Tips and Facts About Holding a Garage Sale

After just two days of selling my used things at our garage sale, I have learned a ton that I want to pass on to all of you.

FACTS:

• Get your change early.
• People will come early.
• Garage sales are emotional – A family told us how they just moved here from Mexico, one man explained that he only has 2-4 months to live due to a brain tumor, and the woman who used to own my friend’s house showed up in tears and told us how she used to hold a garage sale with her late husband every year.  I definitely was no prepared for any of that.
• People seem to come and go in groups, even when they are not together.  When you see one person walk up, be prepared for a dozen others.
• Having some form of entertainment close by during the lapses of time when nobody stops by your sale will make time go faster.
• Something unexpected will happen and you will need to think on your toes.
• People are not always as honest as you would like to think.  One group that came in asked about our unmarked kid’s clothes (one of my friend’s sister in laws joined the sale at the last minute and had no time to price her kid’s clothes) which we told them were 50 cents or a dollar, depending on the type.  We then said that if something is not marked, just ask.  Well then they kept coming up to use asking, “How much for this?” and “How much for that?”  When they left, stickers were all over the ground.  They peeled off the stickers and got better deals on some things because we couldn’t remember what we marked them as.  I also had an incident where I’m pretty sure a mother prompted her son to steal something.  I’m not sure, but it was a little creepy, so I let it slide.
• A calculator will be your best friend; don’t be afraid to use one.
• You can never have too many plastic bags at a garage sale.
• Garage sales make for great people watching.  You will notice every single person that comes through pick up the same object.  You will hear funny conversations.  You will see all sorts of people.
• You will vow to never hold a garage sale again, but you will probably break that vow regularly because at the end of the day, seeing your stuff go to people who need it more than you do is very rewarding.  Plus, a little extra cash never made a person frown.

TIPS:

• Be prepared to deal with people who have no idea how to haggle.  I had many people express that they didn’t want to pay the price listed ($3 for a nice food processer – really people?).  I asked them how much they were willing to pay – since my price is already listed it is their turn to give me a price.  I believe that is how haggling works.  Most of the time, they would just shrug their shoulders and say, “I don’t know.”  It is really hard to haggle with people who won’t shoot you back with a price.  Each time you give them another number, they shrug their shoulders again.  It’s like haggling with a wall.  It’s annoying, but I still got some things sold and was satisfied.  A couple times, however, the person walked away.  Sometimes you can’t win.  If you don’t know what their ideal price is, how can you ever sell them something?
• Be prepared to deal with people who want to haggle on everything.
• Be prepared to answer lots of questions about items.
• Wear sunscreen.  My scalp and the backs of my elbows burned.  Enough said.
• Remember – you want to get rid of your stuff. Think of it this way when you feel uneasy taking an offer – if you came to your own garage sale, would you buy anything?  Of course not – why would you be selling it if you would still buy it?  Don’t expect everyone else to want your used things either, so when someone makes you a reasonable offer, don’t over think it.  If nobody else has shown any interest in it, chances are they won’t later, so you are better off taking the offer.  This doesn’t hold true for everything, but for most things.  You’ll be happier at the end of the day when you see most of your stuff gone than you will be knowing you still have to get rid of everything for no money in your own pocket.
• Having one person at the end of the driveway and one at the back is helpful when many people are around.  One can be taking money while the other greets people and answers questions.
• Dress appropriately.  It was a little chilly in the morning the first day and by the afternoon it was scorching hot.  Luckily, I pack for all scenarios, so I could change into lighter clothing.  I would have hated lugging tables and boxes around when packing up on day one with dark jeans and a long sleeve shirt.
• Plan where you will store everything overnight before the sale.  We didn’t do this, and because our sale was all outside (nothing in the garage the first day), we had to carefully think of how we would stay away from packing everything back up into boxes.  We came up with a solution, but it would have saved time to have planned it out earlier.
• Try to hold your own sale.  I know multi-family sales bring attention to buyers, but they are much more work than having a sale at your own house.  We wouldn’t have had to color code, organize, and put our initials on everything.  We wouldn’t have had to each put $30 in for change and divide up all the money at the end of the day.  When you end up with less money than you should have based on all the price stickers in your notebook, who do you take that away from?  You don’t have to worry about planning with other families and storing your stuff at other houses. In general, it is much easier to procrastinate, set up, sell, take down, and ultimately survive a garage sale when everything is your own.  If you hold regular multi-family garage sales, then kudos to you.  I don’t think I could do it again for a few years (and hopefully with my new less-is-more motto, I won’t have much to sell in a few years).

I sure have learned a lot!  I hope this was helpful for others who may hold a sale in the future or hold one from time to time and want to learn from others’ experiences.  I know I missed a lot, so feel free to add more in the comments.

Now, enough about garage sales!