Garage Sale: Tips for Best Hours & Dates!

[wadesgirl]

We are having a garage sale to take care of some of the stuff in my mom's house. I've never done a garage sale before and was wondering what the best hours would be. We are even considering opening it up on Thursday early evening and going through Sunday. Wanted to check here first before I make some fliers to hang up.

 

[babywings76]

Around here, some hard-core garage sale gurus will start combing the sales early, like around 6:30/7am. They like to come out when people are setting up and getting started so they can have first dibs at things. Most people are up and at sales around 8 or 9am. They continue till you feel like you're done. Usually around noon in my area.

 

[gailz2]

I am a big yard sale attendee and have had several of our own over the years. Our sales usually start 8-9 a.m. and run till about 1. I'd recommend only having it 1-2 days--Friday and Saturday, any more is a waste of time. We then put things out by the road for free or give to a local charity.

 

[NooraK]

Here's a great artilce on how to have a profitable garage sale:

How to Run a Profitable Garage Sale

And another:

A Yard Sale Checklist: Ten Tips for Garage Sale Prep

And a site dedicated just to yard sales:

Yardsales Garage Sales tips Yardsale Rummage - free tips

 

[mountainmama74]

Check your local newspaper and see what time people are starting theirs. I'd also recommend putting your yard sale in the paper - include a list of what you think will be your popular selling items. When I have scrapbook stuff to sell, my yard sales do VERY well (I made over $900 at one once!) - as long as I advertise it! They come for the scrapbook stuff, and leave with other stuff too! Appliances and yard stuff (lawn mowers, etc) draw people too.

 

[vanscootin]

Here's a great artilce on how to have a profitable garage sale:

How to Run a Profitable Garage Sale

And another:

A Yard Sale Checklist: Ten Tips for Garage Sale Prep

And a site dedicated just to yard sales:

Yardsales Garage Sales tips Yardsale Rummage - free tips

Noora... I love how you are a wealth of knowledge. I feel like you could answer my most random questions. These we great articles and have committed the tips to memory!

 

[pampered1224]

If you have ANY extra Pampered Chef Items to unload, include them in the sale. Then make sure you place an ad to say that. This way, you can save the receipt from the ad and use the entire amount for the ad at tax time as an advertising write off. Put the real rummage sale PC stuff on the other tables with the other rummage stuff. THEN ADVERTISE YOUR BUSINESS! Set up a separate table to display new items, the host special, guest special, catalogs, order forms and a sign that tells people these are not for sale but that orders can be taken. You can sell your display items if you wish. Then turn around and use that as a show to replace the items. Make sure you do not loose any money on these.
Around here it is usually a Thursday 8 or 9 a.m. start and running to Saturday afternoon around 2 p.m. Sunday's never work well.

 

[chefheidi2003]

I have to agree with Amanda..but I live very close to her. 6:30-7 is a good time to start around here.

 

[esavvymom]

When we did them in our old neighborhood...I think the official start was 7:30 or 8am, but as soon as I opened my garage door, I'd have cars lined up outside coming in. So I would set up in my garage- price things, etc....so that when I opened the door at 6 or 6:30 to start putting things in my driveway (left tables and hard to move items IN the garage)....I was pretty much ready to go. Because they are trying to catch you off guard as you are setting up....a bit annoying, but it works for THEM. I would put my big items- like kids toys, tools, furniture - in the driveway to draw people in. Books, small household items, etc that were on tables, they were in the garage.Good luck!

 

[pchockeymom]

6:30-7 is a good time to start around here.

"GOOD" time???

In my opinion 6:30 AM is NEVER a good time to start ANYTHING!!!:yuck:

This is why I don't garage/yard sale!:indif:

 

[ShellBeach]

Check your local newspaper and see what time people are starting theirs.....

This is great advice! Different parts of the country have different customs regarding garage sales. Some areas start them Friday afternoons, and others don't. Some area have good turnouts both Sat & Sun, others don't.

 

[esavvymom]

"GOOD" time???

In my opinion 6:30 AM is NEVER a good time to start ANYTHING!!!:yuck:

This is why I don't garage/yard sale!:indif:

That's why you don't open that garage door until you are ready! haha...cuz they are out there!

 

[NooraK]

Noora... I love how you are a wealth of knowledge. I feel like you could answer my most random questions. These we great articles and have committed the tips to memory!

I tend to remember tidbits of things I read, and Google is a very good friend of mine As long as I know sort of what the article was about, and where I might have read it, I can find it.

