Yard sales are a great way to turn your unwanted household items into cash. If you’re looking to declutter, having a yard sale is a great way to make extra space in your home and make some extra income on the side.
However, it can be difficult to pull off a successful yard sale. Even seasoned experts know from experience that without the proper preparation, it’s easy for your yard sale to fall flat. So, to save you a lot of time and hassle, this article will outline the best yard sale tips so that you can have a successful sale and make more money.
If you’ve been scouring the internet for yard sale tips to help take your selling to the next level, you’ve come to the right place because we cover all the details.
Advertise Your Yard Sale
Yard sale tip number one is to advertise. There’s no point having a yard sale if nobody knows anything about it. Yard sale tip number one is to advertise. There’s no point having a yard sale if nobody knows anything about it.
You want to post details about your yard sale everywhere so that people know where and when it is and what kind of stuff you are selling. The best places to advertise your yard sale include:
The more widely you advertise your yard sale, the higher your chances of attracting a large audience. And the more people attending your yard sale, the higher your chances of making more money.
Plan for Parking
Many people hosting a yard sale overlook this important detail; where will people park? It is important to consider appropriate parking arrangements as these will ensure you can accommodate a large volume of extra traffic and protect grass curbs and other car-free areas.
We suggest asking your neighbors whether visitors can park in their driveways. You could also cone or rope areas off to make it clear where no-parking zones are. This will protect grass and garden areas and will also help to keep curb-side parking under control.
💡Top tip: If you simply don’t have the space to accommodate extra cars, consider joining a community yard sale where parking is taken care of on your behalf.
Make Payments Easy
Yard sales used to be exclusively cash-only. However, in today’s digital age, Americans are becoming an increasingly cashless society. This means that if you want to sell more at your yard sale, offering multiple payment options is good.
Please see our suggestions below:
Card Readers: Handheld payment devices are becoming increasingly popular at yard sales as they allow sellers to accept contactless payments. This means your customers have the opportunity to buy more or purchase slightly pricier items without worrying about having limited cash. It’s also a great way to secure payments quickly and negates the need for a trip to the bank to deposit your cash earnings.
Cash: Although few Americans carry cash, some people still bring cash to yard sales, and as such it is good to accept this form of payment. Make sure you have a lockbox or a fanny pack to keep the cash secure and prepare to have plenty of change available.
One of our top yard sale tips is to make payments as easy as possible. It will set you up for success and make your booth more accessible to potential buyers. To give you the best chance at success, we suggest offering both cash and contactless payments to cater to all ages and payment preferences.
Price All Items in Advance
There’s nothing worse than quoting the wrong price because you feel under pressure or put on the spot. That’s why it’s so important to price all yard sale items in advance.
You can buy sticky labels and price up each item correctly before sale day. This ensures both you and your potential buyers know how much everything is. And it also avoids some pretty awkward conversations about price.
Pricing all items in advance also reduces the likelihood of ‘panic pricing’ where someone asks you how much something is and you have no idea, so you just pull a price out of the air. This is very common at yard sales and often results in items being sold for less than they should be – so make sure you learn how to price items correctly. So, being prepared by pricing in advance is key.
Use the Recycle Coach App
If you want to embrace all our yard sale tips, you should download the Recycle Coach App. We like to keep things simple and the Recycle Coach App provides a personalized calendar for residents where you are provided with recycling pick-up reminders, a What Goes Where look-up tool, a calendar highlighting upcoming events, and so much more.
This app is a great tool to utilize if you’re holding a yard sale. After all, you may not sell everything you’re hoping to. And, rather than putting items back in the house the Recycle Coach App helps you organize a recycling collection. It’s the best way to responsibly dispose of leftover items and ensure your yard sale ends with nothing left on the table.
Check All Pockets
If you are selling old clothes, it’s important to make sure all items are thoroughly cleaned and that you’ve checked the pockets for cash or important information. Amidst the busyness of life, it’s easy to stash important receipts, notes, and loose change into the pockets of your clothing and it’s even easier to forget about them.
Many people have lost credit cards, cash, identification cards, and more in this way and it can be a costly mistake.
To avoid giving away more than you bargained for, always check the pockets on clothing items before putting them up for sale. It could save you from giving away something valuable and could protect you against identity theft.
Display Items Creatively
It’s important to make your yard sale as aesthetically pleasing as possible. The prettier your display looks, the more attractive it will be to potential buyers and passersby. Would you sift through a table stacked high with disorderly piles? Probably not. At the very least, it would make it difficult to see each item and find what you’re looking for.
Consider creative ways to lay out your items so they’re more visually appealing. You could separate items by color or theme or consider displaying discounts near the end of the day.
You could also use prop-styling techniques to help buyers visualize what items might look like in their own homes. This is achieved by using tables and chairs as display pieces and arranging smaller items such as vases, books, picture frames, and cutlery into neat groups.
Also, you could consider upcycling items to make them stand out!
To get inspiration, we recommend that you browse shopfront windows to see how the experts create their displays, or check out some inspirational pictures on Pinterest. Make notes of what works and what doesn’t and use your findings to inform your own yard sale display.
Thoroughly Clean All Items for Selling
Everything you plan to sell at your yard sale should be thoroughly cleaned in advance. From clothing to old cutlery sets, everything must be washed and cleaned in preparation for selling.
Even books should be wiped down with a cleaning cloth to remove any excess dirt and dust. You’re more likely to sell items that are clean and in good condition.
Many yard sale tips talk about the joy of decluttering your home but fail to mention the importance of cleaning items you plan to sell.
Whether you’ve just emptied your wardrobe or you’re pulling items out of storage, one of our best yard sale tips is to clean everything thoroughly to give it the best chance of selling. Also, it’s just more hygienic and pleasant for buyers to sift through, so it’s always worth prioritizing if you can.
Final Words
Hosting a yard sale is an exciting opportunity to declutter your home and make some extra cash on the side.
With the right preparation and by following the yard sale tips we’ve shared in this article, you can set yourself up for success. Read our blog for more tips on how to stay sustainable by recycling!
Author Bio
Daniel Groves has a background in Business Economics and is passionate about the growth of sustainable businesses. Daniel has collaborated with many online publications to further develop his knowledge and share his experience with like-minded eco-conscious entrepreneurs, business owners, and growth strategists. Connect with Daniel on LinkedIn.
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