Yard Sale Tips

How to prepare for a yard sale

Collect items for sale

Weeks before your yard sale, accumulate any items you no longer need or haven’t used in months. Don’t underestimate the value of the items you no longer need.¹ As the saying goes, “one man’s trash is another man’s treasure.”

Check permits

• Post yard sale signs in your neighborhood directing people to your location.
• Use social media to post pictures of items for sale, location and hours of your yard sale.
• Create a listing in your local newspaper.
• Post your advertisement on popular for-sale-by-owner sites that bargain hunters frequent. You can also find several garage sale and yard sale-specific sites out there to use for advertising.

Make yard sale signs

• Check with your community to make sure there are no neighborhood restrictions on having yard sale signs posted.
• Make sure your signs are legible and include your address — arrows are helpful to direct people driving.
• Make all your signs look the same so people don’t get easily confused. There may be other yard sales in the area.
• Don’t forget to take your signs down after the yard sale is over.

More yard sale tips

• Use round numbers for pricing so you can avoid handling a lot of coinage and making math errors when calculating totals.²
• If you have helpers, each person can carry cash and walk around to assist customers.
• Ideal days for a successful garage sale are Friday and Saturday mornings, and the earlier the better. Bargain hunters are on a mission, and you don't want to miss them.
• If you are selling electronics, it’s a good rule of thumb to have a power strip or electrical outlet handy so buyers will know the device is in good working condition.
• Take note of any other yard sales happening nearby so you can inform any interested bargain hunters.
• Create a comfortable environment for shoppers with calm music playing in the background. You could even offer water and snacks.