Thinking about holding a yard sale in the near future?
After much diligent research, we have uncovered the most important rule of the yard sale: Never ever second-guess whether a piece of your junk is too “junky” for a yard sale. People, you see, will buy anything.
“It’s weird. The things that you think will never sell are often the first things to go,” said Eric Schwab, a 38-year-old Orlando, Fla., salesman and veteran yard-sale thrower.
At a recent yard sale, one of the first items Schwab sold was a tablecloth with a big hole in the middle — where a leaky potted plant had eaten away the fabric.
The buyer was a woman who makes decorative pillows from vintage fabrics. The hole in the tablecloth didn’t matter to her; she wanted to buy vintage fabrics for a good price.
Yard sales, garage sales, tag sales. Whatever the name, they are staples of modern life. We spend a lifetime acquiring junk. And we love our junk. But when our junk outgrows the house, it’s time for a yard sale.
If you’re holding a yard sale this weekend, you’re probably up to your elbows in price tags. If you’re holding one in a month, get busy — you need to get a head start on the work.
What follows are some pointers gleaned from people who regularly go to — and hold — yard sales. They offer advice on organizing your sale, putting up signs, getting permits, pricing, displaying the merchandise and dealing with the early morning yard-sale “professionals.”
– Getting organized.
You’ll save yourself some last-minute headaches if you take a year-round approach to garage sales, Schwab said. When he cleans the house, he routinely throws stuff into a box in the garage that is reserved strictly for yard sales. Inside the box are price stickers and a marker — so he can mark a price on an item as soon as he tosses it in the box.
“That way I don’t worry about staying up all night pricing things before the yard sale,” Schwab said. “It’s never a big deal for me to get ready for a sale.”
A few days before the sale, clean everything that’s going on display. A clean china teacup will probably bring twice as much as a dirty one. “This is my rule: Clean crap brings higher prices,” Schwab said.
Just as retailers make most of their money during a few months of the year, yard sales are seasonal too. Plan your sale for spring or fall, the most popular yard-sale seasons. Summer can be too hot. December and January stink — because people are Christmas shopping or recovering from Christmas shopping.
But don’t get discouraged if you want to clean out the junk in your house now.
“You can get rid of your stuff any time,” said Lisa Neway, an Orlando yard-sale junkie whose real job is as director of professional relations at Columbia Park Medical Center. “True garage-salers will never drive by a sign without stopping — regardless of where they’re heading.”
– Picking a location.
If your house is far from the beaten path, we have three words for you: Location, location, location.
The ideal site for a yard sale, according to regulars, is on a major thoroughfare with plenty of parking — or on a side street located just off a major thoroughfare. In either case, parking is imperative.
If your house or apartment isn’t located in such a spot, get together with friends and hold a multifamily yard sale at the home of a friend with a terrific location.
In the world of yard sales, bigger is definitely better. If the choice is between your measly card table of junk and a five-family garage sale two blocks away, a yard-sale fanatic is not going to stop and shop with you.
That’s why Neway recommends holding a multifamily yard sale with friends. Not only will you have more junk to attract people driving by, but you’ll have your friends to talk to. And here’s another good reason: A friend can stay with the sale while you escape to eat lunch.
Don’t forget to check with your homeowners association or apartment complex. Some have yearly yard sales that will bring in many more people than your piddly one. Plus, the advertising is usually handled by management. All you have to do is set up your tables.
– Best sellers.
You never know what people will buy, but there are some popular yard-sale items. For instance, children’s clothes sell very well, although adult clothing doesn’t. Furniture often sells because there are always young people setting up their first apartments — and desperately in need of furniture.
Dishes are popular too — for people starting out or antiques dealers looking for bargain-basement china or collectibles.
Kids’ toys are also sure sellers, says Cindy Hauck, a Seminole County, Fla., mom and veteran yard-saler. “The way they make kids’ toys today, many are indestructible,” Hauck said. “Some of ours have gone through four kids, and we’ve still gotten good money for them.”
In addition to toys, consider this new entry into the yard-sale market: software for children’s computer games.
Just as there are winners, there also are a number of losers. Adult clothing is the dog of most garage sales — unless it’s really terrific stuff. (This means expensive clothing, hardly worn.) So you might take Maitland, Fla., resident Louise Geib’s approach. As her yard sale started waning, she slashed clothes prices. Dresses that had been marked $3 went down to three for $3.
What else is tough to sell? Broken merchandise.
“The bicycle that doesn’t have a wheel? You put it out and think, `Anybody can put a wheel on that and have a great bike.’ Well, nobody wants to do that,” Hauck said.
– Pricing and displaying.
Not sure how much to charge for some items? Do some homework beforehand. Ask friends who are garage-sale veterans if your prices sound reasonable.
Remember, yard-sale shoppers are looking for bargains. And you, allegedly, are trying to get rid of junk. If your prices are too high, you’ll never unload it.
Some yard-sale veterans suggest that you mark popular items — such as furniture — at 25 percent of what you paid for it. For instance, a sofa for which you paid $200 might sell for $50 if it’s in good shape.
When pricing, however, leave yourself room for negotiation. If you will accept $25 for a dinette, mark it at $30.
Many other items will sell for 50 cents or $1 apiece, including books, picture frames and dishes.
If your prices are too high, don’t worry. The always-vocal yard-sale regulars will tell you. Don’t listen to the first customer who complains; most yard-sale regulars make it a practice to complain about prices. But if you keep hearing that your prices are too high, be prepared to lower them.
How you arrange your merchandise matters. That’s what Schwab discovered a few years ago. During a lull in a yard sale, he began arranging the furniture in his yard as if he were arranging a room. Before he knew it, all the furniture was sold.
Arrange your other wares in some semblance of order. Put similar items together.
If you’ve got adult clothing, hang it near the back of your display. If you’ve all the clothing out front, many prospective buyers will drive right past.
Use tables to display your merchandise — even if you have to lug your dining room table out in the front yard, Neway said. If your stuff is scattered on the ground, you won’t attract many customers because drivers can’t see your merchandise.
– Permits and signs.
Check with your local government about regulations concerning yard sales. Many cities require you to get a permit for a yard sale. Usually the permit is free, but the city of Winter Park, Fla., for example, charges $5. There may be sign regulations that apply, as well.
– Advertising.
To get the best results, you probably should advertise your yard sale.
Classified ads will attract yard-sale junkies, but signs pull in the drive-by peruser. That’s why your signs should be made from brightly colored poster board — the more xbnoxious, the better, Neway said. Don’t forget to list the address on the sign and use arrows to point drivers in the direction of the sale.
– Early bird professionals.
Unfortunately, by advertising your yard sale in advance, you’re alerting flea-market vendors, antiques dealers and other yard-sale “professionals” to your sale.
And they’ll come rapping on your doors two or three hours before the sale is scheduled to start. Some even show up the night before.
To discourage this practice, Schwab tells early birds he will be ready at a certain time and not before. “If they persist, I say: `I will have everything out at 8 a.m. and I will have it out faster if you don’t annoy me,’ ” Schwab said.
