How to Merchandise For a Successful Yard Sale

Presentation is everything when it comes to sales. Learn a few visual merchandising tricks that you can apply to your next yard sale to make it more appealing and hopefully more successful.

Difficulty: Moderate

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Creativity
• Organized Inventory
• Large folding tables
• Plain table cloths or plain flat sheets
• A rolling rack and hangers

1. Once you've organized and priced your inventory then you're ready to begin setting it up! Start at least an hour before your yard sale is scheduled to begin. You probably will be tweaking your set up when the early birds arrive, but that's OK, as long as you have the big items set and the presentation established, the rest will fall into place.

2. Set up your tables first. You want to encourage people to stop and browse, not do a drive-by. Depending on the number of tables you are using and the size of your yard, set them up adjacent to one another, giving it a flea market feel. Use plain table cloths or plain flat sheets to cover your tables with. If you don't have any, most .99 cent stores have the large plastic table covers, so buy those but use one consistent color, preferably white. There is going to be a lot of 'stuff' already on display so keep the table a plain backdrop.

3. Next, determine where any large pieces are going to go. All furniture should be up front and visible but not blocking your tables. Big items attract people to stop and look so don't hide them! Set the items up as they would be used; for example: tucking the chairs under the table it goes with.

4. Utilize a rolling rack to hang clothing, especially if you have specialty items or a lot of clothing that has various prices. If you have multiple rolling racks to use, you can do a $1 rack and a $2 rack to make it easy to identify and shop. Ensure you have color coded the items, however, so you remember what to charge for each item. Flat piles of childrens (up to 4T)clothes (like a pile of T-shirts, a pile of pants, a pile of pj's, etc) often works well because they are small enough to look through and easy enough to maintain. Use a table to lay things out on, or even use a sheet on the ground to lay piles on. Avoid using boxes to rummage through, if at all possible. Remember if you present it nicely, you'll get better prices than you will if you just throw stuff out.

5. Use some of your inventory to display on your large pieces, such as a table setting on a table, candle holders on an occasional table, throw blanket on a chair, etc. Picture retail stores: A display of a dining table with a table setting and coordinating accessories is much more inviting and enticing then a disply of a dining table with nothing on it.

6. Maintain your sale all day. When something sells off a table, move something else in it's place: don't leave empty spots. Spread things out if start to run low on inventory. Eventually, condense your inventory and eliminate tables if necessary. Empty tables are not inviting...full tables are. Keep any clothing piles neat and tidy. Make sure anything hanging is hanging neatly. Ever go into a store on a weekend and there's empty hangers with clothing all over the floor and people just walk on top of it without thinking twice about picking it up? It'll happen to you too. Avoid that at all costs! Stay on top of it and keep it maintained. Also, remove all empty hangers when things sell through, or replace with some of your folded items.

7. I know many of us that use the plastic grocery bags do recycle them. You should hold onto them for a few weeks prior to your sale so you can provide your customers with bags. Not everyone will want one but I've found that many people appreciated having it when I offered it.

8. If you are using boxes for books, lay them next to a table, or if you have a chair you're selling, a box of books will encourage them to sit down while they look! Any empty boxes or bags from your inventory should be neatly stashed out of sight and easily accessible for clean up at the end of the sale. Boxes of toys left down low are great for children to pick through. Games can easily be stacked on tables however, they make a great display piece on a coffee/cocktail table! Lamps display nicely on end tables and desks.

Tips & Warnings

• If you get frustrated, just think of the function of the item and how you could creatively display it.
• Colorizing or classifying your items on a table always looks nice: all red glass together, all clear glass together, all wooden items together, all silver together, etc.
• Keep an extension cord available for customers to try out any electronics you are selling.
• Don't over crowd items because things will get knocked down and could either injure someone or simply break.
• Avoid stacking too many things.

[Tauri]

on 11/21/2008 Loved it!!!! It is such hard work...so doing it rights is a real big plus. Thanks