A garage sale is a great way to get some of the excess items out of your garage and avoid having to pay to have it disposed of or hauled away. And as a bonus, you can make a little money in the process, which can help offset the cost of a garage renovation, new storage space, or another improvement project. But if you’re like many homeowners, you’ve probably had a garage sale in the past, and you may have found that you didn’t make much money or have a lot of traffic. Take a look at some tips that can help you increase your profits with your next garage sale.
Don’t Stop With Signs
Garage sale signs are a simple and effective way of directing foot traffic and people driving by to your sale. However, if you’re only posting signs, you’re missing out on customers. Many people actively seek out garage sales in order to find great deals on things they need and want, and of course, they don’t all live in or drive by your neighborhood.
Help garage sale customers find you by advertising in your local newspaper’s classified section and online. Social media sites like Facebook and online classified listings like Craigslist can help you get the news of your garage sale out to a wider audience and ensure that plenty of people make a plan to show up at your sale.
Mimic Retail Signage
What attracts you to specific items at the store when you go shopping? Often it’s the signage. Signs that announce “Buy Two, Get One Free” or “3 for $5” help customers feel like they’re looking at a worthwhile deal in stores and similar signs can help your garage sale too.
Your items should be clearly marked with prices from the start. It’s fine to haggle at a garage sale – and for many buyers, that’s part of the fun – but you need to establish a starting price. Group similar items together, and offer deals for customers who are willing to buy multiples of an item or make a bulk purchase – this will help you sell more items faster.
Offer Shopping Bags
You probably don’t have a collection of shopping carts at your house, but you want people to be able to pick up and buy multiple items before they leave your garage sale. Do you like to browse a store while trying to juggle multiple awkwardly-shaped items in your arms? Neither do garage sale customers.
One of the simplest things you can do to encourage people to buy more at your garage sale is to give them a shopping bag that will allow them to accumulate multiple items comfortably. A simple and cheap way to do this is to have a bunch of grocery bags on hand to pass out to customers. However, if you have large purses, duffle bags, or cute Easter baskets that you want to get rid of, you can offer these to customers to use while shopping, and perhaps offer to throw the bag or basket in free if they spend over a certain amount of money. Who could resist a deal like that?
A profitable garage sale can be a good deal for your customers and a lot of fun for you, and with the extra money and the new space you will have in your garage, a lot of renovation and upgrade options will be open to you. For great garage renovation ideas, contact us for a free design consultation and estimate.
