Pro Tip: If possible, hold your yard sale when the weather is moderate. Skipping out on the sweltering August heat and waiting for the end of September will give you a better shot at having a successful sale. You’ll get the most customers in the late spring or early fall.

 

2. Gather Your Goods

Yard sales offer a great way to declutter and downsize your house. Grab a box and go through every room. Pick up anything you don’t want or haven’t used in months and toss it in. Don’t forget closets, attics, basements, and garages as these are usually treasure troves for yard sale finds. Don’t underestimate the value of what you find either; people will buy anything from old CDs to unwanted bottles of perfume. After all, the worst case scenario is that something doesn’t sell. Ask your friends to contribute to your sale. Most people aren't fans of hosting their own yard sale, but would love to take advantage of spring cleaning and contributing to a worthy cause.

 

Pro Tip: Have any old power strips, cell phone chargers, or USB cables you’re not using? Throw them in a separate shoe box to sell at the yard sale. It doesn’t matter if you’re not sure what that charger even worked for; someone may buy it.

 

3. Get the Word Out

Advertise Online - There are dozens of websites where you can advertise your yard sale for free. Post an ad on as many as you want, but aim for at least three (Kijiji, Facebook, Twitter, local newspaper's online classifieds). Simply tell people what you have and when you’ll have it, and let their own imaginations work it out. Don’t post your ad too early. If you’re holding your yard sale on Friday, it should go up Wednesday night or Thursday afternoon.

 

Pro Tip: Type up your ad in Word or Pages and then copy and paste it to each listing website site. This will save you the hassle of retyping it over and over again.

 

Create a Newspaper Ad - If you want to drive major traffic to your yard sale, consider purchasing an ad in your local newspaper.  Keep your ad short and list your biggest ticket items first. The most popular yard sale items include furniture, kids’ toys, and collectibles. Don’t forget to include your address as well as the dates and times your sale will run.

 

Pro Tip: Consider advertising in your local paper and the major daily newspaper in your area. Most local papers charge $15 or less for ad space, and every home in the area gets a free copy, which means more potential customers for you.

 

4. Make Yard Sale Signs

Don't forget to advertise that you're supporting The Best Centre!

Check the laws in your area before making yard sale signs as some places have banned them. A clerk at your local police station can tell what you can and can’t do. If you are allowed to make signs, brightly colored poster board and a Sharpie is all you really need. Make sure your sign says “Yard Sale” large enough for people to see as they drive by. Include your address or an arrow pointing towards your house.

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Pro Tip: Wood paint stirrers make great posts for sticking yard sale signs in the ground. You can get the stirrers free from most home improvement stores. Dollar stores also sell signs with stakes you can use.

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5. Get Supplies

Make sure you have everything you need at least a day before the yard sale starts. You’ll need chairs to sit on, a table or other flat surface to take payments and provide change, and plenty of areas to display your goods. Don’t waste money on renting or buying tables. You can find or make enough surfaces to suit your needs. For example, I gather up all of the card tables and patio furniture I can find for placing breakable items on. For smaller, non-breakable items, I put a board over two milk crates. For clothes, you can use a garment rack or hang them on hangers off the top of your yard door.

 

Pro Tip: Keep tables with breakables off to the side of your sale or against a fence. Unattended kids love to run underneath tables, so the more centrally located they are, the higher risk you run of the table being knocked over.

 

6. Don’t Forget the Change

Odds are, you’ll have to make $19.95 in change for your first customer. Make sure you have fives, ones, and at least twenty dollars in toonies, loonies and quarters. You can get them from your bank, but you’ll have to go inside a branch to do it.

 

Pro Tip: Ask the bank for a reusable cash envelope. Many branches are happy to give you one. You can use the envelope to run extra money back into the house throughout the yard sale so you won’t have tons of cash lying around outside.

 

7. Sort Your Items

Sort before you price. It’s the easiest way to keep your yard sale organized and make it easy on potential buyers. Dedicate a room in your house or your garage to yard sale planning and divide all of your items by category; such as clothes, books, home goods, and kids’ toys.

 

Pro Tip: If you have a lot of clothes, divide them by men’s, women’s, and children’s. Most people are looking for something specific and will appreciate the organization.

 

8. Price Your Items to Sell

It’s best if you price your items individually rather than just group them into boxes with one price sign. As the yard sale progresses, people will get the boxes mixed up and you’ll have a hard time keeping it organized. To price items, use a roll of masking tape and a Sharpie, which is a lot cheaper than going out and buying fancy price tags.

 

Pro Tip: Don’t increase your prices on the assumption that everyone likes to haggle. While many people do enjoy a good verbal match, some will just walk away if they think items are priced too high.

 

9. Organize and Arrange Your Sale

Arrange your tables and put all the clothes on hangers the night before the yard sale. No matter what you tell yourself, you won’t have enough time to do it in the morning. Arrange everything the night before and store it in the garage for safekeeping. Map out where everything will be placed to make the morning setup as easy as possible and to keep it in a logical and organized fashion for customers.

 

Pro Tip: If you can’t put everything in the garage the night before, group similar items into laundry baskets and boxes. You will save time in the morning if you only have to pull items out of boxes that don’t require further separation.

 

10. Be Prepared and Work the Crowd

Ask family or friends to help

Give yourself at least an hour before the yard sale starts to set everything out and put up signs. Make sure you have your change in a safe place, and find a comfortable, shaded area to sit. If your yard sale is hard to spot from the street, place a yard sale sign in front of your house so people know where to stop. 

 

In an ideal world, a yard sale would work like Walmart. People would come in, grab what they wanted, pay, and leave. Unfortunately, people see yard sales as a sort of interactive shopping experience. They’re going to ask questions, they’re going to haggle, and they’re going to pick up everything, especially if it’s breakable. You’ll do better if you don’t act pushy. Instead, stay seated, shout out a friendly hello when people walk up, tell them that the proceeds from your sale will benefit The Charles H. Best Diabetes Centre and let the customers come to you. Keep in mind that you don’t have to haggle right away. Don’t let your couch go for $5 with the first customer. Odds are that someone else will come along willing to pay your asking price. Start haggling like crazy using effective negotiation strategies on the last day, or in the afternoons after the morning rush.

 

Pro Tip: Position your chair so that you can easily spot people walking up and make sure you greet everyone. Saying a quick hello and letting them know that you're raising money for a local charity makes shoppers more comfortable about standing in your driveway.

 

11. Dealing with Leftover Stuff

You’re going to have leftover stuff. You can just put it all on the curb with a free sign, but that won’t earn you any more money. Instead, consider taking the leftovers to the donation bin at The Best Centre.

 

Pro Tip: If you have large items left over, like a couch or a TV set, consider selling them on Kijiji. Kijiji surfers love to buy big-ticket items and you’ll make more money than you would donating them and using the tax deduction. If you're not comfortable with selling items online, please contact Marla in advance of your sale to arrange for one of our volunteers to take on that task for you.

 

12. Final Word

Yard sales are a lot of work, especially if you’re not used to holding them. You’ll probably spend several hours organizing and pricing items, writing ads, and getting your supplies. But after it’s over, you’ll hopefully have a wad of cash instead of piles of stuff you don’t want, which makes it all worthwhile.  Contact the Volunteer Coordinator at The Best Centre when planning your sale (at least 4 weeks in advance) if you need some help recruiting volunteers to assist with your event.