having a garage sale this coming weekend

**MOMMYDEAREST** · 06-07-2006, 03:17 PM

ok ladies........this is the 1st garage sale i have had in years. do you have any helpful info or pointers you could give me. i appreciate all your inputs!!

**MOMMYDEAREST** · 06-07-2006, 03:19 PM

i forgot to put this.........this is my neighborhood garage sale, so i'm hoping alot of people will come out & search for all the bargains!! i really really really need the extra cash right now for some bills.......so please pray that i do well!!

**Darlene** · 06-07-2006, 03:26 PM

Good for you! It's amazing how many people these sales pull in. I haven't had a sale in 20 years lol. Nicole was small and in her little seat watching all the excitement and people kept asking how much I'd take for her.
Have lots of bags for people to carry their loot in and newspaper to wrap breakables. Lots of small bills, things well marked and be willing to haggle on price.

Good luck!

**lilk** · 06-07-2006, 05:26 PM

Mark your prices clearly. Hang as much clothes as you can. Dont't forget to keep your cash box close to you at all times and locked. (People from other areas may come to your sale.) I hope you earn lots of money, and enjoy visiting with everyone.

**miss_thrifty** · 06-07-2006, 06:11 PM

some people make alist of the things they are selling aand mark as they go with into their money box. This way they know actually how much they made or incase someone takes something. Its happened before to me when it was so busy, and lots in all at once.

**miss_thrifty** · 06-07-2006, 06:12 PM

Oh i forgot have someone to help you, they can also spot incase someone tries to take something. We always(hubbya nd me, or MIL sold together)

**dolphin** · 06-08-2006, 10:45 AM

I usually had $20.00 in ones and a couple of $5.00 bills and about $5.00 in change but once I only had $20.00 for all of my change and I did ok.

Definitely try and have someone to help. Even if it's a child to help watch the people and answer questions about things.

Have a piece of paper and pencil handy for people who buy several items or keep adding to a pile of things that they pick out.

Don't forget your sunscreen and a hat and a fan for your garage. I also kept a carafe of coffee and a bottle of water near my chair so I was pretty comfortable. You might also want to bring out some snacks.

I wore an apron and kept my money in a zip lock baggie and my cell phone in the other pocket and the keys to my house (kept it locked) in my pocket too.

Make sure nothing is in the way that can be tripped over or could fall over on a customer. Block off any areas you don't want people going to and if it's in your garage, cover anything not for sale with sheets.

Put big and/or eye catching items at the front of the drive for pulling the people in. Wipe off all purses and shoes to make them more presentable. I found that people won't buy a dusty purse even if it's brand new with tags. Same with shoes. Yard salers like to dig through boxes so make sure you have a couple of boxes with different kinds of goodies to look through. One for kitchenware, odds and ends, and cosmetic and inexpensive jewelry are good ones.

Expect some breakage but try your best to eliminate it. I had some customers break a vintage music box and some other items. It made me sick but I learned my lesson to put those things up on a table and keep it near where I put my chair so I could watch them closer.

After a round of customers have left, go over all of your sale items and rearrange and put things back together so your tables always look good. It's also a great time to add more things to your sale.

Have your phone outside with you. I had so many calls while I was having my sale, lol. Any other time I wouldn't have gotten a call all weekend.

Try your best not to let people use your bathroom. I live so far out of town and away from a public restroom that I did let a woman and a man use our guest bathroom but I had someone helping me on those days. I didn't want to do it but I didn't want them using the other side of my house either which is what the man said he would do!

Even if you don't mark all of your items it's ok. I had very few items marked and the customers didn't hesitate to ask and also counter offer. I sold stuff really cheap and got rid of so very much. Most of my things went for $.50 cents to $3.00. You'd be surprised how fast that adds up.

I hope you have a fantastic sale!