Host A Successful Garage Sale With Tips From The PennySaverUSA Guru
STUDIO CITY (CBS) — Holding a garage sale soon? Learn how to maximize your profits from Jim Sampson.
Sampson, PennySaverUSA garage sale expert, visited the KCAL9 studios Friday.
He says before you set up your sale, there are three important things to consider:
1. Defining your goal: Are you doing this to clean house or make money?
2. Advertising: How do you plan to spread the word?
3. Set-Up & Organization: Do you have the space and the tools to set up a successful sale?
Once you've picked a date, you need to get the word out about your sale. Place a simple ad in the print and online edition of PennySaverUSA. When you do this, you not only get free garage sale signs to place around your neighborhood, but your sale will also get included in PennySaverUSA's new free app for iPhone and Andriod called MoGaSa (MOre GArage SAles). The app helps people find garage sales in their area by zip code and then helps chart a roadmap – a Garage Sale Trail - for a day of hunting.
Set-Up & Organization:
o First, check with your city for any permits that may or may not be required. Then, well before the sale decide what you are going to sell.
o Presentation always has a hand to a successful garage sale.
• Separate everything by like items i.e. appliances together, tools together, books together, clothing together (subdivided by men's, women's, children's, etc), and so on.
• Keeping smaller things in containers on table tops while having larger or bulkier items at ground level. Place your best items or items that sell easily towards the back to force your buyers to walk through your stuff
• SMALL ITEMS: For small items sell them bundled with similar or with other small items, too (i.e. a stapler with a pack of staples or trinkets in fours). This also works for things like CDs or books ($1 each or $3 for $5)
• CLOTHING: Try to hang clothing as it shows best that way. For example, use a hanging rack or a drying rack with hangers.
• ELECTRONICS / APPLIANCES: If you are selling electric items have an outlet/extension cord handy to test the item before selling.
o Price your items. Clearly mark them with price labels to avoid confusion and redundant price questions during the sale. You can still negotiate, but price tags help prevent unreasonable offers. Don't forget three things:
• Don't expect to get what you have priced them at. Garage Sales are all about haggling;
• Don't expect to get fair market value because most shoppers are thrifty and are there to get a deal.
• Have plenty of change (coins, dollar bills)
For more information, visit PennySaverUSA online.
