Wednesday, September 29, 2010

Want to Move with Less - Have a Garage Sale


Getting ready to move means that you might need to sort through your stuff and see if there is anything you can get rid of before the move. Why not hold a garage sale – not only will you dispose of the extra items you no longer need, you can also earn some cash that will help with the upcoming moving expenses.

Planning and organizing the sale will ensure a hassle-free day of parting with your belongings (and some of the memories too), counting the earnings and looking into a future that has more room for new things.

1. First thing that you should do is to check with the local authority if a special permit is required to hold a garage sale. In some places residents can only hold one garage sale per calendar year – so you want to be aware of this and similar rules.

2. Set the date. You will be better of to check the weather forecast first – a nice sunny day will bring in more buyers. Needless to say that weekend sales tend to do better but you want to avoid doing it on holidays.

3. Choose a place. The sale can be held on your patio or backyard, but it’s best if your display is immediately visible so try to arrange it closer to the street/sidewalk so that random passersby could stop by as well.

4. Advertise in advance. Run an ad in your local newspaper, put a sign in your window and spread the word through your neighbors.

5. Sort your items for sale – organize them into several groups by type, size or even assumed popularity (you may want to have a separate “hot items” pile displayed at the front for a better promotion of the sale).

6. Set the price. Think of a reasonable range to charge for items that are still in good condition – usually it would be 20-30% of the original purchase price. You may also use the Value Guide List provided by Salvation Army for the used household items.

7. Be prepared to bargain. Your buyers will want the cheapest prices so establishing a range rather than a set price will serve as a guide by how much you can lower the price for each item.

Enjoy your garage sale and don’t forget to take the signs down when it’s over!