One great way to cut down on the sheer amount of movable items you’ll have is to objectively look at your everything you own (and have been storing over the years), and then decide what you really want or need to keep.  You’ll be surprised at what you may find lurking in the back of the closet or in the attic that you no longer need and can no longer use. 

Old clothes, toys, furniture and many other items can be sold in Garage Sales or donated to any number of national or local charitable organizations. Here are a few tips for holding a successful garage sale. 

Give Yourself Time to Prepare

Successful garage sales are not held spur of the moment.  You’ll need time to organize, price and perhaps clean up the items you hope to sell.  You should select a sale date well in advance, at least two to three weeks.  Fridays and Weekend afternoons are popular Garage Sale dates in North Idaho and Eastern Washington, but check the calendar to ensure your planned date doesn’t conflict with a holiday, or special event in your community.

If you know your neighbors well or have relatives nearby, you may wish to hold a joint sale with them.  More sale items on display will attract more “drive by” customers to stop and shop.

Pricing Your Items

First-time garage sale holders will often overprice their goods, for sentimental reasons, and less frequently, underprice items that may be collectable.  Before you set your prices, you should visit other garage sales to get a feel for prices, and be realistic when pricing your items.  (Try to resist the urge to buy new items at these sales.)  You may check reasonable pricing on internet auction sites such as Ebay or Craig's List if you have an item that seems rare or collectible.

After setting your prices, you should purchase self-adhesive or tie-on tags at an office supply store and affix a tag to each item with the price clearly displayed. Make sure that the tags are firmly attached.  If you are holding a joint garage sale, keep a log of items sold, or mark price tags with seller's initials to ensure you fairly split the proceeds of the sale. 

Garage sales tend to bring out the haggler in everyone, even the seller.  Don’t be offended if you find buyers hoping to bargain with you, haggling can be fun, but remember that you are not obligated to sell something if you can't get the price you think it is worth.  Hold firm if you’re confident about selling your goods, but be prepared to come down in price if you really want to get rid of an item, especially as your sale comes to a close.

Advertise for Success

Even on busy streets, you can’t count on a driveway full of furniture and sales table to get traffic to stop.  Ask your Northwest Agent about the availability of attractive, functional garage sale signs, or buy a few from a local hardware store.

If local ordinances allow, you should put signs at busy corners to guide shoppers to your sale.  When posting the signs, be sure to write the date, hours and address in the largest letters the sign can handle – if it can’t be read in a few seconds, many drivers will miss it. 

Grocery stores, convenience stores, laundromats and other locations often allow shoppers to post Garage Sale notices, as well as schools and community centers.  In some communities, sites like craigslist.org can be a good, free source for Garage Sale advertising.

If you’re selling a large number of items and hope for large proceeds, you may wish to buy advertising in a local paper.  Be sure to compare the cost of the advertising with the likely sales income before you invest in an ad.

GMAC Real Estate Northwest will be happy to list your garage sale in our event calendar for free.  Simply email the details of your sale at eventscalendar@gmacnw.com with the date, including the beginning and ending time, along with the address and your phone number. List a brief description of the items that you will be selling. We will have your garage sale on our website within 48 hours. As this is a free service, we cannot accept liability for misprints or ommissions.

Success on Sale Day

In the days before your sale, keep an eye on the weather forecast, and if absolutely necessary, reschedule it.  On the day of your sale, ensure all your signs are up, and park your vehicles far from your driveway to allow parking for shoppers. 

It’s usually a good practice to have a cash-only policy, unless the buyer of a particular item is someone you know.  If you are only accepting cash, you should note this prominently near the garage sale sign in front of your house, and again near your sale items. 

Depending upon the number of items you have for sale and your pricing, you’ll need a varying amount of change.  Ensure you have a good supply of $1, $5, $10, and perhaps $20 bills.  While $50 in change should be enough, you may wish to have more on hand. 

You should keep a close eye on your money, and store it in a firm box or banker’s envelope.  Ideally, two people should supervise the sale: one to answer questions and deal with shoppers; and one to handle the money.  Don’t forget that you’ll need to take breaks from time to time, and ensure that you have a place to sit down and rest. Most serious garage salers finish by 2:00 PM, so when advertising it is probably best to to advertise beyond 2:00 or 3:00 PM. You can always continue selling if you still have customers, but it isn't fun to stay open late because you advertised you would, and then have no customers for the last 2 hours.