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Advertising A Garage Sale
Garage sales require a lot of preparation. Failure to organise and execute the sale well can result in it being relatively unnoticed, leaving you with less money and a backlog of unsold products to offload. Planning and execution are critical.
You don't need a marketing degree or MBA to design and execute a successful garage sale. When you follow this simple four-step plan for a successful garage sale, you'll make more money and experience less stress.
Below are a few practical tips you can follow for a successful garage sale.
Step One: Start By Establishing A Strategy
Plan your garage sale in advance to ensure a successful sale.
Decide on a Time and Date
Before starting your garage sale, pick a date and time that works for you. Think about the following things:
- The perfect days to host a garage sale are on Saturday, Friday, and Sunday, in that order. For the simple reason that not everyone works on Friday, especially during the summer, and Sunday is "family time" for many prospective purchasers.
- It is preferable to start in the early morning. Many seasoned garage sale shoppers are early birds to beat the crowds and locate the most significant discounts.
- The first week of the month can be ideal for holding a garage sale. Customers have already paid for the previous month's expenses. As a result, your clients may be doing rather well at this moment.
- Garage sale season typically lasts from the beginning of spring through to summer in many country regions. Sellers trying to reach holiday buyers early will do well in the fall.
- Keep everything else in mind when planning your garage sale. You don't want to compete with significant events like the high school graduation in your community. Time your sale with complementary activities like arts festivals that draw many people to your neighbourhood or local government-sanctioned seasonal "yard sale days."
- Pick a day for the sale and a backup date in case of bad weather.
Collect the Items You'll Put Up for Sale
Once you've chosen a day, it's time to decide what you'll sell at your garage sale.
Take boxes and search your basement, attic, garage, and closets for long-forgotten items. This is a great time to organise and declutter your property. For the time being, store your sale boxes of smaller items, sorted by items that go well together indoors.
Mark furniture, yard equipment, and other large items you intend to sell. Don't move them until the day of the sale, but don't let yourself become distracted and forget that you want to sell them.
Put a Request for Partners
Invite friends and family to sell consignment items by email or text at your event. Pick a schedule for them to deliver, or you to pick up their goods and work out an appropriate split with each consignment partner. Ideally, you would take a modest sale cut, and they’d keep the rest.
Ensure You Have the Necessary Permits
Permits are frequently required in many locations for openly promoted sales on privately owned property.
Be sure to check the website of your city or county administration before you start preparing anything. There’s a good chance that you’ll be able to apply online if you do.
Step Two: Get The Word Out
Post a notice about your garage sale at least a week ahead of time, and preferably more time if it's part of a more significant community event.
Use the Classified Ads in Your Local Newspaper
There isn't as much reliance on local paper advertisements these days as there once was. Deal-hunters use the classifieds section of your local newspaper's classifieds to locate garage sales in your town. This is especially true if your local newspaper is widely read and distributed free of charge to every residential address in your town.
Mention furniture, collectibles, and small-engine equipment like lawn mowers and leaf blowers in your advertisement if you want to attract more buyers. Remember to include your contact details, phone number, and the date and time of your transaction (as well as backup date and time).
Then, if you have the choice, submit the same ad on each newspaper's website.
Promote Your Garage Sale Online
Many reliable garage sale websites allow you to advertise your garage sale business.
Here are some garage sales finder apps:
VarageSale
VarageSale is a marketplace where you can purchase and sell items. You can create a profile and add all of the things you want to sell on the app. You'll need to register an account and list the products you want to sell before you can start trading.
Users would have to link their Facebook accounts for their identity and photograph to be shown. You can then search for local classified ads by title or category, such as household products, appliances, furniture, electronics, and more.
Letgo
Letgo has a distinct advantage over other apps in that it is aided by artificial intelligence. It will organise the products you add into appropriate categories, allowing you to complete the process fast and allowing customers to find these items conveniently. This improves the app's ability to sell quickly and assists customers in finding exceptional offers.
Electronics, gaming, tools, clothes, autos, and other categories are used to organise products. This is a straightforward program for holding an online garage sale. Simply list your stuff, provide a description, and sell quickly.
OfferUp
OfferUp allows you to send messages to the buyer or seller in a safe way. This will enable you to swiftly narrow down your search and ensure that you don't waste time or resources when buying or selling. As a result, OfferUp is one of the quickest and most convenient ways to buy or sell items during a yard sale in Australia.
Yard Sale Treasure Map
This is a popular and simple app that helps you find Craigslist garage sales on your phone. The app allows you to view local yard sales on a map or in a list format. You may view sale details, photographs, and directions on your smartphone thanks to cloud storage capabilities.
Garage Sales by Map
Garage Sales by Map, as the name implies, lets you locate yard sales, garage sales, and property sales using a map that references your location. You will also be given driving instructions. Before you decide, look for these on your smartphone and communicate with the seller.
