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You are here: Home / Frugal / Yard Sale Tips

Yard Sale Tips

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April 30, 2014 By Jennifer Lambert 8 Comments

How to have a yard sale and make a million bucks $700.

I am amazed at how successful our yard sale was. I expected a couple hundred dollars, spending money for our travels, a buffer to help us out.

I’ve analyzed what we did and I hope it can be duplicated so you can have a great yard sale too!

How to have a successful yard sale:

  • planning

  • preparing

  • purging

  • praying

How to Have a Successful Yard Sale

I realized I’m moving in two months. In two months! Like, out of the country. To a foreign country. With houses much smaller than I’m used to having.

I walked from room to room in despair, disgusted at myself that I accumulate so much STUFF – nine years of marriage, almost four in this particular house, four kids, two cats.

We don’t need this much STUFF.

Stuff ≠ happiness.

I made lists.

I love making lists! Made a list for items to put in storage. Another list for items to sell or donate. Finally, I felt like I was accomplishing something.

I set a date for the sale.

I put it on my calendar which syncs with my husband’s and all our devices. He took leave from work on the Thursday before and Friday, the first sale day. It’s on like Donkey Kong.

I advertised.

I placed an ad in our local paper online for free! I also listed our two big items that we had to sell in separate free classified ads – the 40 gallon aquarium and my big L-shaped desk with hutch. (The aquarium  – with 9 fish and live plants – sold for $50 to a man who raises angelfish for a living – several days before our yard sale!) Our son was so happy his fish would have friends.

I sorted.

I organized clothes and homeschool materials. I started stacking items for sale in our laundry room. I could barely do laundry for a month. I added to the list. I did a little more each day.

I purged, organized, compartmentalized, rearranged – and suddenly, I have three empty rooms. Seriously. In our basement, I have three empty rooms, like, completely empty. It’s crazy.

I cried a little when I clear off several bookshelves.

My husband helped me go through the cellar (there are spiders in there!) and he cleaned out his military gear and donated most of that to Liz’s Civil Air Patrol squadron.

The day before our sale!

We borrowed tables from church. I stacked everything in the garage. My husband carried out the bigger items. The huge desk stayed put. And we prayed.

The first morning of the sale!

Friday. My husband set up the tables and the kids helped set everything out. People arrived before sunrise. We didn’t even have time to put price stickers on anything. We agreed that we just want to get rid of everything as quickly as possible so we set the prices super low. My husband has the Square Register app on his phone so we could take cash or cards.

My eldest daughter was is in charge of the cash register (she used their toy cash register that has a real working calculator.) I taught her to keep all the bills turned the same way and in their slots. I explained that it’s important to out the customer’s money on the table before getting change. Never immediately put a customer’s money in the register. Never leave the register unattended.

One lady asked my husband how much something was and he responded that it was $5. She exclaimed: “No! It’s worth at least $10!” and made him take a ten dollar bill. Another customer made him repeat himself three times that our recliner really was only $20. It was in fine condition, nothing wrong with it. She was overjoyed.

The first day we made about $400 and sold much of the “good stuff.”

People were impressed with the Square Register app and one older man joked that no one could haggle with us if we took credit cards!


The second day’s forecast was supposed to be rainy so we set up the remainder on tables inside our garage and put an easel at the end of the driveway.

We sold the big desk with hutch to a young man with a new startup home business for only $50.

It only drizzled a tiny bit so we still had lots of customers.

Several men asked to buy items right off our garage shelves. I sold two snow shovels that were hanging on the wall. We still have several, so we’re good.

Several families with vanloads of kids came and almost destroyed my setup! I had to straighten my tables several times.

Some people are strange. A couple ladies got irritated with me when I tried to tell them that a curriculum was a set and they should take it all together instead of just one piece. But if they don’t want the teacher manual or manipulatives, I shouldn’t argue!

I was surprised that more clothing didn’t sell. We had a laundry basket full of too-small summer dresses in great condition. Last year, we sold a ton of clothing – in and out of season.

In the afternoon, we decided to close up because the weather turned cold and rainy, so it was perfect timing. We shut our garage doors to clean up.

We made $700 in two days.

Y’all. Seriously. After I cleaned up from the sale, I took away two vanloads – one to donate to the thrift store and one to trade in at the consignment shop. Also, I donated two bags of winter items to our church for the annual rummage sale.

It was liberating to be done with all that stuff.

Get your FREE downloadable garage sale sign kit!

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Filed Under: Frugal Tagged With: declutter, frugal, organize, simplify

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Comments

  1. future.flying.saucers says

    May 1, 2014 at 2:27 pm

    I love having garage sales! Congrats on doing so well. :) I’m just sad you have to move.

    Reply
  2. Tiffany @ Stuck on a Cloud says

    May 2, 2014 at 10:08 am

    Congrats on your yard sale!! We are military family and had our hand full of garage sales, it is nice to get rid of all that junk. Good luck on your move, I would love to go aboard.

    Reply
  3. Clare says

    May 5, 2014 at 7:10 am

    Wow! That’s a great amount to take from a yard sale. Good luck with your move. #supermommyclub

    Reply
  4. Adelien Tan says

    May 7, 2014 at 2:43 am

    A great amount of money to get. Congratulation! I really love the tips. I have never seen people have any garage sale here. Thank you for sharing. Wish you all the best for your move.

    Reply
  5. Brittany says

    May 30, 2014 at 3:17 am

    This looks like a yard sale I would really like to attend. Lord willing I will at some point stumble upon a yardsale of a homeschooler!

    Reply
  6. sia says

    June 14, 2014 at 2:22 pm

    cool!. I’m glad that it was a success!. You could also advertise in craigslist or in http://www.garagesalecow.com for free!

    Reply
  7. Catdaddy says

    February 27, 2015 at 3:19 pm

    You gave some great tips. I’m looking to having a yard sale sometime later on in the spring. I think I’m going to try a couple of different twists. I going to sell concessions; grilled steak sandwiches & grilled polish sausages, chips on the side; peach tea & root beer floats, and that’s it. I’m starting the sale at 9:30 to 3;30 to help entice the concessions & also to as an attention getter. What do you all think? Any other ideas, suggestions. tips are appreciated.

    Reply

Trackbacks

  1. Chore Ideas By Age says:
    April 22, 2015 at 11:37 am

    […] a yard sale (I love that my eldest is a whiz with customer service and money and I can just […]

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