HOW TO OPERATE A SUCCESSFUL GARAGE SALE
First, set a date and time when you can devote your full time tothis sale, for gathering up various articles as well as beingable to attend the sale full time.
Second, plan just what you're going to put in this sale, if youare going to have the sale alone, or with two to five morefamilies.
Third, have plenty of change on hand - both silver and papermoney.
Now, get down to business. A sale is work - a lot of hard work,but the returns more than justify the effort. Whether it'sadvertised as Patio, Carport, Yard, Porch, or Garage-a-Rama,people will come and buy. Clean out your closets and ANYTHINGthat is useless to you or you don't want - put it in the sale.Don't throw anything away. People will buy just about anything.You'd be surprised. What is one person's trash is another'sGOLDMINE!
Of course you need to advertise. Be specific, concise andhonest. State place, date, hours. If you have large amount ofclothing, specify some of the sizes, particularly if you havequite a few in a few sizes. Antiques. They go over bigregardless of state of repair or condition. Give gooddescriptive details to save disappointments.
Capitalize on the season. Feature luggage at going-away toschool or vacation time. Toys near Christmas. Include fads.Today, bottles of all kinds are in demand. Big bottles, littlebottles, Jim Beam, Avon, Kara Brooks, Wheaton/Nuline, oldmedicine, Mrs. Butterworth, miniature - all kinds, old fruitjars, and insulators.
Here are some additional items that we find to be in big demand:baseball cards, lawnmowers, camping articles, guns, tools,coins, old books. Children like comic books, old and new. Womenlike aprons, old-fashioned bonnets, clothing for themselves aswell as their children, salt and pepper shakers, needlework,jewelry and dishes.
Doll clothing and accessories are always in demand andespecially for Barbie and Ken or teen dolls. Toys go over big atany time. Dolls and stuffed toys. Make a hit with the kiddiesand they, in turn, will finally persuade their mothers to buysomething. Children are very persuasive!
Have a large quantity of items to sell, a big variety. And don'tbe afraid to drag out those outgrown items, old dishes,two-of-a-kind items you don't really need and generally "cleanhouse". You'll find the money in your pocket is better than allthe clutter in the house.
Homemade items are very popular. If someone in your householdsews, then sew up aprons, doll clothes, dolls, stuffed toys fromscraps of material lying around. You'll make use of those scrapstaking up space and make money too! Fresh produce such astomatoes, green beans, corn, fruits, etc. will also sell, if youshould have a garden overflowing.
String up a clothesline to display any clothing you may have.Remember, clothing for all ages, men or women, is always ingreat demand. Children's clothing goes over best and especiallyabout the time for school to start in the fall.
Set up card tables or ping-pong tables to display smallmerchandise. Place tables in a manner that will leave room forshoppers to browse without feeling crowded. Display your waresattractively. Be sure they are clean, usable, and pricedtemptingly.
People are looking for bargains. Don't disappoint them. Rememberthat what you sell is something you don't want anyway, sowhatever you get is gravy.
Take advantage of the space under the tables, if you need moredisplay room. You will be amazed how buyers spot the smallestitem under the table. Colorful table covers draw a lot ofattention to your items.
You will save yourself a lot of time answering questions if youshow a price on all merchandise. Use a heavy black felt markingpen for lettering. If more families go in with you, identifyyour price tags with a code such as G 75 cents or M 25 cents.The letters designate, perhaps, the first letter of the lastname of the family who contributed items to sell. Keep all thetags and at the end of the sale, divide the tags according tocode and total the sales. You may not come out right to thepenny on sales and change you had on hand as anyone can makeerrors in making change for a customer.
Be sure you have electrical outlets nearby to plug in toasters,blenders, electric skillets, irons, hair dryers, electricrazors, etc., to show people that your articles do work. If youhave to use an extension cord, make sure it is in excellentcondition and preferably a heavy duty one.
If you have any fragile, rare or expensive items such ascrystal, cut glass or jewelry, be sure it is displayed on asturdy table and up high out of reach of kiddies. They arecurious and you might be too busy to watch them.
Drinking glasses, dishes, cups will sell faster if you pricethem in sets of 6 for $1.00 instead of 15 cents each. Paperbackbooks, magazines, records and items that have titles will sellmore readily if they are marked separately. If they want themcollectively, they'll ask you. Then bundle them all up and sellthem. Sell everything!
Advertising. Run an ad in your daily newspaper. If you run yourad one day only, have it in the Thurday paper. You might like torun the ad two days to appear in both the Thursday and Fridayeditions. If your sale runs through Saturday, your sale is aboutover before the paper hits the street on Saturday. Therefore,2-day advertising is usually adequate unless your sale iscontinued late Saturday night and through Sunday.
However, whatever you decide to advertise - BE READY! Be readyto meet any customer as soon as the paper hits the street,because some will come before the sale and before you even getready to start the next day! In addition to placing an ad in thepaper, place signs at points where people will see them. Somelaundromats have bulletin boards on which you can place notices.Advertise all you can. Work word-of-mouth all you can. Ifemployed, place signs on your company's bulletin boards.
Best days for your Garage Sale are Thursday, Friday, andSaturday. Sundays are usually a waste of time unless you'restaying at home all day doing nothing anyway.
At the end of your sale you will have met a lot of nice,friendly people. If you want to continue your selling of anyitems you might have made, you can let people know then and havefuture sales all lined up. A circular made up and passed out toeach customer would help to obtain any future sales also. Youwill profit both from the present sale and any future salesalso. In short, you should have received much money, futureprofits, some new acquaintances and a weary but happy body!
