Skip to main content

Get Ready to Garage Sale



A well-planned garage or yard sale can give you extra space in your home, get rid of unused items and make some money but it needs some of the same considerations that any business needs to be successful. 

  • Start early to research and plan
  • Promotion is key
  • Display items attractively
  • Price items right
  • Organize checkout

Determine the date of your sale, remembering that there are exceptions, but Saturdays are generally the best day.  Experienced garage-salers believe that a well-planned one-day event will do as well as a multi-day event.  Serious purchasers will look for the "new" sale and most people don't come back multiple days.

Recognize that the first day of the sale will have the most people.  Everyone will be looking for a bargain but some of them actually want to purchase things for them to resell at their own sales.

Advertise in local newspapers and free online classified sites like Craigslist.  If several families are going together for the sale, mention that in the ad; it will be a big draw.  Mention your bigger-ticket items like furniture, equipment and baby items.

Garage sale signs can be purchased or you could have them made at Office Depot or FedEx Office.  Signs need large lettering so they're easy to read without too many words on them.  Remember that people will be driving when they see them.  Most important info: Garage or Yard Sale, address, date and time.  Directional signs are also important along with balloons and streamers to attract attention.

Consider using the service Square so that you can take credit cards.  The cost is 2.6% + 10¢ per swipe and you can do it on your smartphone or iPad.  You'll need to sign up at least two weeks in advance to receive your reader.

You will be amazed at what sells and what doesn't.  If your goal is to get rid of some things regardless, put those items in the sale and at the end of the sale, donate what you can to Goodwill and the balance goes to the dump.  If you can't bear to do that, box them up and try again next year or possibly, at one of your neighbors' sales.

Other supplies you'll need will be:

  • Labels and markers for pricing items.
  • Newspaper and clean, grocery bags to wrap breakables.
  • Tables to display the items.

Unless you're having an estate sale, keep your home locked.  You don't want people wandering through your home while you're outside.  If you start to accumulate a lot of money, take some of it inside.  Don't discuss how much money you've made during the sale or how successful it has been.

People will want to bargain; it's the nature of the game.  Consider this strategy: less negotiations early in the sale and possibly, more toward the end of the sale.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Make Your Home Offer the Most Appealing

Sales in February 2023 were up 14.5% month over month and still down 22.6% year over year according to the NAR Housing Snapshot.   The median sales price dipped 0.2% to $363,000 and there are 2.6 months supply of homes on the market compared to 1.7 months a year ago. "Inventory levels are still at historic lows, and consequently, multiple offers are returning on a good number of properties." According to Lawrence Yun, Chief Economist for the National Association of REALTORS�. It is still important to have a strategy for potentially competing with other buyers on the house you want to buy.   The plan should include several available provisions and options, so that at the time of drafting the sales offer, you can consider exactly what to include based on the situation. Unless a person is paying cash, you need to be pre-approved by a trusted mortgage professional long before you start looking at homes.   Include the written pre-approval letter along with the offer
Post a Comment
Read more

Rethinking Backup Offers

Like with any professional, there are tools and techniques available to help with particular situations.   They might be more popular at certain times and might even be put aside or forgotten at others. For real estate professionals, one of those is the backup offer.   In a situation where there are multiple offers, the seller can accept any offer for whatever reasons are important to them, leaving the makers of the other offers disappointed.   There is always some uncertainty that the buyers on a contract will close accordingly.   To hedge on that possibility, the seller may choose to make a counteroffer to one or more of the other offers to be a backup should the primary contract not close. From a buyer's perspective, the purpose of a backup offer is to be next in line to have the chance to purchase the property should the first contract fall through. The benefit is that you'll be next in line to purchase the home without having to submit another offer and possi
Post a Comment
Read more

When do you lock your mortgage rate?

Locking your interest rate protects you from increases due to market conditions.   Locking early safeguards your budgeted payment.   By locking the rate, if the market goes up, you get the lower rate; if it goes down after the lock, you may be able to pay a fee and lower the rate. Knowing when to take the lock is determined by which direction you think the market is going.   If you think rates are going up, lock in early.   If you think rates are going down, ride the rate to within a few days of closing. Some lenders may allow a borrower to lock a rate after pre-approval but is more common to not offer a lock until there is a signed contract on a home.   Even with a pre-approval, it could easily take 30 days or more to close a transaction and the rates can move a lot in that period. There may be a fee charged to lock a rate which is determined by the lender.  Generally, the longer the time for the rate lock, the higher the fee. There is a lock period established by the l
Post a Comment
Read more