A yard sale can be a fun and effective way to get rid of unwanted items. It can also be a way to raise some fast cash. Many people love browsing yard sales. How can you make yours a profitable one where visitors make lots of purchases? Here are some tips to help ensure that your next yard sale is a success.
Have a Neighborhood Yard Sale
If you get together with a few other families in the area and hold a large, neighborhood-wide yard sale, you can attract more customers. Each of you can do some promoting, and your combined efforts can mean more traffic. This will give people more of an incentive to visit your neighborhood on the day of the sale. Yard sale customers enjoy making multiple stops and it helps get them into a shopping and buying mode.Promote Your Yard Sale Thoroughly
You want to attract both spontaneous traffic and people who deliberately come to your yard sale. The latter are often better customers, especially if you advertise specific items you are selling. You can tell your contacts on Facebook and Twitter about your yard sale as well as advertise on Craigslist. You should also put up plenty of signs in your area, complete with directions. If you photograph some of your more impressive items and include these in the ads, you will attract more attention.Be Neat and Organized
Your yard sale will do better if everything is laid out in an organized manner. People are turned off by messy displays where it’s difficult to find anything. Have distinct areas for different types of items. You could have, for example, sections for clothes, books, electronics, furniture, kitchenware, etc.Price Your Items Attractively
One of the biggest yard sale mistakes that people often make is to charge too much for their items. Remember that people come to yard sales seeking a bargain. If you have items you want to get top dollar for, a yard sale isn’t the right venue for them. Another tip to keep in mind is that you should put price tags on your merchandise. This saves people the trouble to have to ask you how much everything costs. Finally, you should expect people to try to bargain with you, as this is customary at yard sales. The more flexible you are about prices, the more items you will sell.Cleanup
You probably don’t want the items that you fail to sell, so you have a few options. You can donate the leftovers, give them away, or haul them away. Especially if you throw a neighborhood yard sale with the combined goods of your neighbors, you may want to consider renting a large junk disposal bin from King Recycling and Waste Disposal Inc. or a waste management company in your particular locale. This option will free you all from multiple trips to the dump.Yard sales are more popular than ever, due to difficult economic conditions. Lots of people are eager to find reasonable items and possibly hidden treasures. If you take the time to plan your yard sale and promote it well, you can turn it into a profitable cash cow.