major yardsale.. need ideas!

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Started 2 years ago by chiwi
Latest reply from trillie
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chiwi
Member

i received such amazing advice & tips in my post "newbie feeling suffocated" that i decided to tackle as many boxes as possible today. as mentioned before, i'm a major impulse shopper at dollar stores. yesterday i emptied a box (donated/gave away) full of kitchen utensils. yay!

i'm planning to have a yardsale with items priced 25/50 cents & $1. i have around 30 large bins (maybe more?) filled with dollar store items - trinkets.. stationary.. holiday.. books.

i've never had a yardsale and don't know how i'll set up everything since i don't have tables for display. anybody have ideas? i'll be borrowing my friend's yard next weekend for the sale. hubby is helping me price things and box them too. as of tonight i have 4 boxes packed for the sale. :D

Posted 2 years ago #
Lounger
Member

An old blanket on the ground (on a dry day) should be fine. But the higher up the better so that people don't have to stoop down to see your goods. How about turning the large bins upside down and covering with a cloth to use as surfaces to display stuff?

You could also group things together (ie the stationery, or trinkets that might appeal to the same person) to sell as one item. Good luck with it!

Posted 2 years ago #
365lessthings
Member

I have written a blog post on this very subject you will find it at http://www.365lessthings.com/?p=92

As for displaying your stuff. Try to beg borrow or steal (maybe not steal) some tables from friends, relatives or who ever. You will always do better with a garage sale if the items are easy to see and or sort through. Old doors on trestles, small bookcases, shelving etc also work well.

Posted 2 years ago #
Sky
Member

Have lots of change and small bills. Good luck!

Posted 2 years ago #
trillie
Member

What a good idea! I think you're lucky because unlike a lot of people on this forum, you don't seem to feel sentimentally attached to your clutter and are just able to say, hey, let's have a yardsale next week, all this stuff has to go... ;o)

A friend of mine went to a fleamarket with her stuff, and had decided beforehand that she didn't want to take anything home again. So during the last hour, she gave everything that had not been sold away for free, and the rest that noone wanted was donated or trashed. I think when you have that yard sale (and it looks like you have to transport all your stuff to your friend's yard, and the leftovers back again?), you could give this a thought before. Depends on how badly you want it all gone, I guess ;o)

Aaand... two links in case you didn't see these posts yet (be sure to read the comments, too)...
* http://unclutterer.com/2007/07/30/yard-sale-preparation/
* http://unclutterer.com/2008/08/29/yard-sales-an-unclutterers-ultimate-how-to-guide/

Posted 2 years ago #
Mrs.Mack
Member

I came in here to post about the second link trillie listed. It's really helpful, as well as the comments in that post!

Posted 2 years ago #
ArtGal
Member

Make each potential customer feel like they are most wondrous! Greet each one...ask them if they are looking for something in particular...then tell them if they have any questions, just let you know, and then be AVAILABLE if they have any questions. (OK, don't be a pest...but, you know what I mean! :)
Sounds like common sense, but I am floored by the number of sellers that ignore their buyers (i.e. talking on their cell phones, listening to their iPod, mowing their grass, etc...one lady at a garage sale I attended sat in her lawn chair popping her boyfriends zits - ICK!!!)
You will be amazed at the number of sales you make if you just pay attention to the people...and they tend not to talk you down on your prices as much too! :)

Posted 2 years ago #
Amy
Member

DH & I recently went to assist his parents with a garage sale. Each of them has their own storage shed in the back yard and their favorite hobby is going to the flea market, weather permitting, and purchasing things to fill theor individual storage units, so of course, eventually a garage sale is called for.

After making about $300.00 each, after three days in the GA heat, it occurs to me that they would have done better by donating the items to the Goodwill and taking the tax deduction.

Oh well. My best advise for holding a garage sale is to be sure you have a "draw".

Which garage sale do you stop for, the one with moldy looking clothes, or the one with a few pieces of furniture or antiques out front?

The draw for the in-laws garage sale was an old rocking chair and a big ladder.

Works every time.

Posted 2 years ago #
MellieTX
Member

As Artgal said, be kind to your customers. It can be a lot of fun to chat with everyone, and essentially they are paying YOU to haul your unwanted items away. It also helps to resolve that the rest goes to donation immediately after the sale. Good luck!

Posted 2 years ago #
Demerna
Member

If you are doing a two day sale, think about the second day being half off. That way you will clear out the not so popular items. Or if you are just having a one day sale put a sign up stating the last two hours will be half off. You will be shocked the number of people who will come back to get half off a fifty cent item.

Posted 2 years ago #
chiwi
Member

such awesome tips from everyone, thanks! :) i thought of doing the tax deduction but i like the idea of getting the money now. plus i've never had a yardsale and it looks like fun - i'm the "experience" type - and i'm chatty so mingling with new folks to open their wallets is cool.

today i set aside 8 bins bringing my total to 12! almost every item is new or in the packaging. after coming home i would put them in a box when i found the "right spot" or "right time" to display or use them. many boxes had the items STILL in the store's bag with receipt (oldest was dated 2004 when i was a teen). i haven't seen most stuff in a couple years so there aren't attachments. i laughed at some purchases because they were tacky. of course at the time i thought it was cute or pretty but not anymore. :D

lounger - thanks for the upside down bin makeshift table idea. as my treasures dwindle at the yardsale i plan to sell the boxes too.