This is great advice! Different parts of the country have different customs regarding garage sales. Some areas start them Friday afternoons, and others don't. Some area have good turnouts both Sat & Sun, others don't.

This is so true! In California, garage sales were always on Saturdays and Sundays. Here in Georgia, most are on Fridays and Saturdays, and very rarely do I see one on Sunday.

 

[wadesgirl]

Well it's more of an estate sale so we are pretty much opening the house for people to pick through. So nobody is getting in until we unlock the front door!!

 

[NooraK]

Well it's more of an estate sale so we are pretty much opening the house for people to pick through. So nobody is getting in until we unlock the front door!!

If you've got that much to sell, it might be worth looking into hiring someone to run it for you.

 

[esavvymom]

Just make sure you have enough help so people don't walk off with stuff (have a person in each room?).

 

[wadesgirl]

If you've got that much to sell, it might be worth looking into hiring someone to run it for you.

It's not a large estate, just the basic household goods my mom has. She's moved so many times and since they are divorced, my dad has all of the stuff we had growing up.

 

[The_Kitchen_Guy]

Boy, is THIS thread a disappointment.I need a new garage and you're not selling one.

 

[wadesgirl]

Boy, is THIS thread a disappointment.

I need a new garage and you're not selling one.

Well the house has a garage attached! But unfortunately the bank will be taking that back

 

[lcucinella]

I helped a friend hold an estate sale at her parents house last year. What she did is mark all the big items. She grouped some items in different rooms with prices. She left one door open. In other words. people could only go in & come out 1 way. The other doors were bolted closed with large items moved in front of them. This way we could observe all the people coming & going. We took a lot of offers on things too. We would mark in rooms were off limits. Usually had no problems. 1 of us would walk through every once and a while to make sure that nothing funny was going on.

 

[wadesgirl]

I helped a friend hold an estate sale at her parents house last year. What she did is mark all the big items. She grouped some items in different rooms with prices. She left one door open. In other words. people could only go in & come out 1 way. The other doors were bolted closed with large items moved in front of them. This way we could observe all the people coming & going. We took a lot of offers on things too. We would mark in rooms were off limits. Usually had no problems. 1 of us would walk through every once and a while to make sure that nothing funny was going on.

There's only one door, the other leads to the garage. There will only be 2 rooms that they can go through plus the living room and kitchen. I'm trying to find someone to be with me when I'm there mostly because I don't want to be alone.

 

[Teresa Lynn]

I agree with ad in a paper we always do 8-5 thurs - sun

 

[pampered1224]

Have a person cover each room! I had a friend do one of these and she decided on a Thursday start. She was alone as she had help for Fri & Sat but none for Thursday thinking she could handle it herself. She had 4 rooms, no outside access via doors. She lost several very pricy items, and she is sure they were passed out windows. One person kept her busy in one room, while one thief looked in one room, opened the window enough to pass items out of. Especially if you have anything that is even slightly collectable. I agree with whomever said, get some professional help. This may also be a good thing unless you know exactly how much things are worth. You would be surprised at how many older kitchen items or knick-knacks are worth more money than you ever imagined. I picked up an old can opener that was with rations and was made for WWII. I paid all of 25 cents. I sold it a few years later for $75! Not kidding!

 

[wadesgirl]

Have a person cover each room! I had a friend do one of these and she decided on a Thursday start. She was alone as she had help for Fri & Sat but none for Thursday thinking she could handle it herself. She had 4 rooms, no outside access via doors. She lost several very pricy items, and she is sure they were passed out windows. One person kept her busy in one room, while one thief looked in one room, opened the window enough to pass items out of. Especially if you have anything that is even slightly collectable. I agree with whomever said, get some professional help. This may also be a good thing unless you know exactly how much things are worth. You would be surprised at how many older kitchen items or knick-knacks are worth more money than you ever imagined. I picked up an old can opener that was with rations and was made for WWII. I paid all of 25 cents. I sold it a few years later for $75! Not kidding!

She doesn't have anything that is very pricey except the few pieces of jewelry that she has which we are keeping. Most of it is just the furniture, books, movies, dresser and appliances.

We thought about placing an ad but we missed the deadline for next Wednesdays shopper which the garage sales come out in. Sort of shocked, I use to work for that paper and I thought the deadline was two days before not the week before. Oh well. We are putting up flyers around town and signs at the main corners. Plus craigslist and word of mouth, we should be good. The weekend we are having it is the town celebration so we are hoping for a good turn out.