Are you getting ready to move, but feeling overwhelmed by the amount of stuff you need to pack? Do you need some yard sale tips to slim down your packing list? Consider having a garage sale to slim down your packing list and make a little extra money. In this article, you will learn yard sale tips to slim down your packing list through garage sale pricing best practices and creative yard sale ideas. After all, your move doesn’t have to be stressful.
Garage Sale Tips
Before you go outside and set up your garage sale, you will need to do some planning. Here are some basic garage sale tips to aid you as you plan your garage sale.
Choose a Date
Set the date at least a month out. This will give you time to sort and price your items. Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays are usually the best days to hold garage sales. Weekends allow people more time to shop.
Sort Items By Category
Collect all the items you are willing to sell. This article is about yard sale tips to slim down your packing list, so you will likely have quite a bit of stuff to go through already. As you start packing for your move, set aside the items you do not want to bring with you.
Sort these items by category so setting up shop goes smoother. Trying to sort items as you set up will be time-consuming.
Advertise
This next yard sale tip to slim down your packing list will help you attract customers. You can not get customers if they do not know your garage sale exists. Post in local Facebook groups, hang fliers, use your social media, and tell your friends. Get the word out as much as you can. Create a short, catchy name for your garage sale. It does not have to be extravagant; in fact, a simpler name is often easier to remember.
If you have any special items for sale like collectibles, make a point to mention them in your advertisements. Include your address, the time of the sale, and all forms of payment you will accept in every advertisement.
Price as You Go
Combine your sorting and pricing time. As you sort an item, decide on a price. Pricing items is time-consuming, so getting it done before the day of the sale will take a load of stress off of your shoulders.
Have Change on Hand
You need an ample amount of change, coins, and small bills especially. You do not want to lose out on a sale just because the customer did not have the exact amount and you do not have enough change.
Don’t Allow Holds
If they do not pay upfront, don’t agree to hold an item. They are not likely to come back for it. You are better off waiting for someone to pay.
Garage Sale Pricing
Garage sale pricing is not complicated. Use cheap stickers or tape as tags and keep your prices low. Below are some garage sale pricing best practices so you can make the most of these yard sale tips to slim down your packing list.
Remember Shoppers Look for a Bargain
The biggest thing to remember when pricing items for your garage sale is that people are looking for big discounts. For one, the items are pre-owned. Even if they are unopened, people will see the items as worth less than they would be if they bought them from a store.
The rule of thumb is to never charge more than 10% of retail. If the items are luxury or high-quality, you could get away with charging 20% of the retail price. The key to selling a lot at a garage sale is keeping your prices low.
Price in $0.05 increments
Consider that you will need to make change. If the product is less than a dollar, price only in increments of $0.05. It is much easier to make change when a product is an even $0.50 vs. $0.99. For products over a dollar, consider pricing by the whole dollar.
Negotiate
Many shoppers will try to negotiate. Decide when you will start negotiating. You do not need to start on the first day, but you might want to consider negotiating to move more merchandise.
Before negotiating, decide the lowest price you will take for items. It will be helpful to do some research beforehand. Scout out other garage sales and look on resale websites to see how others are pricing similar items.
Bulk Price Related Items
Offer deals to people who buy more than one similar product. For example, someone can buy five books priced at $0.25 each for only a dollar together. You can do the same thing with most other items like clothes, accessories, and utensils.
Creative Yard Sale Ideas
Here’s another yard sale tip to slim down your packing list: get creative. Here are some creative yard sale ideas to take your garage sale to the next level and get all your unwanted items off your packing list.
Multiple Family Sales
Get together with a few other households, friends, family, and neighbors, and hold the yard sale together. Advertise your garage sale as a multiple-family garage sale. This indicates to customers that your sale will have a lot of items to look through and a large variety.
Food and Drinks
Sell small refreshments. Things like water, lemonade, and cookies will keep the shoppers cool and refreshed. Not only will it help keep them shopping, but it will also be another enticing item for customers to buy. If you want, you can give it out for free, just to draw in a few more people.
Donate
After the sale ends, you might have some items left. Consider donating leftover items to a local charity. You can even arrange for some charities to pick up the items, though this needs to be set up in advance. Do not keep the items. You were trying to get them off your packing list. Do not put them back on just because you can’t sell them.
Pack It Up
These yard sale tips to slim down your packing list are sure to help you succeed. Follow these garage sale tips and garage sale pricing tips to get rid of unwanted items and earn a little extra money.
Now that you have slimmed down your packing list, it’s time to get ready to move. If packing is overwhelming, consider hiring Pack-Men for their packing and unpacking services. Our full-service moving services will get you or your business moved effectively and safely while making sure all your needs are met.
