After Mary Ann’s article a couple of days ago, Yard Sale Frustration: Has This Happened To You?, I decided to answer her question in an article of my own. First, yes Mary Ann, it has happened to me.
There is no telling how many sour yard sale days I have been through, but with the amount of yard sales we visit, I am quite certain it has been more than a dozen. I have certainly fallen victim to the whole “multi-family” yard sale scheme a time or two and usually yes, it is either a family who has taken in a few stray items from a neighbor or a mother daughter duo that live together. And oh how I love the false advertising of children’s clothing and toys, and upon arrival there is nothing but what I call “dusty antiques” with not a colorful toy in sight. Why do people actually do that?
Simple really – to drum up business and get you to your sale in hopes that you will overlook the advertising and buy some junk. But what happens more often than not, at least in my case, is that we leave, disgusted. And much like Mary Ann, we start driving around looking for other sales, because well…we have the garage sale itch and we are determined to have a good day. It doesn’t usually turn out that way.
And what about the people who advertise a sale that doesn’t seem to exist? It probably isn’t that the sale never existed, but rather the people decided not to have it due to weather, or conflicts. Everyone has conflicts, but there is a way to combat that. And exercising the proper precautions can mean people coming to your next sale or avoiding you like the plague.
I often coach family, friends and neighbors on having a good sale. I have heard more than once that they don’t understand how I have a $500+ sale, when they only wind up with $50.00-$100.00 per sale. There are so many factors that go into having a sale that it is hard to predict what goes wrong, however I can bet that a few of my beloved neighbors have probably fallen into the same patterns of behavior that Mary Ann and I have encountered on our trips to the garage sales; not enough items, inaccurate advertising and not properly preparing for what can go wrong.
If you’d like to learn more about how to have a successful garage sale, be sure to visit the garage sale section here at families.com for informative articles detailing the process.
And to Mary Ann: Don’t give up, not every sale day ends up that way. Hopefully people will eventually learn that there is a process to follow and when they don’t, they lose future buyers.
Related Articles:
Garage Sale Season Has Arrived
Garage Sales: How And Where To Find Them
Why Should I Have A Garage Sale?
Collecting Items For a Garage Sale
Organizing Items For a Garage Sale
Pricing Items At A Garage Sale
Garage Sales: Frugal Ways to Clean Up Your Stuff
What Not To Sell at a Garage Sale Part One
What Not To Sell at a Garage Sale Part Two
Garage Sales: Where To Keep The Cash
Getting Help With Your Garage Sale
Staying Safe At Your Garage Sale