Posted 2 years ago #
chiwi
Member

oh and with my yardsale money i plan to split the cash 50/50. half will be a shopping spree at a DEPARTMENT store, half will help pay my credit card. i'm loving the shopping part. i always spend crazy at dollar stores but then i won't buy anything at the department store b/c it's "expensive". phht!

Posted 2 years ago #
bandicoot
Member

do you truly need anything at the department store....right now?
i'd put the lot on the CC. get rid off that debt!
go out and look at the bins of brand new unopened stuff and ask yourself if you aren't just swapping one set of junk for another set of junk, albeit more expensive junk?
i know...i am old and boring, lol...but i hear SHOPPING SPREE and it worries me.
put the garage sale money on your credit card, look hard at the balance and then decide if you want to go shopping so badly that you will drag the balance up again.
get into the habit of living debt free right now and you will save yourself a lifetime of grief. srsly!
ok, the lecture portion of this post is over.
if i was running a monster garage sale in the summer, i'd serve iced tea and homemade cookies. it's a good way to rotate baking supplies too.

Posted 2 years ago #
chiwi
Member

lol, you're not old & boring, bandicoot. i do value your advice. :) i thought of putting the money on the CC but i do need new clothes. my current clothes are unacceptable for work (boss said so) and my casual/weekend pieces are so faded that i've had people give me money because they thought i was homeless. i'm not a namebrand type so i feel very much in control.

honestly, and i feel bad for saying this, but "expensive" for me is a tanktop over $2 or pants over $4. my clothes are thrift and i just pair stuff together. i don't even like what i wear, i just wear it because it fits. there's no style and the colors aren't even flattering. i think that's why i have low self-esteem too. my aunt is helping me with a wardrobe makeover since she knows about clothes/my work/my lifestyle. she's very successful and always looks like a million bucks without breaking the bank. she does a lot of mix/match and in the end she has sooo many outfits from just a couple pieces. :)

Posted 2 years ago #
chiwi
Member

aww the tea & baked cookies sound yummy for a sale but that's illegal down here. you need a permit and health inspector because it's food. bottled water or canned drinks are okay though. :)

Posted 2 years ago #
bandicoot
Member

i want your aunt to come and organise me too.
it doesn't matter what i wear, i always look kinda crumpled and casual.
it's ok for my lifestyle, but it would be weird elsewhere no doubt.

well, if your job demands it, then good clothing is part of the dealio.
i'm all for the work uniform idea.....get a few good basic separates in mono colours that really suit you and then dress them up with bargain accessories.
spend up on the basic pieces and get good quality....because you can then wear them to death. it's cheaper in the long run.
i wish i'd learned that earlier in life, too, lol.

Posted 2 years ago #
trillie
Member

chiwi, did you hear my jaw drop? "almost every item is new or in the packaging", wow. I think it's absolutely great you are tackling this now and that you don't have a sentimental attachment and thus an easy time selling everything. I bet your yard sale will be fruitful ;o)

RE: the work uniform, there is a great thread in this forum about Minimalist wardrbe/personal uniform and there are a few posts by Erin on Unclutterer.com on wardrobe building (just search for wardrobe in the search box on the blog). I think if you're building a work wardrobe practically from scratch, it might be good to think about where to start or what you want your basics to be before you go shopping. In the future, like someone in your other thread suggested, it might be good for you to assign yourself an allowance for new clothes so you can expand your wardrobe. Most of all, your aunt sounds fantastic -- you two are going to have fun! :o)

Posted 2 years ago #
Claycat
Member

Chiwi, I had 2 estate sales last fall and participated in the city wide garage sale this spring. I discovered some really important things. I used craigslist to list the estate sales. I live in a rural area about 50 miles from Austin. No one came from Austin, and I had some really nice stuff I was selling for my MIL. I advertised in two local newspapers in this town and a nearby town. People did see those ads. Plus, I put up signs in the morning on the days of the garage sale. Big signs, with big black letters! People can't see those little signs with ball point pen writing.

I did okay with the estate sales, but a rural sale just isn't going to do that well. If you live in an urban area, and have clear directions to your location, you will do well.

I was more pleased with the city wide garage sale in the spring. I took my things and put them next to a gift shop right near the town square. Several people set up there. It turned out to be the best thing! It was easy for people to find us, and having a larger group of sellers there brought more people. That way we all did well! :)

Posted 2 years ago #
trillie
Member

So how did the yardsale and the clothes shopping go? (That was last weekend, wasn't it?) :o)

Posted 1 year ago #
chiwi
Member

@trillie - awww thanks for remembering! the yardsale is this weekend on the 5th, just in time for people's paychecks. :D

i wasn't here a couple days so i didn't post my "dollar bins" progress. to start i had 33 rubbermaid bins, now i'm down to the last 5, yes!!!

Posted 1 year ago #

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