Tips for a Successfully Organized Garage Sale

I LOVE having garage sales! I grew up with them and they were a big family event! I continued on with my own garage sales once I became a military spouse! We all know the worry about being “over-weight” when you PCS, so whether you do an annual purge or just a big one right before the PCS, a garage sale may be a great way to get rid of all the things while putting a bit of cash back into your pocket! At every sale that I have, the comment “you are so organized” gets shared with me many times! So, I wanted to share some of the organizational tips I have for having a successful sale!

My first organizational tip for your next garage sale it to have tables (or create some) to help lay out your items! There can be a variety of sizes out there, but to help get things up and off of the ground. I have used everything from plastic totes, card tables, dining room tables, plastic tables, and even 2 sawhorses and a piece of plywood! Since I do at least 2 yard sales a year most years, and I tend to make a good chunk of change, I took a bunch of my earnings a few years back and started buying 6 ft. plastic tables. We tend to put up over 15+ tables per sale, now that we are in our forever home, however, that is on the high end of a normal sale for sure! Please note that I have family and friends who also contribute items as well, and with all of our moves, I always have more things to purge! Also, take a little bit of time to make the tables look nice and organized. If you “display” your items so your shoppers can see everything available, you are more likely to sell those items!

We have 3 different clothes racks now, but we have used a bar with 2 ladders, made our own from wood, bought simple ones from a big box store, and we ended up with the 3 that we have now from stores that were closing and selling everything out of the store. Then, to help keep the sizes separated, we use these round Closet Dividers for some of the racks and these Rectangle Clothing Size Dividers for the other racks! If you need to put your clothes folded on tables, please make them organized…sort by types (boys, girls, men’s, women’s, etc.) and by sizes is even more helpful! Then, tape a simple sign that let’s people know what they are looking at! This helps keep your tables more organized as they aren’t making crazy piles!

One big thing to remember is to label everything! This is helpful for you and your potential shoppers. When it says “Make Me An Offer”, that can be intimidating, as I might have wanted way more then they just offered, which just leads to frustrations on both sides and NO SALE was probably made!

When it comes to labeling, price it to sell! Don’t price it emotionally, which is sometimes hard to do! Think to yourself, if I went to someone else’s yard sale, what would I be willing to pay for this?!?! With some of your higher priced items, you may want to bump the price up (just by a little bit) so that you have negotiating room to hopefully get the prices you want!

We have tried all sorts of ways to label clothes…on the inner tags, on the clothing, on the hangers, one price fits all, and who knows how else! However, this last yard sale, I invested in a couple of Tagging Gun Kits with Hard Storage Case (includes extra needles and barb fasteners) and these Unstrung Marking Tags. What a game changer for me!

These labels are also amazing for items like larger bedding, towels, and other items that aren’t always easy for the labels to stay on in the weather! The other way we label these bigger items is with a “sunburst” tag and a large safety pin.

In addition to labels, we sometimes add additional pictures/explanations that we print out and attach with packing tape! Especially, if we have things disassembled already!

They have shopped and now it is time to pay! First and foremost…Cash is King! Get a basic cash box or have a way to hold your money so that it isn’t out for all to see, like a money bag! You will want to have some change as many people will hit the ATM on the way to the sales. So, be prepared to take a lot of $20 bills as the day begins! I always get WAY TOO MUCH change so that way I don’t have to stress, but I keep that inside in a separate area away from the crowds!

HOT TIP – Every once in a while, take all of your big bills and larger/fuller stacks of cash and put them inside the house for safe keeping or in your pocket. This helps your cash out area not look tempting for those who may be looking for opportunities to make poor choices at your expense…literally!

ANOTHER HOT TIP – I don’t price anything under 25¢ so that I don’t have to deal with dimes, nickels, or pennies for the most part! I either mark it for FREE or put a few smaller items together into a baggie to make it for a quarter!

Now, in this day and age, not everyone keeps a lot of cash on them! I print a poster on super bright paper or card stock that includes my available payment options as there are so many available! I got a Square Reader many years ago, and actually upgraded it to a nicer one, since I use it a lot. This is great to take credit and debit card payments and then, you can also take payments from the variety of websites and apps, like Paypal, Venmo, Cash App, and more!

REMINDER – Don’t forget to check with the current IRS rules for sales amounts for your state, as you may get a 1099-K if you exceed those amounts!

I wish you all the success possible with your next garage sale! Good luck bringing in all the money for your pockets while purging at the same time!

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