TOP SECRET! People switch tags. Seriously. As if you’re not already giving a discount. Just keep your eye on who’s looking at your stuff.
1. Get your neighbors involved. A group sale will draw more lookers than a one-family sale.
2. There’s more than one pricing strategy. Decide whether you’re selling things to make money or to get rid of them. Price items accordingly.
3. Ask for 25 to 33 percent of the item’s original cost.
4. Be less flexible about price at the beginning of the sale and more flexible at the end.
5. We can’t come to your sale if we don’t know it’s there. Go to yardsalequeen.com for ideas about lettering, sign placement, and free ways to advertise your sale.
6. A great way to create a sign is with a brown paper bag. Write on it using big, fat, thick lettering—definitely no wispy ballpoint pen—then fill it with rocks, and tape it shut.
7. Non-holiday weekends after local paydays are the best time to schedule a sale.
8. Put the nice stuff closer to the road. Place tools and gadgets out front, too, to draw men who might otherwise try to overrule their wives about stopping at your sale.
9. Do your own math. Say no to helpful calculations from customers, thanks just the same.
10. Your house isn’t a dressing room. Don’t let strangers into your house to try on clothes or use the restroom.
TOP SECRET! People switch tags. Seriously. As if you’re not already giving a discount. Just keep your eye on who’s looking at your stuff.
11. Wear a fanny pack; don’t keep money in a shoebox. Keep all the money in it, along with a cell phone just in case.
12. Check the bills people give you. It’s not that uncommon for people to tell you they gave you a $20 when they gave you a $10.
13. Watch out for sneaks. People will take things out of boxes, put them under their clothes, and leave the empty boxes behind.
SOURCES: J. D. Roth, writer for Time’s Moneyland blog; and the experts at yardsalequeen.com and blog.movebuilder.com.