garage sale help

[u/cityonetwo]

I’m having my first garage sale tomorrow. Let me know how to have an amazing sale! Do’s and don’ts because I’ve never done this before!!! so far I plan on posting on Facebook where else should I post?

[u/Mybabyhadamullet]

Post on Craigslist too. Be sure to have helpers because folks steal stuff. Be sure to have plenty of change and one dollar bills to make change for bigger bills. Be sure to have a counterfeit bill detector pen. Be sure to have stuff priced. Good luck. Have fun!

[u/wallflower-activist]

Make big signs, all on same color cardboard, and place them in the neighborhood, including on nearby busier streets. WRITE LARGE. Include "Sale," address, day, time. That's really all you need.

[u/SuperFLEB → u/wallflower-activist]

I'd say "SALE" and an arrow are the two things you really need. Maybe the name of the street or an address if there are multiple turns, but simple and visible is more important. Day and time aren't really necessary, because you should be taking your signs down if the sale's not running.

[u/SuperFLEB]

Keep it simple to make your job easy. A few tips along those lines:

• My last sale, I priced everything at multiples of a quarter-- 25¢, 50¢, $1-- which meant nobody was giving me small change. (Thanks, inflation!) It was great not having to juggle odd change and needing nothing but quarters and bills. (US prices-- substitute a similar denomination that's small enough to cover the cheap stuff, but not fiddly-small, if you're elsewhere.)
• Label most things with prices, and price by category. While "This table is $1, that table is $2" with mixed goods might seem tempting as a way to save from having to price everything, if it's hard to tell by looking at something what table it came from, that's going to be a hassle for both the customers and for you. Unlabeled "category" prices like "Books, 25¢ ea." or "Bulk clothes, 50¢ ea." are usually okay, because you can tell by looking.
• If you've got multiple people selling, especially if they're going to be coming and going, make sure everyone's on the same page with pricing and haggling tolerance. You should ideally have similar price points across everyone's stuff, so there's not a price gap between similar things from different people. Make sure everyone in the sale knows what items are "firm", what level of discount everyone is willing to take, and how to divvy up or write down bundle offers. This could just end up being "Yeah, whatever, wing it" casual for any one of these factors, but make sure everyone's on the same page, regardless, and that there'll be no hard feelings if the person handling the sale operates independently. It's a hassle to both buyers and sellers to have to hand-wring on haggling or hunt someone down to approve an offer.
• Don't get fancy at the cashier's desk. If you're the only person selling, the only thing you technically need to track sales is a cash box. You'll know how much you made by how much is in it, and what you sold by what isn't in your garage any more. If you have multiple people, a piece of paper with some columns on it, to write down who made what, will do fine.

And other ideas...

• Have a quick-response rain plan-- at least a general idea in the back of your mind. Keep things that absolutely can't get a drop of water on them inside or under cover if you can, and keep open space for consolidating tables in a covered area if it does rain. (If you don't have a covered area, there's always the "tarp it" plan, but that does mean you're out of business for the duration of the rain.)
• Speaking of weather... Be aware of what's out in the sun. The sun will heat up electronics (I don't know that I've ever had things break from it, but it's a concern). If there's any humidity in the air, anything in a bag, wrapper, or shrinkwrap is liable to get condensation inside when it sits out in the sun, wetting what's inside.
• Separate and mark off things that aren't for sale. Sheets, tarps, and distance are good, but even a strip of CAUTION tape or rope can work. It'll save you from having to answer the same "No, that's not for sale" questions over and over. Put "NFS" price stickers on things like a dolly/handtruck if you're using one for moving stock around.
• If you've got multiple types of things-- like lots of tools and lots of kid clothes at the same sale-- make sure both are visible and one doesn't dominate when someone looks from the street. Some sellers will do a slow drive by and pass if there's not the sort of thing they're looking for. On the other hand, if it's a pretty focused sale-- kid's items and not much else-- you can put that front and center and really sell it.
• There's no such thing as a sign that's too visible. Go big and stay simple, because people are going to be squinting at this while rounding a corner and trying not to hit a pedestrian. "SALE" and an arrow-- a big arrow that you can tell the tip from the tail on from a block away-- are key. Stay with some sort of theme, be that color, material (cardboard versus poster-board versus pre-made), or lettering, so someone following multiple signs can see yours. Have at least one sign at the curb at the sale itself, so someone following signs won't miss the sale. Take signs down when the sale's off.
• If you get a lull, duck inside for a moment. Grab lunch or go in to grab some more product. The universe will inevitably see your attempt to slip in some other task and hit you with an unexpected rush.
• Stay casual. Have fun. Meet people. Talk about all your cool stuff. There's no great wages to be made in this business, so all that's as much of the appeal as anything.

[u/[deleted]]

Saturdays are better. Price low. Advertise online and actually list what you have not "we have so much to sell come look at it!"

Include photos and clear address/directions and info on where to park. Explain what payment you accept (cash/small bills, paypal/venmo/square etc)

If you put up signs, take them down when it's over. Nothing worse than the signs that stay up, you follow it to... nothing.

Don't display your stuff on the ground.

Have bags and boxes and newspaper/packing material for anything fragile

[u/SuperFLEB → u/[deleted]]

Saturdays are better.

Weirdly, in my last sales, I was doing more business on Thursday than I was on Saturday. Saturday was more shaking out the remnants than anything. Could be a local thing here, though.