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Successful Yard Sales
How to Plan, Promote and Execute a Spectacular Sale
By Tenna Perry
Keep items on tables if possible, says Callum. But if you have a lot of one item, like toys, "...you can spread out an old sheet on the grass to put them on," she says.
Be sure to place breakables out of the reach of children and away from toys. Also remember that a customer is more likely to buy glassware, knick-knacks and other breakables that are clean.
When attempting to sell wood items such as furniture and shelving, it is best to have these items out in the open, where customers can examine them, instead of in a dark corner of a garage.
Waggoner suggests using colored dot stickers and a poster board. "Price things according to the color of the dot," she says. "That way you aren't writing prices on everything. That is too time consuming. Your poster board will have the color of the dot and the corresponding price." Some prefer to use a strip of masking tape with the individual price written on it, but remember it can be difficult to get glue off certain items.
Keep your accounting simple by marking everything in either $.25 or whole-dollar increments.
Don't expect your customers to feel guilty over an under-priced item. A mint condition 1960 Barbie sold for a quarter is your loss. You must know the value of everything you sell. Remeber, however, people go to yard sales looking for a bargain, so don't over-price. For example, while there is a big market for clothes and baby items at yard sales, they must be reasonably priced. "I won't pay more than $2 for an outfit unless it is really nice," says Bonnie Manning of Cincinnati, Ohio. "I recently walked away from a yard sale that had clothes priced for $5."
