Make your garage sale a good one

It’s a glorious spring weekend. Perfect for a garage sale. Grain Valley had the good fortune to pick this weekend for its citywide garage sale, which will run from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday. Melanie Hollingsworth is coordinating the Grain Valley tradition for her third year, so we picked her brain for some good tips on running a successful garage sale, and we found some more ideas online, from city hall and around the office. Here goes, and happy “saling.”

10 Make sure items are clean and in good repair. You’ll get a better price, and people are more willing to buy something that looks gently used, Hollingsworth says.

9 It’s a garage sale, not a flea market. In Independence, you are allowed no more than two garage sales in a calendar year on your premises. In Blue Springs, you are allowed three per year. And you cannot sell anything that has been purchased for resale.

8 Put out signs to your garage sale. Hollingsworth promises you’ll get spontaneous shoppers. But, know the rules. In both Independence and Blue Springs, posting signs on poles, structures, trees, etc., is not permitted unless it is done on private property with the owner’s permission.

7 Your best days are Wednesday and Saturday. Start early with your sale, and try not to be annoyed if early-bird shoppers stop by at 5 a.m. when you’re out in your pajamas trying to get set up. It’s a sale. Sell.

6 Another tip from Hollingsworth: Be organized. People don’t want to dig through things to find that one little jewel of an item.

5 Hollingsworth recommends advertising in the local paper. Garage sale shoppers really do check to see where garage sales will be so they can run by while out doing errands. And be creative with your ad. Everyone has clothes and books and toys. Focus on what you have that’s unusual or collectible.

4 Put a few big items at the end of your driveway to draw people, Hollingworth says.  Put more big items inside the garage so people will get out and look at your other items. If you put all the big items at the end of your driveway people will drive by and keep going and you’ll miss out on sales on your smaller items.

3 Don’t stack kids’ clothes too deep, Hollingsworth says. People won’t dig through all the clothes, and you’ll have to keep refolding. Also put them on a table or hang them up. Nobody wants to get on their knees to look through clothes. 

2 Be reasonable with your prices. Hollingsworth hates nothing more than an overpriced garage sale. The Web site www.mommysavers.com suggests a pricing guide of 20 to 25 percent of retail for most items, but consider the demand for the item. Price in 25 cent increments to make it easier to make change. If someone stops by and clucks, “My, my, they certainly are proud of their stuff, aren’t they?” – take a hint.

1 Be a good scout. Be prepared. Keep a big box in the basement and collect items there throughout the year, recommends the Web site www.mommysavers.com. And keep a pen and price stickers with the box so you can price as you go. That way you won’t be up all night pricing items.