Success secrets of making money with yard sale

December 27, 2011 at 6:00 a.m. | Updated January 3, 2012 at 9:15 a.m.


Successful yard sales have several things in common, as experienced sellers understand. There are several tried and true ways to make more money when you host a yard sale. If you are new to the yard sale adventure, these yard sale ideas will help you get off to a profitable start.

Planning ahead

Plan ahead to increase your profits just by following a few tested yard sale tips:

Decide on the sale date. Check long-term weather forecasts for a good day.

Many people have extra money around the first of the month.

Having a sale too close to a holiday is not good; people are busy and may be short on cash.

Fridays and Saturdays are the best days of the week for a yard sale.

Coordinate with other neighborhood sales to capitalize on their advertising.

Find out if a sale license is required.

Borrow tables if needed, and make up your signs. Know how many signs you put out so you can retrieve them all after the sale.

Buy labels and price tags, markers and also a notebook if you want to track sales.

Having your sale in conjunction with neighborhood or street sales are a good way to bring in more traffic to your sale.

Organize everything

A yard sale where items are organized is easier for visitors to navigate and to locate what they want; you are more likely to get sales.

Label items clearly with prices and sizes.

Put like items together on tables or in boxes; it makes it easier for your visitors to locate what they are looking for and faster.

Display items on sturdy tables. Make your own from boards and bricks or sawhorses if necessary. Be careful to keep everything safe so no one gets injured while shopping.

Have items organized with clothing together, tools in another area, and so on to make shopping easier.

Keep expensive items where you or a friend can keep watch over them during the sale.

Have a secure place to store your cash and get plenty of change. Do not use a "cash box"; keep your money on you and periodically take some indoors and stash it in a safe place.

The night before the sale

Get your sale area organized. Outdoor sales must be assembled first thing in the morning, prior to your advertised opening hour. Do not be surprised if you get calls about presales if you have advertised. This is a good time to have friends over who may want to shop your items in advance.

Set your alarm clock -- don't be late for your own sale. Some experienced buyers arrive early for the best selection.

Enjoy a pleasant sale day

With everything organized, relax and enjoy a few hours making money at your yard sale. Near the end, decide what "bargains" you wish to offer, or if you want to repeat the sale the next day or soon after. Consider donating excess items to a charitable organization and take a tax deduction.

Content Provided by Spot55.com


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