Friday, June 10, 2011

Come Yard Sailing Away

(if you read the title of this post and thought of Styx, you get 10 points)
(since we're keeping track of points......)

So.....I've been to 1 yard sale in my entire life. And I was just tagging along with one of my close friends and her mom while they looked for random furniture to outfit her new apartment. I've never held a yard sale in my life, unless you count the one that my previously mentioned close friend held at her house with some of our stuff which I didn't show up to because I got sick. So, the fact that I'm writing about yard sales today is pretty random.
Just sayin'.

But, there was this AWESOME article in Better Homes and Gardens Magazine last month titled "20 Tips to have your best-ever yard sale" and I can't stop thinking about how I might just want to give it a try. Here are some of the tips that I found super interesting/helpful/useful/etc.:
  1. Consider having your sale near a common payday (the 1st or the 15th) and avoid scheduling your sale during holiday weekends or during a widely attended community event.
  2. Make sure you put price tags on your items, and if you have a fun fact or interesting idea about how to use an item you're selling, include that information on the price tag.
  3. Goodwill.org will help you price your items. Just search for an item you have and it will show you their pricing and you can take it from there.
  4. GSALR.com is a site that helps people plan shopping by finding sales on a map, list your sale on there. Craigslist also has a garage sale section and there is also a virtual sale site called tagsellit.com that is worth checking out.
  5. Make carryout easy. Have plenty of grocery bags and boxes available for people to fill up.
  6. Fill a $1 basket to position near checkout. Shoppers can't resist a final opportunity to dig for a deal!
  7. Cover tables with colorful fabric/plastic/etc. This works on the subconscious: shoppers think your items are worth the price you ask (especially if the items are at eye-level. You should avoid putting items on the ground).
  8. Put the baby clothes and toys in the back so people have to walk through everything else to get to them. They are the hottest items after all!
  9. Last but not least, you can download the Share Our Strength Yard Sale 101 tool kit, price tags and register your sale here. Better Homes and Gardens is encouraging people to sign up for this program and donate what they make at their sale to help end childhood hunger in America.
So, I think I may just try it. I'm always packing up stuff to giveaway, maybe I'll try my hand at selling it in my front yard instead?
Thanks for stopping by! Let me know if you have any other yard sale tips!


2 comments:

  1. I'm not sure how high the traffic is in your neighborhood, but you could totally do it here if you want some serious exposure. Modesto-ans are serious yard-salers and when we had one for girl's camp, there were a bazillion people...just sayin' the offer is out there if you want it, even though hauling stuff over here kinda defeats the purpose haha

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  2. "I thought that they were angels, but much to my surprise, they climbed aboard their starship and headed for the skies!"  Thank you, American Idol Karaoke PS3 game.  

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