Things You'll Need:
- Items to sell
- Advertisement (newspaper and street signs)
- Price tags
- Display tables and shelves
- Change
- Music (optional)
- Cold drinks (optional)
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Step 1
Set a date for your garage sale and gather up as many items as possible. Don't throw things away, as you may find it surprising what people will snatch up at a garage sale. Make sure that all of your items are clean before you set them out on display.
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Step 2
Recruit other families to get involved in the garage sale if you don't have a whole lot to sell yourself. Not only can this help to cut back on the burden of manning the sale all day long, it will help to bring more customers if you have more merchandise.
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Step 3
Advertise your yard sale in the local newspaper at least a week in advance. Make sure you set times that you can stick to, have easy to follow direction to the location and specify some of the items you are selling. On the day of the sale, place signs on stop signs a few blocks away to notify those who don't read the paper that a sale is going on.
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Step 4
Mark the price of your sale items clearly, but be willing to bargain with shoppers. As a general rule, mark items about 1/4 of the retail price, unless very new. When in doubt, go a little higher than you think and then let shoppers know you are willing to haggle.
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Step 5
Have plenty of tables, shelves and other items for displaying your sale goods. Make sure that you remove anything you do not want to sell or mark it with "not for sale" or people will ask about purchase. Remember that customers do not want to sift through boxes, so make sure that everything is easy to see.
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Step 6
Make plenty of change before you open up shop, as garage sale items are often priced low and you will be required to change bills. Have lots of change, singles and five dollar bills.
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Step 7
Keep a pleasant environment for your shoppers. Play some music that everyone can enjoy, or if it is a hot day, keep a cooler with ice, water and soda for people to buy.
