If you need some extra cash, one thing to consider during the holiday season (don't wait til' it warms up) is to have a year end garage sale. Garage sales can be really profitable or just end up being a day outside getting rid of a few pieces of junk you don't want in the house anymore. If you are seriously thinking about making your garage sale a money making day, here are five of my tips to a successful garage sale.
- Place Like Items With Like Pricing On The Same Table - It is really important to use a Sharpie and clearly mark the pricing on each of your tables. You don't want people to come up to your house and have to ask you every five minutes what items cost at each table. If you have items you are going to mark for $1 or $5, it will be much easier to put them together at one table and have one large clearly marked price. Within that specific dollar amount, place like items together whether they are books, sporting goods, or dishes.
- Use Square - If you have run a garage sale in the past, typically you will carry one of the tool belt type cash changers where you can separate dollar bills and change to get customers in and out quickly. If you have an I phone, one of the apps you can download is Square. This app will allow you to quickly set up a mobile credit card operation that you can do wireless right at your home. While you will lost a little bit of your profit, remember that some people may not carry cash on them and will be likely to spend more if they use a credit/charge card. Let people when they walk down your driveway that you will accept cash or credit card and you will likely make more sales that day.
- Separate Clothing - Take some time before your garage sale to separate women's, men's, and children's clothing on different racks. You should also buy a few of the rings to separate XL, L, M, and S in order to allow your shoppers to quickly look at the clothing that may fit them or people in their family. Remember, there is a reason department and specialty stores alike try to get you quickly to the right rack for you. It makes get to what you like easier which can help you more quickly spend your money. It will be no different at your garage sale.
- Set up a gaming station like Wii or Playstation - While you are not in the entertainment business, keeping the shoppers kids busy will buy you time to make a few sales. Partition off a small part of your garage to allow some Wii action to happen while offering some free lemonade, iced tea, or even hot chocolate during the winter. Remember, that generally people will spend money and purchase an item the longer you can keep them looking.
- Advertise, Advertise, Advertise - The fluorescent poster boards leading up to your development and throughout your neighborhood will certainly attract some people driving by to check out the garage sale. However, if you also advertise at the local coffee shop, church, or even the local schools it can help attract more attention. You may also want to put the garage sale up on Facebook, Craigslist, or other social media just to let people know deals will be happening that day.
Most of all make sure you have fun telling the story behind some of the personal items on display. Just like buying a used car, sometimes the more you can tell someone about how an item works or where you have used it in your house it could help push a shopper over the line to buy an item. Use these five tips and you will have a better garage sale.
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Written by:
Ted Jenkin, CFP®, AAMS®, AWMA®, CRPC®, CMFC®, CRPS®
Co-CEO and Founder of oXYGen Financial, Inc
Ted Jenkin is one of the foremost knowledgeable professionals in giving financial advice and Smart Money Moves to the X and Y Generation.
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