Lessons learned from a Yard Sale

Moving Sale

I had a moving sale last weekend and it was a success. It was fun and I got to meet a lot of new people. Unfortunately, this was a wierd way to get to know people. Especially, since I'm moving away. I just wanted to post the life lessons I have learned from this yard sale.

• Know your demographic - know who you are selling to. In my area, I noticed that people didn't have a lot of money, so I had to price things low.
• It isn't rocket science - Many people who shop at yard sales don't want to look at stuff on the "internet" or use e-mail for communication, they like to see it for real and they want to talk to a real person. I made the mistake of posting my fliers with my e-mail address on it. I didn't receive a single e-mail.
• Expect to lose money - It's a yard sale, not a business, the whole point is to get rid of your stuff and get some of that money back that you paid for it... not all of it... don't be greedy
• Have fun - this is a good chance to get to know people in your area, where they're from, and perhaps make some friends
• Don't be afraid to give away stuff for free - to make a sale, sometimes it is easier to sell an item when you include something with it... example, buy a wire shelf, get a ???(piece of junk) for free
• Price it higher than what you are actually willing to sell it for, but be reasonable. I was planning on selling my plastic shelves for $2, each. I had 3 shelves. I priced them at $4 each. When someone was interested, I said, "I will get rid of all 3 of them for 10 bucks!" The lady was happy and I was happy. I made $4 more than what I planned on selling them for.
• Throw out some knick-knacks to make your yard sale look bigger than what it actually is - I threw out a potted plant and sat it on top of things. It brought people's interest in that direction and I actually sold a lot of stuff that I sat the plant on, although the plant wasn't "for sale".
• Advertise! Advertise! Advertise! - I could've had a larger crowd at my yard sale, but I didn't advertise it enough and I didn't advertise it long enough before the sale.
• Have plenty of spare change - expect people to pay with big bills such as $20's for small dollar items
• Don't bug the customers - Leave them alone to look at things, but also keep a watchful eye. If they're interested in something, they'll ask. Trust me.
• Finally, use the bathroom before you start! You never know what you are going to be doing for the next few hours. And you don't want that, "I gotta pee really bad" look on your face either.