7TH HAVEN INTERIORS

How To’s of a Successful Garage Sale in

7 Easy Steps!

With the winter months rapidly approaching, holiday decor, shopping and entertaining about to take full swing (along with the Summer gear piling up on the Garage floor)…what better time to purge and make some room AND money, here at home!

We’ve rounded up our Top 7 Favorite tips for an end of Summer, Garage sale success!

1. Purge! If you don’t use it & don’t love it…SELL IT! Give yourself one solid week. Take this time to tackle room by room, closet by closet, cabinet by cabinet. Designate one location inside your home or garage that can hold all of these items. Make two piles here, one with items you are serious about pricing and another of items that you would consider donating.

2. Clean and Tag! Once your piles of for sale items are ready to go, wipe down what is dusty or needs cleaned, the better it displays as not overly used, the more likely it is to become someone else’s treasure! Price tags! Don’t skip this step. I promise, it’s worth the extra time. Staples sells this pack of 1000+ round label stickers for under $13. Having a price on your items will make it so much easier as the masses come through in waves wanting to all buy at once and will avoid you having to stand bartering a price you make up on the spot. There’s still plenty of room for negotiating prices, but this will limit the amount of haggler vs. shoppers & keep you free to answer questions. When Pricing items remember the goal is to get it gone and be reasonable that these are used items that you no longer want. As for items you’re willing to donate keep the price point low low low!

3. Advertise! This has got to be my one FAVORITE and most useful tip of them all. 5-6 days prior to your Garage sale, post an ad on both Facebook Marketplace and OfferUp, using a headline such as “Massive Garage Sale.” “Multi-Family Garage Sale,” or “Mega Moving/Estate Sale.” In this ad use a few key photos of the items you’re selling and in the description let the buyers know the Date, let them know you will have No Holds (meaning you will not set something aside unless payment has been made ahead of time for that item). Your ad should indicate the shopper may DM/PM you for the address. Also, if you have Venmo set up, it’s great to add that in the description as a form of payment you will accept in addition to cash, particularly for the larger items you’re selling. warning: this will result in a massive amount of traffic and messages to come to your sale! Enjoy Girl! You can thank me later!

4. Good Signage! Okay…thinking hats on…Who is your favorite local realtor? While you’re busy posting that online ad…call your Realtor! Ask if they, or someone in their office, have Garage Sale signs! You would be surprised at how many do or know someone who does… Its great marketing for your Favorite Real Estate babe and these signs are far more handy with arrows and metal stakes into the ground, then old fashioned duct tape and neon poster board.

5. Change and Baggage! I knew that second part would grab your attention (7 steps is a lot to read through so we have to keep it creative). Head to your bank, cash in at least $100 in primarily $5’s and $1’s and ask them for a money bag…most banks have them on hand and they’re free. Being able to make change and have a change bag to tote around and not loose track of $’s during your busy sale is key. Now…you know the 176,482 grocery bags you have stuffed into a drawer because who the heck remembers bags to go to the store? so the collection at home is mighty big, Right?! Well, nows the time to get those gone too. They’re great to pull out and keep on hand for your Garage Sale shoppers to haul all of the items they buy. Hey, the more they can carry, the more likely they are to keep shopping.

6. Display, Display, Display! From using your larger furnishings to card tables, bookcases, whatever you have on hand that’s either also for sale or a great tool to use to display whats for sale…do it! You can throw pots and pans in boxes and let shoppers sort through, same goes for toys and trinkets…But all other items, showcase them and you're sure to sell them.

7. Timing and Price are Everything! Let’s tackle timing first. Shall we? Saturday’s will be your biggest traffic days of the week. Starting at 7am and ending by Noon is an ample time frame to get your goodies sold. As for time of the Year, Holiday weekends or any local large events are also best to skip hosting your sale on. Too many will be busy getting ready to attend or are out of town. The last part of the month is also key as a lot of shoppers don’t have as much money to spare the first part of the month because they’ve just paid out bills. For fast in person sales, Pricing should look similar to this:

• Clothing $3-$5 per item (Adult) $1-$3 (Child)

• Shoes $2-5 per pair

• Purses, bags, backpacks etc. $3-$10

• Dishes $1-3 each (plates, mugs, bowls etc)

• Toasters, Microwaves, Blenders (small appliances) $5-$10

• Coffee Makers $8- $20

• Books $0.50 -$1

• Toys, Games $1- $5

• Pillows $5-10

• Bedding $15 - $30 depending on size

• Furnishings (Check your local online ‘for sale’ sites and see the average price per item & sell 5-10% under asking)

• Landscaping, Garage items, Tools etc. (Same tip as above checking local listings to be your guide.

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Have a Safe and Beautiful weekend ahead!

Love,

Your 7-H Interiors Team!