by Louisa Cadwell

Created on: July 14, 2008

ANYONE can put on a successful garage sale. All it takes is a little planning, some ingenuity, & a great deal of patience. You may even find enjoyment in the process & not just the outcome of arranging & mainatining such a community enouraging event. The best way to achieve just that is by being prepared. The most important things to consider when putting together your sale should include the date & time of your sale, items being sold, appropriate pricing, advertising locations, representation, & resources to have handy for the duration of the sale.

1. Date & Time: Weekends are choice for hosting your garage sale. If you are putting the sale on by yourself & don't think you'll be able to sit out for more than three or four hours at a time, you may want to consider varying what time of day you are "Open" for each day of your sale. Try mid-afternoon to early evening for Friday, early morning to mid-afternoon for Saturday, & early afternoon to early evening for Sunday. Hint: Many people like to garage sale hunt after church ends.

2. Items Being Sold: It is best to include several categories of items in a sale. Limiting the sale to clothing or furniture may prove less fruitful for drawing in a variety of customers. You want a variety of cutomers, because once they become interested in looking at a particular item, they are most likely going to browse & possibly stumble across an unexpected impulse buy. If you don't have enough "junk" to make up a large enough sale, you may want to hold out or encourage friends & family to contribute items as well.

3. Appropriate Pricing: Setting aside sentimental value may be difficult, but it is necessary for this endeavor. Being conciously aware of what standard retail prices are for items you are selling is a good place to start. It's best to scope out local pawn & thrift shops to get an idea of how you can offer the best prices in town. For example, most VHS' are being sold for a dollar at pawn shops, so sell yours for no more than 75 cents. Also, you may want to place the initials of the person who is selling the item on the sticker in order to keep earnings straight.

4. Advertising Locations: Advertising online is very useful. Craigslist.com has become the leader in personal advertising sites. Some other great sites to advertise for free include garagesalesearch.net & garagesalehunter.com. To create signs for your yard or to place in high traffic areas, yardsalesearch.com offers a free sign maker. You could also purchase colorful

• 1
• 2
• Next Page >>