How to Sell Effectively at a Garage Sale?

Many people have garage sales in spring and summer. It is a great time of the year to clean up and discard stuff which is not required anymore. There is a well know idiom which says “One man’s trash is another man’s treasure”. Given below are 9 tips to effectively sell at a garage sale.

Location, Date and Time

It is very important to inform the public regarding the date, time and location of the garage sale. The garage sale can be advertised a week prior on websites such as craigslist, kijiji, redflagdeals etc. Remember to give the exact date of the event and the time when you intend to start and up to what time you will wind up. Also explain the location clearly. A couple of days before the garage sale start putting up posters / placards giving the details of the garage sale. Give directions by placing arrows in appropriate places making it easy for the people to find the location. Also decorating the placard with a couple of balloons makes it look attractive and invites the curiosity of the people to find out more about what is written on the placards.

Multi Family Yard Sale

It is a good idea to invite your neighbours and friends to participate in the garage sale.  A multi family yard sale is a much better option for attracting large crowds. People from other neighbourhoods may also visit to buy stuff if there is a multi family garage sale.

Display items neatly

Display the items you want to sell neatly. You can place the items on a table making it easier for the customers to see. Arrange the items in such a way that similar products are kept together such as Books, DVD’s, Toys, Purses etc. You can use a white tape to display the price of the item.

Smile

It is important to smile when you have visitors at your garage sale. Smiling has a quality of making people feel comfortable and also helps to attract customers to purchase products. Be polite and greet visitors when they come to the yard sale. Thank them for visiting when they are ready to leave.

Be willing to explain and answer questions

Sometimes visitors have questions regarding the use of certain products or how it works. Be ready to explain them and answer their questions. Allow them to test the product where practicable. Once the customer is comfortable regarding the usefulness of the product and is able to understand its value, they are more likely to purchase it.

Lemonade and Cookies

It is a good idea to keep some lemonade and cookies on a warm day to please people. This will also enable to keep them at the place a bit longer and get them interested in some of the items you want to sell.

Bargains and Discounts

One of the reasons why people like to visit garage sale is because they can get a good discount. As a result they usually bargain the price asked. As a seller it is important that you are a little flexible with the price you quote. Try and price the product in such a way that you are able to give a discount when requested by the customer.

Freebies

Throw in a few freebies where possible such as buy one item and get one item free. There are certain items which may be lying in the house and you are eager to get rid of them. Give these items free of cost when a customer has bought something. Keeping aside a few items which you are willing to give free can also enable you to strike a deal on some key products.

Schemes

You can have some special schemes especially towards the end of the sale when you are eager to sell the remaining items. An example of a special scheme would be to put as many soft toys in a plastic bag for $5. Another example is buy one pair of toddler shoe for $2 and 3 pairs for $3.

The above steps will help you to sell successfully. Good luck with your garage sale. Be sure to relax and have fun.