HAPPY SELLING AND GOOD LUCK!
First, set a date and time when you can devote your full time tothis sale, for gathering up various articles as well as beingable to attend the sale full time.
Second, plan just what you're going to put in this sale, if youare going to have the sale alone, or with two to five morefamilies.
Third, have plenty of change on hand - both silver and papermoney.
Now, get down to business. A sale is work - a lot of hard work,but the returns more than justify the effort. Whether it'sadvertised as Patio, Carport, Yard, Porch, or Garage-a-Rama,people will come and buy. Clean out your closets and ANYTHINGthat is useless to you or you don't want - put it in the sale.Don't throw anything away. People will buy just about anything.You'd be surprised. What is one person's trash is another'sGOLDMINE!
Of course you need to advertise. Be specific, concise andhonest. State place, date, hours. If you have large amount ofclothing, specify some of the sizes, particularly if you havequite a few in a few sizes. Antiques. They go over bigregardless of state of repair or condition. Give gooddescriptive details to save disappointments.
Capitalize on the season. Feature luggage at going-away toschool or vacation time. Toys near Christmas. Include fads.Today, bottles of all kinds are in demand. Big bottles, littlebottles, Jim Beam, Avon, Kara Brooks, Wheaton/Nuline, oldmedicine, Mrs. Butterworth, miniature - all kinds, old fruitjars, and insulators.
Here are some additional items that we find to be in big demand:baseball cards, lawnmowers, camping articles, guns, tools,coins, old books. Children like comic books, old and new. Womenlike aprons, old-fashioned bonnets, clothing for themselves aswell as their children, salt and pepper shakers, needlework,jewelry and dishes.
Doll clothing and accessories are always in demand andespecially for Barbie and Ken or teen dolls. Toys go over big atany time. Dolls and stuffed toys. Make a hit with the kiddiesand they, in turn, will finally persuade their mothers to buysomething. Children are very persuasive!
Have a large quantity of items to sell, a big variety. And don'tbe afraid to drag out those outgrown items, old dishes,two-of-a-kind items you don't really need and generally "cleanhouse". You'll find the money in your pocket is better than allthe clutter in the house.
Homemade items are very popular. If someone in your householdsews, then sew up aprons, doll clothes, dolls, stuffed toys fromscraps of material lying around. You'll make use of those scrapstaking up space and make money too! Fresh produce such astomatoes, green beans, corn, fruits, etc. will also sell, if youshould have a garden overflowing.
String up a clothesline to display any clothing you may have.Remember, clothing for all ages, men or women, is always ingreat demand. Children's clothing goes over best and especiallyabout the time for school to start in the fall.
Set up card tables or ping-pong tables to display smallmerchandise. Place tables in a manner that will leave room forshoppers to browse without feeling crowded. Display your waresattractively. Be sure they are clean, usable, and pricedtemptingly.
People are looking for bargains. Don't disappoint them. Rememberthat what you sell is something you don't want anyway, sowhatever you get is gravy.
Take advantage of the space under the tables, if you need moredisplay room. You will be amazed how buyers spot the smallestitem under the table. Colorful table covers draw a lot ofattention to your items.
You will save yourself a lot of time answering questions if youshow a price on all merchandise. Use a heavy black felt markingpen for lettering. If more families go in with you, identifyyour price tags with a code such as G 75 cents or M 25 cents.The letters designate, perhaps, the first letter of the lastname of the family who contributed items to sell. Keep all thetags and at the end of the sale, divide the tags according tocode and total the sales. You may not come out right to thepenny on sales and change you had on hand as anyone can makeerrors in making change for a customer.
Be sure you have electrical outlets nearby to plug in toasters,blenders, electric skillets, irons, hair dryers, electricrazors, etc., to show people that your articles do work. If youhave to use an extension cord, make sure it is in excellentcondition and preferably a heavy duty one.
If you have any fragile, rare or expensive items such ascrystal, cut glass or jewelry, be sure it is displayed on asturdy table and up high out of reach of kiddies. They arecurious and you might be too busy to watch them.
Drinking glasses, dishes, cups will sell faster if you pricethem in sets of 6 for $1.00 instead of 15 cents each. Paperbackbooks, magazines, records and items that have titles will sellmore readily if they are marked separately. If they want themcollectively, they'll ask you. Then bundle them all up and sellthem. Sell everything!
Advertising. Run an ad in your daily newspaper. If you run yourad one day only, have it in the Thurday paper. You might like torun the ad two days to appear in both the Thursday and Fridayeditions. If your sale runs through Saturday, your sale is aboutover before the paper hits the street on Saturday. Therefore,2-day advertising is usually adequate unless your sale iscontinued late Saturday night and through Sunday.
However, whatever you decide to advertise - BE READY! Be readyto meet any customer as soon as the paper hits the street,because some will come before the sale and before you even getready to start the next day! In addition to placing an ad in thepaper, place signs at points where people will see them. Somelaundromats have bulletin boards on which you can place notices.Advertise all you can. Work word-of-mouth all you can. Ifemployed, place signs on your company's bulletin boards.
Best days for your Garage Sale are Thursday, Friday, andSaturday. Sundays are usually a waste of time unless you'restaying at home all day doing nothing anyway.
At the end of your sale you will have met a lot of nice,friendly people. If you want to continue your selling of anyitems you might have made, you can let people know then and havefuture sales all lined up. A circular made up and passed out toeach customer would help to obtain any future sales also. Youwill profit both from the present sale and any future salesalso. In short, you should have received much money, futureprofits, some new acquaintances and a weary but happy body!
HAPPY SELLING AND GOOD LUCK!
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