Garage sales are a sure-fire way to bring in some cash, and it is immediate cash, too. Spring and summer is the time to hold a garage sale for a variety of reasons. Getting rid of clutter is one reason to hold a garage sale, but money is usually the motivator for getting rid of stuff you no longer need. Clearing out your junk is a good idea, but don’t forget about the buyer end of the garage sale experience. Rummaging through other people’s junk can often render a trove of treasures for the rummagers. Here are five ways to create a positive garage sale experience for potential buyers:
Advertise well. Yes, do utilize your local newspaper to run your garage sale ad, but make sure that you run an enticing ad, which includes running the ad a week early to build up the eagerness of your potential buyers. Name two or three items that you will sell a lot of or maybe even name a few of the larger items you will have for sale. For instance, you can tell that you have a lot of women’s clothing or maybe even an old bed for sale. Focus on what you sell helps funnel the right buyers to your garage sale.
Display color. Color brightens the mood for everyone. Use bright and happy colors to create the posters that you display around town. Don’t stop here, though. Hang out some streamers on the sign posts leading to your garage sale and then have several colorful streamers blowing in the mild wind as the potential buyers approach your garage sale. A festive sale lifts the mood for both the seller and the buyer.
Run several large fans. Rummaging through lots of garage sales can be tiring in even the mildest weather. Experienced garage sale buyers start early to avoid the heat, but the heat and the exhaustion still build quickly because rummaging takes energy. Act thoughtfully toward your potential buyers and circulate the air in the garage with several large fans. Even if you hold your garage sale on a patio or in the yard, it makes it nice to walk by a breeze or two.
Provide bags for items. Providing bags for the purchased items can benefit both the buyer and the seller because the buyer doesn’t have to lug an awkward bundle to the vehicle, and the seller can differentiate between items purchased and items the buyer may pick up to look at when headed toward the vehicle.
Sell bottled water. Maximize your selling potential and sell bottled water. Run down to your local Wal-Mart and buy a large pack of water. You can then come home and ice the water down in a big barrel or bucket and sell the water for double the cost, maybe even more. This makes it nice for the potential buyers because they don’t have to stop and buy soda on down the road.
