Saturday morning I resumed my garage sale quest looking for bargain clothing for the kids. As I mentioned previously, during the last year I had slacked off on my thrift store and garage sale expeditions, and found myself needing to purchase the kids clothing in stores, sometimes at full price. Gasp! Anyway, it felt good to be back on the beat.

During yesterday’s outing I came across what had to be one of the worst garage sales I’ve ever gone to. Items were stacked haphazardly on one another, nothing was marked with a price, sheets were draped on the driveway and stacked full of clothes that looked like the
dog(s) had rolled in them, and the lady who was running the garage sale kept yelling at all the people shopping to “not walk on the clothes”. This was pretty impossible due to the fact that there was no where else to walk!

Anyway, I haven’t held a garage sale in a long time but I do remember the basics of what makes for a good sale. Here is a list of some things to help facilitate a successful garage sale:

1. Display matters! How you display your garage sale items is important. There needs to be room to walk around and see the merchandise easily, without tripping on something or someone. Display the items to be sold in similar groups. For example, have clothing in areas by size, put all kitchen appliances in one area, place all books together. As the items are picked over, re-arrange as necessary to keep walkways clear.

2. Clearly mark items with a price. If you don’t price items individually, at least put up a sign indicating the price per category. For example, books are 10 cents each, clothing is 50 cents per item. Some people will want to haggle prices anyway, but at least you’ve provided a starting point for the negotiations.

3. Have a pleasant attitude. Be courteous in dealing with the shoppers. Many people like to negotiate so having an approachable attitude can help.

4. Block off items in your garage that are not for sale. Cover the items with sheets or put large signs on items that are not for sale.

5. Enlist help. Make sure you have someone helping you with your sale. Another set of hands can help tidy up or make change.

6. Have small bills and coins ready to make change. Seems like the earliest shoppers are always the ones with the $20 bills!

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