How to Organize a Garage Sale to Maximize Profits

Preparation

Collect your items and gather them in preparation for the sale. After you have collected what you no longer need or use, why not make some money?

To prepare for the sale you will need to sort items into household, clothing, toys, etc…

Then you sort these categories by price. In general, you’re having a garage sale to get rid of things and make extra cash, so, you will need to price items at about ¼ to 1/10 of the original price you paid. You can sell higher-ticket items for more on garage sale apps.

Think about it this way: you have no use for the items now. You can get rid of items you no longer use, which take up space in your house, and, on top of that, make money. It’s a win-win no matter what price you sell at.

I remember selling rusty old mountain bikes for two bucks. I was so relieved not to have to take them back into the house. And, I had $2.

You can purchase neon price stickers at the dollar store, as well as small neon signs for pricing a category. It’s much easier to price when you use more valuable items to set the price for everything else.

For example, for shoes, you want to price the brand name all at a similar price, and all the regular shoes at a lower price, and flip flops at the lowest price.

If you have lots of the same category of a lower priced item, like a bunch of picture frames or dishes, you can place them in a box, putting them all for sale for $2, $3, or $5, instead of pricing them individually. You can place a sign next to anything that stacks, like plates or bowls.

Keep in mind the condition of an item. If you paid $25 for a concert t-shirt, but it’s faded or the band is no longer popular, price it at $2. If someone offers fifty cents, say, “It’s yours.”

You probably would not have sold it, and now you have one less item in your house and change in your pocket.

Setup

To set up your clothing items, you will want hangers. Put hooks on a wall and run a rope across to hang things on. Most people don’t like going through piles, so the extra effort to hang clothing will create more sales.

If using hangers isn’t an option, try to elevate items so people can sift through them easily.

If you don’t have tables, you can lay them on the ground with cardboard underneath, so they are easily visible. If you use shelves, you need them against the wall for safety. Keep everything visible and accessible.

Advertising

Purchase large neon poster boards at the dollar store. The lettering needs to be extra bold or black. If you live in a city where lots of traffic comes from the main road, you can simply place signs with large direction arrows. In more suburban areas, you may need to include the address.

Hang these flyers at places like grocery stores or gas stations with the date and time of the sale.

On the day of, you can post the direction signs. In either situation, check your city laws to check how you’re allowed to post signs. If you post in front of a store, ask the store owner.

The best way to advertise is to post online at Craigslist and garage sale finder sites the night before. Garage sale forums require you to input the dates, times, and locations.

You can add pictures and list the items you’re selling. You should also add general directions for those who don’t use a GPS, and note for them to look for bright signs.

Depending on where you live, you can have avid garage sale shoppers in your area who like to come early and purchase most items before there are slim pickings. They will come at the time that you post.

Since the rest of the world is likely to leave around eight AM, you should post your sale for six or seven AM, so you can get rid of most items in the first rush. Be sure to post the closing time so people don’t go out of their way to come, only to find that you’ve closed up. I’ve found noon is when traffic slows to a crawl.

After the sale

Pack up the rest and bring it to the donation center, put that money in the bank, and go shopping for new clothes for your growing children. Don’t bring the items back inside. You didn’t want them. You couldn’t sell them. Put them to good use and help others.

I recommend selling higher ticket items like appliances and baby gear on garage sale-type apps instead. You can get more for them.

How to organize a garage sale

I hope you learned something about how to organize a garage sale. What tip did you find the most helpful? Leave a comment and let us know.