Tips for Holding the Perfect Yard Sale by Rachel Sanfordlyn Shreckengast

---

You’re finally prepared. You have the signs and you have everything organized and fairly priced. What next? Next you need to think about the day of the sale. You should really have at least two people who will sit and wait for customers the entire time that the yard sale will be held. There are a number of reasons for this. First, you may need to go to the bathroom or you may need a drink. It might get busy and two people will be able to handle busy times better than one. You can both help keep things straightened up during non-busy times. You will not get as much theft (yes, there are people who will steal from yard sales). Very few people will need to wait for somebody if both people are there and present during the sale. That means that at least one person should be VISIBLE at all times. If you both stay in the house, you will probably miss a lot of customers. Not only will you miss the people who drive by and notice nobody is there, but you will also miss the people that stop by and can’t find anyone to pay for the items. I once waited around for 15 minutes, and wrote a note that said “I waited for you for 15 min. Was going to purchase $11.50 worth of your stuff, but you were not here. So I left. Thanks anyway.”. It’s too bad actually, because the person had a lot of clothes that would have fit my oldest daughter and also had a nice picture that I wanted for my dining room. Most people won’t wait 15 minutes, they might wait a minute or two, but beyond that you’re pushing it. You can do it with one person, but you need to learn to run fast when you have to go to the restroom and you’ll have to hope that you don’t miss anyone when you have to get something.

The next thing you have to consider is change. Make sure that you have at least $10.00 worth of change. Add in an extra $10.00 to $15.00 worth of small bills. Most people buy with small bills and you’ll need change when they purchase your items. Of course, if you don’t have the bills you’re going to come across the person who wants you to break a twenty for a 75 cent purchase. If you happen to be a yard saler, it’s time for a piece of advice for you. Go to the nearest gas station, get something cheap and break your twenty there. It’s the polite thing to do. If you are the person who is having the yard sale and someone has just relieved you of all or most of your change, you will need to get more. Having another person watch the sale while you go comes in very handy at this point...especially if you have to go to the nearest gas station, purchase something cheap and break the twenty (and hopefully you can see my wry smile as I’m writing this). You’re going to need to have the change as your other customers will likely pay with the small bills! Have a calculator handy to quickly “ring up” purchases and try to have an area (small table) that says “Pay Here” or something similar. You really should keep the majority of the money you make from your yard sale in the house. It just makes sense...there’s less temptation for someone to try to steal your money if you only have a small portion of it visible.

You should run a yard sale like you would run a business. Be polite and professional. You may come across people that would gladly talk to you all day. If it’s during a busy time, just say “I’m sorry, I have another customer” (if you can pull it off, look like you regret it) and start walking away. Of course, you may be the chatty one, and that’s fine as long as you don’t make other customers wait to pay you for their purchases. Another problem may occur if another customer wants to ask you a question and you’re busy chatting with someone else. This is yet another reason that it’s good to have two people, but even if you have two people make sure that you (and they) pay attention to everything that’s going on so that you don’t accidentally miss a sale. One more tip on chatting, it’s really not a good idea to discuss with anyone how much you hate it when yardsalers do . It may be a perfectly valid complaint, but a potential customer may view it as a bad attitude. For example, it may really annoy you that some kids were just playing in your toy box, but the potential customer may be a mother (or sympathetic towards mothers) who left her kids at home with their father. You may lose a sale by being negative...even if you have a legitimate gripe!

Speaking of kids, if you have any and want them to behave fairly well during your yard sale, let them man their own section. For example, you can purchase lemonade and let your kids keep the profits of the sales (25 or 50 cents per small glass). This gives them incentive to behave and gives them incentive to help you set up the yard sale and take down the stuff. Oh, by the way...don’t let them have their hard-earned money until everything is put away and you’ll both be happy. If you have very young children, make sure you have everything they need before you start your yard sale. Make sure that babies have hats (and sunblock), diapers within your reach and drinks (so they don’t get dehydrated). Basically, you should treat it like a day at the beach and act accordingly.

If you want to make your yard sale easier for people who bring their kids to yard sales, please try to insure that the space between tables is large enough to walk in. I know this isn’t always possible, but it’s something you can change in many cases. If you notice that people are having a hard time getting around, you always have the option of changing things around during the sale to insure that people can easily move from one area to another. It’s not always people with kids, it can also be two people passing each other (or at least attempting to do so) in the same aisle.

Of course, running your yard sale like a business means taking advantage of the best day (or days) to have a yard sale. Most shoppers look for yard sales on Saturdays and some of them also look on Fridays. If you want to, you can hold it on both days. If you try to hold it on a non-traditional yard sale day (Sunday through Thursday), you may find that you have very few customers as a result.

You also need to be aware that people will barter and bargain with you. It’s a yard sale and people are looking for bargains, it has no bearing on what they think your stuff is worth or what they think you are worth. If you can’t bear to part with something for a lower price, it’s a good idea to mark “Firm” on the tag or sticker. Otherwise, expect that people will bargain with you. Here’s how to handle it. If someone offers you a price that you think is ridiculously low, don’t get offended. Instead, offer them a price that is slightly higher than the lowest price you are willing to take on the item. Allow them to think it over and don’t say anything unless they give a counter offer. They may take you up on that price. Of course, they may not and may offer a slightly higher price. At that point, you can tell them “this is the lowest price I’m willing to accept” and give them your lowest price that you are willing to accept. They will usually do one of two things, they will either accept your offer or walk away from it. In a very few cases, they might take more time to think about it. You can either accept not making the sale or accept a lower price than you were willing to. The choice is entirely up to you. Just remember that you can ask them for their phone number if you are willing to consider the offer if the item doesn’t sell. Of course, this has it’s own problems...the person might have purchased something else and no longer has the cash to spend on your item or they may have changed their mind about the item itself. Then again, you may sell the item for your asking price sometime during the day. What it comes down to is how badly you really want to get rid of the item. Let this be your guide as only you know how badly you want to get rid of the item.

On the day of the sale, be sure to have plenty of bags handy. It’s going to be hard for people to carry lots of little things and offering a bag is always a nice gesture (even if it’s turned down). Along the same vein, it doesn’t hurt to have a few of those boxes (the ones you used to organize everything) handy for books or larger items. If your yard sale is winding down and you still need to get rid of a lot, start cutting your prices. By this time, you’ll be facing the task of putting everything away (or transporting it elsewhere) and getting rid of the stuff is going to look mighty good to you. If this is the case, one of the best ways to do so is to start marking down. You can do this easily by putting up a sign that says “Everything is 50% off” or “Everything Must Go. Make An Offer!”. Either method will work fairly well, but I tend to prefer the 50% off signs as a customer because it urges me to find that one bargain I know is there.

Having a yard sale is a lot of work, but you will likely make some money and get rid of some of the stuff you no longer want. You’re helping the environment too, by giving your items a “second-life” instead of throwing them out. I hope these tips help you hold a successful yard sale and that you enjoy the opportunity to view my idea of the perfect yard sale. Take the advice and use it to your advantage.

Pages in this Article; Before The Sale, Pricing Your Items, Your Signs, The Day of The Yard Sale, More Resources

Best Wishes,
Rachel Sanfordlyn Shreckengast
062402