Declutter your space and make some extra cash with our How to Have a Yard Sale guide! Packed with practical tips and expert advice, this resource will help you turn your unwanted items into treasures for others. From organizing your inventory to attracting buyers, we’ve got you covered every step of the way. Say hello to a tidier home and a fatter wallet!
I love holding yard sales. They give me the chance to clear things out and to make a little money while I’m doing it. But I don’t do dead yard sales. After all, if I am having a yard sale, I want to make money at it.
Believe it or not, I started having yard sales before I turned eighteen with a friend of mine. It was a great way for me to earn some cash as a teen. But it was also a great way for me to become a pro at having them.
I may have been at it for twenty years, but learning how to have a yard sale and to make a profit at it doesn’t take years. That is one of the great things about them. It’s incredibly simple to learn how to have a yard sale that is both profitable and helps you to clear a bit of clutter out of your home.
They’re a great way to make money that literally anyone or any neighborhood can do.
Do You Need a Permit to Have a Yard Sale?
Back in the day having a permit for a yard sale was not a thing. You simply set your items up, advertised and you were good to go. Today, that may be different; especially if you’re in Texas like me. Every single Texas city I have lived in has required a permit to hold a yard sale.
While there are still places that do not require a permit to have a yard sale, most do. If you are unsure, you’ll need to call your local City Hall to double check the regulations before you start really planning.
When you call, be sure to ask if a permit is required, if there is a fee to get the permit and if there is a limit to the number of days your permit is good for.
It is better to make the phone call than it is to get a ticket for having an unauthorized sale.
What Do I Need to Have a Yard Sale?
You can spend as much or as little on garage sale supplies as you want, but the truth is that you can hold one in your driveway or yard with nothing more than a few folding tables and some masking tape.
With that said, if you want to have a wildly successful garage sale, I highly recommend that you invest in a few things that will help.
These include:
- yard sale price stickers
- hanging price tags for adult clothes, outfits and other big ticket items
- yard sale sign kit
- locking cash box
- an outdoor extension cord to allow people to test electronics
How Much Cash Should I Have for a Yard Sale?
Having cash on hand is a must if you’re having a yard sale. I personally like to have at least $100 in smaller bills ready to make change with. Keep mostly ones and fives with one or two twenties each. You’ll also want a roll of quarters, a roll of dimes and various nickels and pennies on hand as well to make change for small purchases with.
This is also why it’s incredibly important to have a locking cash box on hand. While you aren’t likely to leave your cash unattended, its always best to play it safe when it comes to money.
Should I Accept Digital Payments at a Yard Sale?
Yes! While cash is the old tried and true payment method for yard sales, these days, not everyone carries it. So, having the ability to accept digital payments is so important! This means having a POS system or a card reader such as what Shopify offers can be extremely helpful.
In addition, make sure you’re set up to accept Paypal payments, Venmo and even Cashapp. If you’re not set up with Paypal, you can create an account HERE.
CashApp accounts can be created HERE and you’ll get $5 free when you do.
What is the Best Time to Start a Garage Sale?
Scheduling your yard sale is just as important as what you’re selling and everything else. Ideally, you’ll want to schedule when the weather is nice. Temps that are too cool or too warm will keep folks away from shopping your sale. Obviously rain or storms will as well.
Weekends are best for yard sales too. I tend to hold mine for three days- Friday thru Sunday – for best results. Saturdays are usually your best day since families are often out and about running errands, but Sundays can be great too with people shopping after church services happen.
What is the Best Way to Organize a Yard Sale?
Another yard sale tip you’ll want to really pay attention to is the best ways to organize a yard sale; especially if you have a lot of items in your sale. Simply put, an unorganized yard sale is one that makes no money. People will not waste their time digging for deals in your sale. They want to see what you have to offer at a glance to start.
Keep Things Tidy
I am going to say this again; people will walk away from your yard sale and you will lose money if your yard sale is nothing but a disorganized mess.
The simple truth is this; people are lazy when it comes to searching for a deal most of the time. Your yard sale could be the greatest on earth but if what you’re selling isn’t clear, you won’t sell it.
You’ll also miss any lookie-loos who might only stop b/c they have something that catches their eye.
By keeping things tidy, you accomplish two things. People can see at a moments glace what you’re selling – which after all is how a yard sale gets a lot of its customers – and it makes your nice items stand out so that they will sell well.
Don’t Use Boxes and Bags
While digging through boxes and bags can generally result in some awesome deals, it can also be rather annoying to have to do and in fact, most yard sale shoppers will not go near a trash bagged item unless it is very clearly marked what is in it. Boxes are a bit different, but you will still find that some shoppers won’t take the time to dig through them.
In other words, try to stay away from adding anything in a trash bag or a box of whatever to your yard sale. You will have far better luck selling the items if they are out on a table being displayed.
