How to Make Money with a Yard Sale

Whether you're preparing to move or just doing some spring cleaning, you're bound to run across items you no longer want. That unwanted clutter could actually be worth some money, so why not sell it in a yard sale? You will be amazed at what people will buy if the price is right. It does take a lot of effort to clean and organize your belongings for sale, but you'll find the effort well worth it when you count up your profits.

Instructions

Difficulty: Easy

Things You’ll Need:

• Flyers and signs

1. Start accumulating items for your yard sale weeks in advance. As you run across things you no longer use or want, throw them in a box. Scour your closets, drawers, basement shelves and attics for unwanted treasures to add to your stockpile. If you sell items in their original boxes or with original manuals, be sure to ask a little more for them.
2. Advertise your yard sale by posting flyers on community bulletin boards in places such as grocery stores and schools. The night before the sale put up signs in your neighborhood with arrows directing people to your house. Use cardboard for the signs and write large enough that people can read while driving by in a car. The biggest mistake is using flimsy poster board and writing so small no one can read it.
3. Mow your lawn a couple of days before the sale and make sure there isn't any animal poop where people will be walking. Even if you don't have outdoor pets, your neighbors might, so take a quick look before you set up.
4. Put prices on everything and mark it on the top of the item and not the bottom. People are more apt to buy if they can see the price easily and quickly. Clothes are notoriously poor sellers, unless they're baby items, so price them cheap. People will pay a dollar for something they can't try on but not much more. If you have really nice clothing, you're better off taking it to a consignment shop.
5. Take the time to check pockets of clothing and look through all items thoroughly to ensure you don't have credit card receipts or money stuffed somewhere.
6. Set items that would attract men, like power tools and lawn mowers, right up front so they're easily spotted. It's not hard to get women to stop at yard sales, but if all you can see from the road are clothes and household items, their husbands won't.
7. Take down any signs you put up when the sale is over. Leaving them up is not only littering, but you also may have people stopping at your house days after the sale ends.

Tips & Warnings

• Whenever possible, join forces with a friend or several neighbors. The bigger the sale, the more customers you'll attract.
• Don't accept personal checks and be careful when making change. Lay the customer's money on the table until you give them their change and then put it away. Otherwise they could say they gave you a twenty when it was only a ten, and it's your word against theirs.

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