Sales are typically advertised on a variety of classified apps and websites. You can quickly search for products/items by title, category, or filter for various options.
CPlus
The most significant benefit of CPlus is that it allows you to search for things in numerous Australian cities in real-time. This is feasible because CPlus is a geolocation-based garage sale finder that enables you to sell and buy quickly. Another noteworthy feature is that you may now modify your location as well as search for products.
CPlus has prioritised photographs and provides many perspectives of pictures during search results, including grid view, album view, a map view, big picture view, and descriptive view.
5miles
This garage and yard sale finder gets the highest rating in Australia as a local marketplace app because the login and registration are facilitated through Facebook or an email account. This makes buying and selling online a safe and secure option. The app is completely free, simple to use, safe and secure, and packed with innovative and unique features. Users on this yard sale locator app acknowledge acquiring products at the best possible prices.
Vintage
Biznetx LLC developed this yard sale finder for both iOS and Android users facilitating the purchase and sale of things over the internet. The garage sale finder app is quite popular in some parts of Australia. Vintage clothing, designer clothing, footwear, retro games, home goods, and gadgets are among their specialties. You can find fantastic prices in and around your neighbourhood and post the items you wish to get rid of without breaking a sweat.
Listia
Compared to other yard sale discovery apps, Listia is unique in that it operates on a barter basis. People can trade stuff for free using Listia's online marketplace and mobile app. The site offers a system where they issue Listia credits to facilitate trading. Users can earn credits by donating products they no longer require. They can then use these credits to purchase items that others have listed.
Facebook Marketplace
This provides a lot of information on the buyer and seller. When you post a forthcoming sale, you will receive directions and the opportunity to request additional information. All of this is possible right from the app. However, don't expect a yard sale community on par with Craigslist or any other dedicated yard sale finding app.
However, because we are all aware of Facebook's popularity, it is always a good idea to post a yard sale ad there when you want to host one so that everyone knows about it.
Make Sale Signs for Your Yard
Before putting up garage sale signs, make sure you know the rules in your area. In certain places, signage advertising garage sales are illegal. Outdoor advertising limits should be clearly stated on your municipal or county government website.
Using a bright, solid-color poster board and a dark Sharpie for effect is recommended if signage is allowed in your area. Large lettering with an arrow pointing in the approximate direction of your house could read "Garage Sale." Attach ground signs with wooden paint mixing sticks or power poles with a wood stapler.
Keep in mind that you can be more detailed and less tacky when using community boards.
Step Three: Get Ready For Sale Day
Go over everything you'll be selling the week before your sale to make sure you're ready.
Get the Necessary Resources
A day before the garage sale begins, make sure you have everything you'll need.
Prepare to Receive Payments
Despite the widespread use of mobile payment systems, some yard sale customers still prefer to pay with cash. As a result, your cash box will need to have a lot of spare change.
Arrange the Items in Your Home
Before determining a price, sort your things. This helps to keep your garage sale orderly and appealing to buyers. As a staging space, choose a room in your house with little foot activity, preferably on the ground floor.
Organise all of your non-bulky belongings into general categories, such as clothes, books, household goods, and toys, and bring them all with you there.
Decide on Price Tags
Objects going for sale should be priced accordingly.
Make a Plan and Set Up Your Sale
The night before your garage sale, set up your tables and coat racks with clothes and other valuable items to sell. You won't have enough time the morning of the sale to do a good job, especially if you want to start early.
Step Four: Hold Your Sale
It's finally here—the big day. Now is the perfect moment to put these great garage sale techniques to use.
Have Everything Set Out
Set everything out and put up signs at least an hour before the garage sale begins.
Engage the Attendees
Everyone who attends your sale should be welcomed regardless of how interested (or wealthy) they appear to be.
Be Prepared to Bargain
During your sale, you will definitely engage in some back-and-forth negotiations with bargain hunters. Make sure you're not overly eager, and always keep an eye out for the "bottom dollar."
Take Care of Leftovers
When you are done, you'll have leftovers. Instead of leaving it by the curb with a large "free" sign, think of creative ways to make the most of it and earn some money if all goes well.
Online Ads Are Great For Garage Sales
It is best to use the internet for marketing your garage sale. Internet marketing is becoming increasingly popular among businesses all around the world. It is convenient, has cheap operating costs, and allows you to sell your items globally 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Try advertising your garage sales online to get widespread results.
Remember, a lot of planning and organising goes into executing a successful garage sale. Moving and sorting all your furniture items for your garage sale can be very tasking. Even after the sale has ended, you may still have some furniture pieces left that you need to sort out. If you're in Sydney, to help with all your moving, sorting, and packing for your garage sale, you can reach out to a professional Sydney removalist service.
