3 Tips to Host A Successful Yard Sale

If you’re reading this, chances are you have fond memories of yard sales—it’d honestly be kind of weird to be reading through a yard sale blog if you hate yard sales.

Finding your new favorite jacket or some cool books is a special experience in and of itself, regardless of the context, but there’s a little more that goes into making yard sales the memorable experiences we love to take part in. After all, yard sales are more than just a chance to get rid of things you aren’t using anymore, they’re a chance to socialize with your community. So, how can you make sure that your yard sale is a great experience for both everyone who visits and for you as well? As a self-proclaimed authority on the matter, we’ve got some tips for you.

The Price is Right

Why throw a party if you aren’t going to have fun? A yard sale is a social event too, why have a yard sale if you aren’t going to enjoy it? Making sure your yard sale is a good time for everyone takes a bit of planning, and possibly one of the most important things to plan is how you’re going to handle prices.

Try to work out prices beforehand, and don’t wait until the night before. Your items shouldn’t be too expensive or inexpensive, and that won’t necessarily be something you can just Google out while you’re setting up. You can check eBay or price guides, but to know how much people in your specific community are going to want to pay for specific items, your best bet will be to visit neighboring yard sales and see the prices for yourself.

Good prices will make it more enjoyable for your visitors to buy things, and a smart pricing system will make it less stressful for you during the sale. If things aren’t clearly marked, a lot of your energy is going to go into clarifying prices all day long. If your prices are clearly marked but in awkward quantities, you might be stuck trying to do 4.29 + 9.53 + 29.48 + 2.04 in your head on the fly…nobody wants that. Figure out your prices, set them at friendly increments (like 10 and 50 cents), and mark them clearly!

Pick a Date

Picking a date can be a little tricky, but there are basically two schools of thought. You can go with the popular yard sale months (your neighborhood might even organize a period of time for yard sales to go up), or you can try to be the only yard sale on the block. The former is great because people are encouraged to visit multiple yard sales and are in the mood to socialize and buy your stuff, but you’re also sort of competing with all of the other yard sales. The latter is great because you aren’t competing at all, anyone that wants to visit a yard sale is going to have to come to you! The downside is…what if nobody wants to go to a yard sale at that time? Even if nobody writes them down, popular yard sale dates are fairly consistent for a reason. If you aren’t sure that there’s a trend in your community, try asking around!

The other side to this, even if you’re trying to stand out, is that there are some dates to avoid. Holiday weekends, for example, might seem like a great opportunity to spend some time in your yard getting rid of some junk, but a lot of people are probably going to be traveling or spending time with family. The first weekend with nice weather is another red herring because, while everyone will be excited to be outside, they’re more likely to be active and enjoying the weather than hanging around in your yard.

Be Ready for Haggling

Remember, a yard sale is about getting rid of stuff you don’t use or need anymore. Making money is part of it, but if your priority is decluttering, be ready for visitors to offer less money! What’s the use of spending time to set everything up if you’re just going to be left with the same junk taking up the same space at the end of the day?

We’re not saying you should just give everything away for free, but being flexible with prices can be crucial to making sure you’re sold out by the end of the day. If there are items you’d rather not lower prices on, there are ways that you and your customer can end up getting a good deal. Let’s say, for example, that someone is offering less than what you’re willing to take for your shelf. Try throwing in that lamp you’re just trying to get rid of anyway! They get more bang for their buck, and you get what you want.

Bonus Tip: Know Your Audience

This one ties it all together. Pricing, picking the right date, and knowing how ready you’ll have to be to haggle all hinge on one crucial thing: your audience, or your community. One rule of thumb, for example, is that you shouldn’t be expecting to get a fantastic offer for some collectors’ item or vintage piece of clothing or furniture at a yard sale, since people are typically just looking to spend pocket change on some great deals. However, if you know you live near a bunch of comic book enthusiasts, you might be able to get really good offers on some rare items, especially if you advertise the collection in advance!

This might be the most important part of figuring out how to set up a yard sale, what to sell at a yard sale, how to organize a yard sale, etc. Knowing who might be showing up and what sorts of things they’ll be looking for or interested in can determine what the best course of action is in order for you to get rid of the things you don’t need anymore, as well as getting the best payout for the items that are still worth a bit of money.

In the same spirit, if you’re looking to target a specific community with your selection, knowing when to set up a yard sale or even where to set up a yard sale might be answered with a bit of preemptive survey work. Whether it be on community bulletin boards or on online forums, and taking the time to see when members of this niche or community are available in the first place. Then setting up your yard sale according to those results can make sure you get the appropriate turnout for the results you want to see. When it comes to community and yard sales, niches are cool too!

All in all, a yard sale should be a great experience for everyone involved, and with these fantastic tips and some careful planning, it should be a breeze for you as well. So gather your junk, check those prices, pick a date, and long live the yard sale!