Great Yard Sale Ideas

Want to have a great yard sale? If you’ve never hosted a sale of your own, you’ll be surprised at how much money you can make! Yard sales are fun, too, and you’ll meet a lot of interesting folks in the process. It’s also a great way to clean out your closets and storage buildings. For a successful event, however, you need some yard sale ideas, especially if you have no prior experience. Read below for some great yard sale ideas that work well for me!

Include as many items as you possibly can at your yard sale. The bigger it appears, the better. Large yard sales will attract a lot more people.

Of course, you never know exactly what will and what won’t sell, but be sure to include a variety of items: clothing, quilts, tools, toys, camping gear, fishing gear, home décor, crafts, small and large appliances, furniture, shoes, curtains, dishes, china, glassware, pots and pans, and any types of collectibles.

From my experience with numerous successful yard sales, the best sellers are tools, gardening equipment, stemware, old cookware, kitchen gadgets, clocks, crocks, churns, furniture, glassware, and toys. Children’s clothing usually sells quickly, along with any special sizes, like plus size or petite. At certain times of the year, crafts and decorations sell well, also. In fact, we had a fantastic yard sale one year on the first Saturday in December, and I sold tons of crafts that I’d made myself!

Any collectible items will sell very quickly, as will antiques and vintage or retro items.

Having your yard sale at the right time of the month is extremely important. Of course, it needs to be held on a Saturday, when most people are off from work. But which Saturday? Every month has four or five Saturdays. Choose the first Saturday of the month for the largest turnout. Why? Because a lot of people are paid on the first day of the month, so they’ll probably still have expendable income at this point.

Begin your yard sale early in the day. Most of the sales around here begin at eight o’clock. If that’s the case in your neck of the woods, you want to start earlier. Many regular yard sale goers plan a strategy the week before they hit the sales. They’ll likely hit several places in the same day. If other sales in your town start at eight, and yours begins at seven, they’ll hit yours first.

Rest assured that several potential customers will show up early, probably a half hour before your sale officially starts. With that in mind, make sure you have everything set up at least an hour before the advertised yard sale time. Have someone monitoring your stuff, too. If the early birds want to make a purchase or two but don’t offer you a decent price, don’t make the sale. Be nice, but firm. Invite them to come back later, and tell them if the article doesn’t sell, you’ll be willing to drop the price.

Most serious sale-goers finish their rounds by noon. If the items haven’t sold by then, drop the prices – unless you want to store the stuff for your next yard sale. You’ll be surprised at how many of those early birds will swing back by between eleven o’clock and noon to peruse your goods again.

Location is another important aspect of a successful yard sale. If you live in town or in a densely populated suburb, you might be able to have a successful yard sale in your own front yard. If not, find a better location. If you have a friend or relative with a potentially better locale, ask to hold the sale at their house. Offer to sale a few of their items in return for the favor.

Many towns have parking lots and other spacious venues that are available to the public for yard sales. They might charge a nominal fee, but the price will be well worth it in the long run. You want your yard sale to be easy to find and very visible.

Don’t just throw all your stuff in a pile and expect people to sift through it. Have a strategy. Group similar items together in different sections, and use tags to display the prices. Spread the sections out some so that people will have room to navigate around them easily. Use card tables, picnic tables, utility shelves, etc. an old door or a piece of plywood on two sawhorses will work, too.

For clothing items, use dress racks, if you access to them. If you don’t, string some heavy cord between two trees or poles for hanging clothes. If you tie a knot in the cord every few inches, the hanging items won’t “bunch together.” If you have a clothesline, monkey bars, or swingset, put them to good use! Have a section for children’s clothes, men’s clothes, women’s clothes, and junior sizes. Make sure all the apparel is clean. If you can’t hang all the clothing, hang the shirts, blouses, and jackets, and stack the jeans neatly by sizes. Be sure to display the sizes on the price tag.

Place high-end items near the back of the sale, but make them visible. That way, customers will have to walk through your other items to get to the real “goodies.” Keep out a couple of really attractive items, however, to be displayed right at the front. Doing so will encourage passers-by to stop.

When you have a lot of items on a table or other flat surface, highlight some of the best by placing them at a higher level, like on top of a shoebox. That will draw more attention to the articles, and it will make the overall display much more attractive.

You’ll need several “salesmen.” Enlist the aid of friends and family members. Make sure everyone involved with the event is friendly and approachable. Each person handling money will need a good supply of change and one-dollar bills. A waist pouch works well for this.

Cover your tables with cheap plastic cloths to make your display more attractive. For kitchenware, use red-and-white checked cloths for a homey feel. You can find large plastic tablecloths at dollar stores for just a buck or two.

To encourage potential buyers to stay longer, you might want to serve free coffee. In the colder months, you could also serve mulled hot cider, and in the summer, a cold glass of lemonade would be refreshing. In the hottest part of the summer, you might also wish to set up a few large outdoor fans.

You have to advertise the yard sale to generate a lot of interest. There’s a strategy with yard sale advertising. Of course, you want to give a general overview of the types of items you’re offering for sale, but list a few specifics, too. For example, when you advertise the yard sale, list some items that always generate interest, like antiques, furniture, appliances, tools, quilts, and camping or sports gear.

Advertise the yard sale in and around your neighborhood with yard sale signs and flyers. If permitted, advertise the yard sale at your place of employment with small yard sale signs and notices, too. Send out emails to advertise your yard sale to your contact list.

Many local newspapers offer free yard sale advertising, so take full advantage of it. Make sure the yard sale advertising includes the date of the sale, the location, the time, and a summary of items. Advertise your yard sale two weeks in advance, including a reminder a day or two before your event.

You’ll also need yard sale signs to advertise the yard sale. You can make your own yard sale signs with poster boards and large markers. Studies show that black print on a yellow background is the most visible and easy to read, so keep this in mind when you’re making your yard sale signs. Buy bright yellow poster board, and use a black marker with a wide tip. Make your lettering neat and BOLD, and keep it simple. Just say something like, “GIANT YARD SALE! 222 Pine Street.” Place your yard sale signs at intersections near your sale.

Custom signs for a yard sale? If you hold yard sales often, you might want to consider custom signs. There are people, believe it or not, who make a living having yard sales. These people “curb surf” on a regular basis to obtain items to sell. Some of them hit yards sales and garage sales as they’re closing down and purchase all the unsold items at a very cheap price, then they offer them for sale at their own yard sales.

If you’re interested in something like this, using custom signs can be a good strategy. The custom signs look a lot more professional than homemade signs, and they’ll last for years. With custom signs, all you need to display is the event and the location.

Custom signs should be colorful and eye-catching, yet simple and straightforward. Custom signs can be purchased locally, or they can be ordered online. When shopping for custom signs, be sure to compare prices before making a purchase.