. So if you’ve grown tired of that suit or blouse then price it to sell!
- Home Decor If you’ve redecorated your house them price up those old curtains, rugs, lamps, and accessories so someone else can love it!
- Furniture in good condition is an easy sell but even if the furniture needs a little love you can still attract DIYers like me to take those pieces off your hands. Just price the broken pieces to move so it makes it easier to say yes.
- DVDs and CDs are going the way of VHS tapes because of all the streaming services. If you’ve moved to online storage of movies and music then put the old DVDs up for sale. There are plenty of people who will pay a couple dollars for a movie them love or haven’t seen yet. CDs too!
- Wall Art even the older paintings and even if you think no one will want it. I know collectors who scour garage sales for paint by numbers paintings, still others who collect of religious art, and another who looks for old home interiors artwork. So even if you think no one will want it price it and put it out.
- Mirrors – People love looking at themselves. Hand mirrors, stand mirrors, wall mirrors, and compacts. People love a good mirror.
- Toys – Kids grow out of their toys so fast! Gently used kids toys are always a big hit.
- Books of any kind. Kids books. Grown up books. Map books. Cookbooks. All of them will sell.
What should you not sell at a garage sale?
Like I said above broken and badly damaged
- Underwear – just no.
- Opened and partially used bath and body products
- Opened make up
- Old mattresses
- Any items that have been recalled or are dangerously unsafe
How Should I Price Things for a Garage Sale?
Well this is a tricky subject. I live in the Midwest where garage sale prices are a lot lower than the east or west coast.
I recently read an article that said you should price things at half of what the retail price for that item was. If you do that in the Midwest you might as well save yourself the effort of putting the sale together, and taking days off work, because you won’t sell anything.
At the same time it depends one what your selling. If you bought a brand new sofa six months ago and decided that you wanted a sectional instead then half of the retail price would not be out of line.
You’re going to have to use your best judgment for your area but here are some guidelines.
For artwork between $5 and $20 is a good average price range. For glassware between 25 cents and $5. DVDs $2 each or $5 for box sets. Toys 50 cents to $20 depending on what it is. Clothing $1 to $20.
These are just guidelines.
Tips for Setting Your Garage Sale Up for Success
First and foremost, CLEAN everything as much as you can. I am a die hard garage sale shopper and my regular YouTube channel viewers know I will brave the sticky for a good piece. A lot of regular garage sale shoppers will not. I’ve been with friend who just go back to their car and wait for me if a sale is dirty. Make the effort to make sure you get the sale.
Laying out a garage sale is really important for your sale to be successful. For instance if someone like me drives up and all I see are baby toys, and clothes our front I might drive by without stopping. You want to put your best foot forward.
Think of your driveway as a runway that will draw your customers up to the sale. Line both sides with eye catching pieces. That will draw people up and into your sale.
Put a table down the center so people can shop as they approach the actual garage.
If you’re selling toys I advocate you putting a tarp or blanket under the toys and placing them away from the main sale. This is because kids will want to play with the toys and if you put them in the garage proper it can cause a bottle neck during busy times with kids under feet.
Consider taking credit cards at your garage sale. Square will send you a free reader and you can get $1,000 in free processing if you sign up through my referral link so most of your garage sale transactions won’t cost you anything. You can also take Venmo for contactless payments.
Get The Word Out!
Signs are essential for getting the word out. Don’t over complicate the sign. All it needs to say is Sale with an arrow. I see so many signs with the address written on them or times and dates. Keep in mind the person driving by the sign is traveling to fast to read anything other than SALE. Get some colored duct tape and make the word SALE and arrow as large as possible. That way it can be read from a distance.
List your sale on Craig’s List. I had someone who said, “I live alone and I don’t want people to know where I live.” Well I wouldn’t put that in the advertisement. No one is writing a Craig’s list ad that says, “single woman living alone is having a garage sale come and kill her.” Craig’s list received a bad reputation but posting a garage sale listing should be safe enough.
You should also post on your Facebook local garage sale listings. Make sure you take plenty of photos to entice people. Be forewarned though people on Facebook tend to want to shop remotely. Our last sale had people if we would deliver things for them. We even had one person on Facebook tell us our hours weren’t convenient for her and wanted to know if we could change them for her. Ugh. Be prepared.
Community bulletin boards are a great place to post a flyer for your sale if you have a grocery store, gas station or convenience store in your neighborhood with a bulletin board post it there too.
Down Load Your Free Garage Sale Checklist
As a special bonus I’ve prepared a garage sale checklist for you to make sure your sale is as successful as possible!
I hope these garage sale tips have been helpful to you! If so please share this post on your social media channels! Use the pinnable image below!
Good luck with your garage sale! I’ll be looking for it when I’m out picking.
Many blessings to you!
~S
Good advice, but SIGNS are usually my biggest gripe. Add take down the sale sign the day of the sale.
Agreed! Signs are so important. I forgot to mention taking them down. When I moved into my first house the previous owners had a sale and didn’t take their signs down. Unfortunately for me the address was on them and an older gentleman saw them. He was banging on my door at 7 am wondering if I was going to open. He wasn’t happy and yelled at me to take my signs down. Oh boy!