5 Best Yard Sale Tips

Now that Christmas is over and the reality of "Where am I going to put that?!" sets in, you may be tempted to start thinking Yard Sale! It's probably too cold in some parts of the country to actually have a yard sale in January, but it's never too early to start prepping for a yard sale. (I'm not naive, I'm just from Southern California where you can go surfing in January, so yard sales are not that uncommon this time of year.)


We had our most successful yard sale yet several months ago, and I have several tips to help make your sale easy, productive, and fun!

1. Start Early
-As soon as I see something that we're going to include in our next sale, I put it in a bin in the garage. That way I know exactly how much stuff I have to sell. This keeps me from scrambling around the day before to find more stuff.
-This also applies to the weeks before your scheduled yard sale. I like to price and sort 2-3 weeks before the sale so I don't get burned out the day before.

2. Get Organized
-Price everything. If something isn't priced or says "best offer," people will be less likely to inquire about an item. This also allows you to confirm the price for those not-so-honest shoppers. It's more time consuming, but it will save you confusion and grief the day of the sale.

3. Grab Some Neighbors
-If you can, try to corral some neighbors into having their own yard sale. A multi-home or neighborhood sale really drives in the traffic! If you market a neighborhood sale on Craigslist or in the paper, you will get many more customers than if you only have a one home sale.

4. Be Realistic
-Just because you had a special bond with your old Teddy Ruxpin or sentimental value because your husband's late grandmother gave you that bowl, your customers aren't going to share that sentimental value. Price something realistically, not what it's worth to you. If you aren't willing to part with something at a reasonable price, you'll probably regret getting rid of it anyway.

5. Sell Something Delicious
-Many states have restrictions for selling homemade goodies, so we sold Costco muffins, Costco cookies, and water at our last yard sale. My daughter stood in front of our house and sold these items (some people came just to buy from the cute little girl) and made a profit of $40 once we took out the cost of supplies!
*A tip on this one...have an adult handle the money and teach your child to pick things up using tongs and not their hands. No one wants food that's been manhandled, then touched with the same hands that have been touching money!

What are your favorite Yard Sale tips?? Please share!

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