The sun is shining, the weather is fine. Yes Summer is the time of year when the only event as popular as the Saturday backyard bar-b-cue is the yard sale.

Having a yard sale is a way to clean out the house of unwanted items and pick up some extra money. It’s also a great way to help the environment by recycling your unwanted items into the hands of someone who doesn’t mind buying used and looking to save some money.

Here are some tips to help you have a successful yard sale. And remember, if at the end of your sale you still have items to get rid of you can always post them on Freecycle. Just look for your location at http://www.freecycle.org

Instructions

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Step 1

Gather together all your yard sale items. Be sure to clean off those things that have been gathering dust in your garage and attic. No one will buy that set of glassware if they’re afraid to touch it.
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Step 2

It’s time to get down to pricing and you need to be sure to price things to sell. People who go to yard sales are looking for bargains and REALLY good deals, even lower than prices found at thrift or consignment shops.

Seasoned yard sale shoppers are prepared to haggle and will ask if you “can do better” on the price your asking. So, you should expect the price you put on your items to be the starting point for any haggling that may happen. Of course you don’t need to go down on your price at all, but if you do you should decide on the lowest price you’re willing to accept first.

Make sure you put tags or stickers on all your items.
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Step 3

You’ve cleaned and priced your items, now it’s time to get the word out. There are two ways to generate traffic to your sale; Internet Classifieds and Posters.

ONLINE: Post your yard sale information on your local craigslist at http://www.craigslist.com. Be sure to post in both the event and for sale sections and include the date, time and location. Put in a list of some of the items you’ll be offering as well as photos if possible. The list of items will help your yard sale listing come up when someone searches for a specific item like sofa or exercise bike rather than yard sale.

POSTERS: Make it easy for everyone to find your sale. You’ll want to make lots of easy to read signs to direct people to your sale. Use white or brightly colored paper and a big black sharpie. Make two types of signs.

For posting around your neighborhood include the words YARD SALE in big bold letters as well as your address, date and time.

For signs on major roads all you need are the words YARD SALE in big bold letter and an arrow pointing the way to your yard sale. Unless they’re stopped at a light, drivers don’t have time to slow down and read the address of your yard sale.
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Step 4

A few things to keep on hand to help move a sale along.

BATTERIES and/or POWER STRIP: No one wants to buy anything electronic without knowing if it works first. Be sure to have batteries or a power strip on hand for people to test your yard sale items to make sure they are working. Remember to take the batteries out of the item before selling it or that buyer will be walking away with a really good deal.

TAPE MEASURE: How tall is that chest of drawers and will it fit into my car or into my bedroom? It’s always good to have a tape measure on hand to answer any size questions.
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Step 5

The typical hours for a yard sale are 8:00 am to 2:00 pm. Beware of the early birds trying to haggle for a deal before anyone has a chance to look over your wares.

A great way to move sales along and get rid of those items you can’t bear to pack up again is to have a “sale” at your yard sale.

Prior to the yard sale make a sign that says “Everything on this table 1/2 price after 12:00″ Put the sign on the table around 11:40. The people who are shopping might pick up a second item from that table and shop your yard sale a bit longer.

Another sale at your yard sale idea is to have a $1 table and make a sign that reads “buy 4 get one FREE”. It will get people to buy multiples and clean out your yard sale stash that much quicker.
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Step 6

Keep all small valuable items close to you. You might want to put that costume jewelry at the end of the driveway leading into your yard sale to draw in customers, but most likely it will draw sticky fingers instead.
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Step 7

Use old plastic bags, boxes and newspaper to package your items. Your yard sale customers will appreciate you for it.
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Step 8

Put these yard sale tips into play and your sure to succeed.

By alcookie12