How to Have a Wildly Successful Yard Sale – Planning for Success

If you’re like me, your house is bursting at the seams but your wallet is empty. Wouldn’t it be nice to get paid to declutter? Why use all those unneeded items to earn cash in your pocket through a yard sale? It’s easy to earn money from home in this way. Approach it as a business and you’ll make more money. Business plans always make things go smoother. So make yourself a business plan.

Instructions

Difficulty: Easy

1. by Trevor Coultart at flickr.com Start your business plan with choosing the best day and time to hold your garage sale.
   
   If it doesn’t matter to you what you make then schedule your yard sale for a convenient time. If you’re serious about making the most money from your efforts, shoot for the first warm weekend in Spring. Second best is the first cool weekend of the fall. Avoid holiday weekends, unless you know there is increased traffic in your area. The best day of the week to host a sale is Saturday. Most people get paid toward the end of the week and are looking for sales on the weekend. The majority of garage sales are held on Friday, Saturday, or Sunday. You may want to consider hosting your sale more than one day. If you are planning for a multiple-day sale, you’ll want to be sure to have a lot of merchandise. If you must hold your yard sale on some other day, take solace in the fact that each buyer won’t be yard sale hopping and holding out for better deals elsewhere.
   
   Once your date is chosen, clear your family calendar for the entire day. You may want to recruit some help, so make sure other workers are available to assist. Give yourself at least a couple week’s notice to organize well.
2. Investigate the best location for your sale. Do you live in a populated area? Will people be able to see your merchandise from the road? Are you allowed to have a yard sale in your neighborhood? If you answered yes to all these questions, then you could certainly have your yard sale at your place. If not, you should consider renting several tables for $15 at a community yard sale. Or you could persuade a friend to let you have your sale at his/her place.
   
   If your chosen spot has shade, great! If not, try to find some sort of temporary shade shelter you could set up.
3. Next on your business plan is to check with your local authorities.
   
   Ask the local authorities about any permits you may need and any regulations or ordinances they may have regarding yard sales. Some communities may prohibit selling food items or used bedding. Check to see if it’s illegal to post signs along public right-of-way or on utility poles (which is a potential hazard for workers.)
4. Determine if you want to join with other business partners.
   
   Neighborhood yard sales draw more traffic than single family yard sales. The more neighbors you get involved the more money from home you can earn. You can recruit other families in your neighborhood as well as surrounding communities. So consider some business partners!
   
   With business partners one possibility you may want to pursue is to change places. You sell their stuff and they sell yours. Why would you want to do such a thing? You will end up selling more because you are not held back by sentimental reasons. You don't know how much something cost new. You simply want to move the merchandise if it is not yours. You won't hold out for a high price and end up holding onto the object. Since you hold no sentimental attachment whatsoever to someone else's junk you will not care if you sell their trinket for $1 instead of $2. At the end of the day your fanny pack will be much fuller as a result.
5. Determine what to do with unsold inventory at sale’s end.
   
   Donations are always welcomed at thrift stores, some shelters, and even some nursing homes. Call ahead to these places for information on which kinds of items they accept as well as how and when they accept donations.
   
   If you want to avoid having to move all the leftovers yourself, you can post on your local freecycle that everything at your yard sale will be free after a certain time.
6. Identify alternative streams of income.
   
   Consider that you could make money with refreshments, too! But don’t do it if it’s illegal. Many people have left home in a hurry and are going from sale to sale to sale. A nice hot cup of coffee might really hit the spot! In the morning, coffee and donuts are a good bet. Homemade cookies always sell well. Around lunchtime hot dogs, soda and chips sell well. You can boil hot dogs and keep them warm in a crockpot. I have been to several block sales where neighbors have even served hot dogs and hamburgers from a grill.
   
   At our most successful yard sale, our 13yo and 15yo daughters decided they wanted to sell coffee and donuts. We knew the best place in town for delectable donuts. As it happened we also had some Starbucks coffee beans in the cupboard. In addition to our yard sale signs, we placed signs that said Starbucks coffee and gourmet donuts at intersections in all directions from the house. These signs brought in more traffic. It was quite a success! As it turned out, we made as much money on refreshments that day as we did on inventory!
7. Anticipate and eliminate possible objections from customers.
   
   Many a customer are pet phobic or allergic. Make arrangements for your pet during your sale. If you can, put him in an animal shelter for the day. If you can’t you must be certain he is on a leash for safety.
8. Determine your policy for early birds.
   
   Someone always comes early, sometimes *very* early, so be prepared! Decide if you’re willing to accept buyers arriving any time prior to your advertised time of your sale. If you’ve decided not to permit early birds don’t be afraid to turn a buyer away if he comes knocking too soon. Planning for early birds will leave you psychologically prepared. Otherwise, you may have possible regrets later. If you are planning to permit early birds, you’ll need to do all your preparations the day before your sale or, at the very least, several hours before your scheduled opening of sale.
   
   Having a good plan is key to having a successful yard sale!
   
   In the next part in this 8-part series I’ll share tips about Gathering the Goods.