Yard sales are a great way to make some extra cash and can be a lot of fun to host. You get the opportunity to visit with people that stop by and maybe even make a new friend or two. The main point to hosting a yard sale is to make money, the hard part is actually doing it. You can find yourself in quite the dilemma when setting the prices for your items. If you set the prices too high, people will not buy the items, but if you set the prices too low, you will be giving your stuff away. There are many things you can do to ensure you bring in the money when holding a yard sale and one of them is to have them frequently. Read on for some tips on having regular yard sales.
Friendly schedule
When planning a yard sale, you must time it when people will be more likely to show up. For example, it makes little sense to have a yard sale on a Monday morning at 10 am because many people are work at that time. Either start the sale early like 6 am, or late afternoon like 6 pm, on weekdays or have it on the weekend. You will also want to consider the weather; during the summer you will want to start your sale early enough that it is still cool outside. Keep an eye on the weather for rain, wind and snow too. You can have a great yard sale set up but if the weather is nasty, people are less likely to want to get out and spend any money.
Quality items
This is an important part to hosting a yard sale: do not sell broken junk! Not many people are searching for broken items or items missing something. Obviously you are not wanting to get rid of brand new items, but make sure your sale items are in fair condition and are still usable. You certainly do not want to develop the reputation of selling bad items.
Advertising
One thing about yard sales is that if no one knows you are having one, they will not show up. Post flyers around your neighborhood, place an ad in your local newspaper and even get a spot on your local radio station if possible. You can also mention your sales on your social media pages. You might be surprised at how fast good news travels.
Incentives
Yes, your reasonably priced items are a great incentive for people to show up, however it can help to offer smaller incentives. Examples of small incentives include: hot or cold beverages (depending on the weather), snacks and, of course, friendly conversation. One mistake people hosting sales often make is ignoring customers until they actually buy something. You do not need to harass people while they are looking around, but acknowledge them with a friendly greeting and pleasant small talk before they really start digging into your offerings.
Discounts
When you hold regular yard sales, you have the luxury of offering discounts like buy-one-get-one or a percentage off of certain items like clothing or CDs. Another way to offer a good deal is by putting several items in one box/bin and pricing the whole box as one. You can also consider offering discounts for return customers.
Bigger is not always better
One thing to consider when trying to have yard sales on a regular basis is that you do not have to fill up your entire yard with items. The trick is to go through your entire home and garage and set aside everything you want to sell. Then put out a little at time, this way you know you can have more than one sale. For example: one week you can put out all the clothing you have to sell, the next week you can put out books, and the next week kitchen ware and so on. Sometimes by setting up a smaller yard sale, you can peak people’s interest enough that they will not want to miss the sale the following week.
One more quick tip
If you run out of personal items to sell, you can always enlist the help of friends and family. You can make having yard sales a regular activity with friends and family also selling items too. You can also scout for good deals at flea markets and antique shops. This latter suggestion has become quite the booming business in the last few years.
With a little planning, your regular yard sales can yield a nice little profit. Some people are so good at hosting yard sales that it is almost an alternate source of income. You can join their ranks by keeping a few simple things in mind: sell quality items, convenient scheduling and be friendly to everyone.