Tips on Having a Successful Yard Sale

We have a yard sale every spring and my friends always ask me how we do it and have it turn out successful each time.



Here are some of the tips I give them:

1. Make sure that you have enough stuff. If you don't have a lot of "stuff" for people to look through, people are less likely to stop at your sale. If your inventory looks a little slim, collaborate with a neighbor, friend or family member and do a sale together. Try and organize a neighborhood sale. The more you have, the better sale you will have.

2. Make sure everything is clearly priced.

3. ADVERTISE! You need to get the word out that you are having a sale! Advertise in your local paper and on Craigslist.


4. Make your signs nice, neat and colorful. Put them at every major intersection near your house. You need to post a sign at every turning point with arrows that will lead people to your sale.

5. Have a sign in your front yard so people can see it clearly from the street.

6. Be prepared to negotiate your prices. People are coming to find a deal. Be willing to come down in prices - you want to get rid of the stuff, right?

7. Keep prices reasonable! It is a yard sale, not a department store.

8. Make sure that everything you are selling works and there are no missing or broken pieces.


9. Have enough change. Your early customers will bring bigger bills so make sure you have enough change to accommodate them.

1o. Organize your merchandise to have like things with like. All clothes should be separated by gender and sizes. You want your sale to look neat and organized. Make it easy for your customers to browse and see everything you have to sell.


11. Choose a day/weekend when there aren't any major local events going on.

12. Try and hold the sale at the beginning of the "yard sale season". We have ours each year in the middle of April. People are eager to get out to find some bargains after a long winter.

13. Have boxes and bags for people to carry their treasures home in.

14. You need a "checkout table". Make sure you have an empty table for you to sit at and check people out at.

15. Donate the unsold goods to a charity or Goodwill. Do this immediately after closing your sale so it doesn't end up taking up space in your house or garage.

16. Don't be fooled. A yard sale is a lot of work. It takes a couple weeks of preparation and you need to be organized. But, in the end, when you have sold all your unwanted "stuff" and made some extra cash in the process, it is well worth it!