On Saturday, I took my oldest child out with me in the morning to scout out for yard sales. We were raring to go and ready to spend. So why didn’t any of the yard sales we found separate us from our money?
The people who were hosting the sales had no clue how to have a yard sale at the end of the season. It is too bad, because they could have really cleaned up. Here are some tips to help you avoid their mistakes and make money with an end of season yard sale.
Advertise
I found out later that there were a couple of yard sales that we missed, simply because they never got the word out. From free ads on Craigs List to a lot of local signs, having a bit of advertising will help people find you. At the end of the season, you can’t rely on piggybacking on other sales that might be around, since there are fewer sales around and many people may not be thinking about yard sales at all.
Offer the right merchandise
Focus your efforts on selling items that people are looking for at the end of the season. While your box of Christmas items may have been passed over in May, once summer is over, people may be looking for exactly that. Fall and winter clothing, especially children’s clothing for school, books, entertainment and furniture may all do better now.
Price it right
At the end of the season, shoppers have probably been exposed to at least a few yard sales and are familiar with prices. Make sure that your pricing is spot on or even lower than the previous competition. Your shoppers may be a bit more savvy. The up side is that since you will have fewer competition, hungry shoppers will be looking to buy.
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