Archive for August, 2009

by Iza del Carmen, MomAuthority.com

Ever walked around the neighborhood and wonder if is it profitable to hold a garage sale? The truth is, many homeowners make some profit. The money earned can be used to buy new items to replace those that have been discarded.

There are a few tricks to make the garage sale a success. The first is advertising. If people aren’t informed about the event, no one will know there is one going on and the projected income for that day is lost.

Second, is pricing. The homeowner should realize that though some of these items are old; these can’t be the same price found in surplus or thrift shops. It will be a good idea to check out how others do this to get an idea of how much these are worth before putting any tags.

The third and most important is being a good salesperson. If people have questions about a certain product, you should be ready to explain this to give the customer a better idea before buying the item.

If the client offers to buy at a lower price, it would be a good idea to hold it first and see if others are interested and if not, then it is time to let it go at the agreed amount.

Should people ignore a certain item, this could mean that it was priced too high. The salesperson should be prepared to make some adjustments since the objective after all of the sale is to get rid of the old stuff and make some money at the same time.

The one in charge of the sale should also be on the lookout against thieves who may want to take advantage of the people attending the event. The cash should be hidden in a box or stored in a pocket.

Garage sales can last from one to two days. If many of the items have been sold, the homeowner should be ready to bring new items out. This will surely attract people to come back for things that were missed the day before.

Having a garage sale at home can be a lot of fun. The success will depend on how it was conducted from start to finish and if most of the merchandise has been crossed off of the inventory.

by Iza del Carmen, MomAuthority.com

Over the years, the house has been filled with all sorts of junk. Some of these items could date back from childhood or could be memorabilia from college. There are people who just throw these things in the trash or some might organize a garage sale to make some money from their things.

A garage sale takes some amount of planning and presentation. By scheduling a month in advance, there will surely be many people who will drop by and buy.

You should start by selecting the date for the event. This should fall on a non-holiday weekend so that many people will be in town for the sale. The homeowners should also check the season when this will be held since rainy weather could spoil everything.

Once these have been factored out, it is time to advertise for the garage sale. Neighbors in the area can be called by phone to be informed when this will happen. These people will surely appreciate it since this is more personal than having it come from someone else.

Some money can be saved if the ad is printed off the computer. The ad should have the date, time and address. Putting the contact number would also be a good idea for those who have questions.

These ads can be posted on the church bulletin board, on lights posts, restaurants and other establishments that are willing to help.

If there are free newsletters given out in the neighborhood, you can also place an ad in one of the columns. This is an inexpensive of way of reaching a larger group of people than having to pay a certain amount in the daily newspaper.

The garage sale can also be advertised on the internet by emailing it to friends and having these people forward the message to others who may be interested.

The kids at home can also help out announce the sale by distributing flyers in the grocery or in gas stations so that customers who pass by are aware.

A large and colorful sign should be placed on the front lawn. This will make customers know where it is and attract people to stop and look at the items available.

Garage sales are a great way to make money from selling junk. They can be useful for the new owner as long the customers are informed in advance through ads.