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Du Jour: How To Throw A Great Yard Sale
Friends of mine recently moved from Santa Monica to London
and, in an effort to get rid of some of their items, held their very
first yard sale. Because they had little experience as either buyers or
sellers in this forum, they weren't sure how to optimize the
experience. As someone who has attended literally hundreds of yard
sales I was able to step in and help them out. They sold the majority
of their stuff and made about $500.00.
Here are some tips to make your yard sale a great one.
1. Advertise. Avid yard salers
will check the local papers and bulletin boards like craigslist, and
it's worth posting there. But the best bang for your buck is going to
come from crummy little cardboard signs you post near your house. These
signs should contains only basic information and be big enough for
passing cars to read.
If you are moving, I would mention it. I know that when people are
moving they will be more anxious to bargain than people who are merely spring cleaning.
2. Make sure your big ticket items are visible from the street.
When I went over to Anders and Shumin's sale most of their stuff was
far back from the street and hidden by shrubs. Once we moved everything
out to the sidewalk people pulled over and bought stuff like mad.
3. Put prices on everything.
Imagine if whenever you went shopping you had to ask the proprieter of
the store what every single item cost. It would be pretty frustrating,
and you probably wouldn't even bother unless you really wanted
something. Hardcore bargain shoppers like me will always ask, but why
make it tough on the shy ones?
4. Make prices on big ticket items visible for passing cars.
If you live in a residential area, you will get a lot of cars driving
by your sale who will slow down to look and move on. If you've got a
coffee table out with a sign that says Coffee Table $10 in bold magic
marker, and the driver needs a coffee table, you've got yourself a sale.5. Price fairly. We
live in a culture where used goods are worth very little. People who
buy everything new are, ironically, the most likely to overvalue their
used items. If you've got a pair of sandals you bought for $80 and only
wore twice because they pinched your feet, that's the way it goes. Good luck finding someone who has the same
taste as you who also wears a 7 1/2 wide and is willing to buy used
footwear. If you get five bucks for those babies, consider yourself
lucky.
Here's a general guide to pricing:
Clothes and shoes: $1.00 - $3.00 for shirts and pants. $10 max for a
really nice coat, shoes mint in box, expensive item with tags still on it.
Lamps: $5.00 - $20.00
Furniture: $25.00 max. Maybe $50 for a nice couch or that coffee table you paid too much for.
Appliances: $5.00 - $25.00. A toaster is a $5.00 item. A really high
end food processor or mixmaster might go for as much as $25.00.
Books and CDs: $1.00 - $2.00
Electronics: $5.00 -
$25.00. Used DVD players, scanners, and printers
are $25.00 if in pristine shape and of recent vintage, and on down to
$5.00 if they're older. Electronics become obsolete quickly and since
buyers can't see these items in working order out in your yard, they
know they're taking a chance.
6. Put out a "free" box.
Shumin did this at her yard sale, and it attracted the attention of
many passers by, creating good will and some great yard sale buzz.
7. Offer snacks if you can. A
few well-placed cookies and glasses of lemonade will entice people to
come over and check out your stuff. The more people you get milling
around, the more attractive your sale will appear.
8. Get ready to bargain. If
there's an item that gets a lot of attention but you can't seem to
sell, it might be overpriced. Offer to sell it to the next interested
person for less. Don't wait for them to make a counteroffer -- they
might not.
9. Treat your yard sale like a store. Display your items in a pleasing way. Hang up your clothes or fold them neatly. Make prices clearly visible.
10. Drop prices after 1:30.
It's pretty hard to keep a yard sale going after 3:00 in the afternoon
or 4:00 at the very latest. You don't want to haul all that stuff back
inside, do you?
Yard sale don'ts:
Don't expect to sell collectibles, specialty items, or high-end
electronics and furniture at your yard sale. If you've got a new ipod,
a Dolce & Gabbana suit or an old Willie Mays baseball card to
unload, the humble yard sale is not the best venue for this
transaction.
Don't have a yard sale unless you've got a lot of sell. Yard sales that
are basically two blankets covered with torn jeans, a doll with no
shoes and a few mismatched mugs are not worth your time unless
you're hard up for cash. If you only have a few things, consider
joining up with others for a multi-person yard sale.
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What can you do right now to help the environment? Drop a line to save some of nature's BioGems.
It happens to us all: you've got
stuff you
don't
want anymore, don't need anymore, or never liked to begin with. Whether
you're motivated by a natural sense
of thrift, an environmental conscience, a desire to help others -- or
all three -- here are some suggestions as to what to do with many of
your unwanted items.
Hope they help!
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How To Throw A Yard Sale
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