If you MUST use one of them, be sure to clearly mark what is in it. If you aren’t sure what all is in the bottom of that bag? Give it a cute name like “Hodge Podge Mix” and admit it. Some of the greatest deals that I’ve found on camping gear and outdoor items have been in those Hodge Podge boxes and they’ve been items that had a retail price worth twice what I paid for the entire box.
Make sure your items are clearly displayed
This is different than keeping things tidy. With this, I mean that if you have special items, it can be a great idea to display them out front. This will help draw in potential buyers and make it clear what your garage sale has to offer.
This includes things such as appliances, furniture, special electronics, ride on toys and equipment and so on.
It also means that any tables or displays should be uncluttered and as neat as possible. If someone can’t see what you’re offering, how do you expect to sell it?
Group Like with Like
Another one of my tricks is to group like with like. It works in your pantry, it works at the grocery store and it will work at your yard sale. Things like clothes should be grouped by gender and size. Other things such as books, kids toys, dvds, cds, baby clothes and so on should be kept together for buyers to look through.
How to Price Yard Sale Items
No one wants to go to a yard sale only to find retail pricing so when you’re thinking about how to price yard sale items, try to keep that in mind. It can be tempting to want to charge what you paid, but a good price is the difference between a little extra cash and a lot of extra cash.
Items that are for sale in a yard sale should be priced reasonably while still earning you money. Let’s face it; if it’s in the yard sale pile, you don’t want it anyway.
In other words, don’t try to rip someone off just to earn a buck. It will only result in less sales and less money for you.
Also be sure you don’t jack up your prices expecting people to negotiate. While there are people who have learned how to haggle for the best deal, a lot of folks are not comfortable doing so. Those people will simply walk away and you will lose the sale.
Clearly Mark Yard Sale Prices
It is a true pain in the rear end to have to price each individual yard sale item, but if you want to have a successful yard sale, you will ensure that everything has a price. Like haggling, some yard sale shoppers simply are not comfortable asking what a price is so if you don’t have something marked, you may lose out on a sale.
This does not mean you need to price everything little tiny thing. In fact, I don’t recommend it. That would be a ton of work and frankly, no amount of yard sale profits is worth that. What I do recommend, however, is pricing bigger items on their own and grouping smaller ones together.
This might mean that you have a table of $0.25 items, another table with $1.00 items and so on. I typically keep these tables to items that are $1.00 or less so I am not overwhelmed with unpriced items when people buy a lot.
For items that you do price, using brightly colored yard sale price stickers is recommended. Items that are hanging or high dollar can be priced with hang tag price stickers to make things easier on you.
Keep Your Prices Reasonable
I’ve mentioned this already, but keeping your prices reasonable is one of the biggest garage-sale tips I can give you. Bargain-hunters are there to find a deal. When they can’t find one, they will leave your item without buying it.
And when that happens, obviously, you don’t make any money at all.
Instead, look at pricing around 50% less than what you paid for it or what the current going rate is. This will keep your pricing reasonable and allow for negotiating without taking too much of a loss.
Don’t Try to Sell Junk at Your Yard Sale
You would not want to buy someone else’s junk so please do your shoppers a favor and do not even try to sell junk at your own yard sale. If it is obviously broken, missing pieces, ripped, or otherwise does not function as it is supposed to, it is better to trash the item than try to sell it.
The idea behind a yard sale is to sell items that are still usable to someone who may need it not to stick it to people by passing your junk to them. Put junk where it goes, in the trash or recycling and leave the great items on the sale tables.
Also, if it is on this list of things you should never buy at a thrift store or it is unsafe in some way, don’t attempt to sell it at your yard sale. You don’t want to be responsible for someone getting hurt just because you were worried about making an extra dime.
Consider Having an Inside Garage Sale
If you’ve got a garage or covered carport, consider having the sale there instead of in your front yard. The reason behind this is of course weather.
This allows you to say “rain or shine” on your ad and it provides your shoppers a bit of protection from harsh sun or winds. It also protects the items that you have for sale in case it does rain or the wind gets too strong.
If your carport or garage can not be seen from the road, showcasing a few things will become even more important since prospective shoppers will not be able to see what you are offering.
Have a Multi-Family Garage Sale
If we were being honest, we would admit that we are far more likely to stop at the huge yard sale than we are the smaller one. It makes sense when you think about it.
We expect to find more deals and bargains at the larger sale so we choose that one to stop at.
When you’re planning your yard sale, reach out to a friend or two to ask if they would like to be included as well. Chances are good they will want to and will have their own items to add to the sale.
What are the Best Places to Advertise a Yard Sale?
A well advertised yard sale is a successful yard sale which means you want to take as much time as needed to get as many eyes as possible on your sale. This can be accomplished in a few very simple ways.
First, use social media sites Facebook buy/sell groups and Facebook Marketplace to your advantage. Around 72-hours before your yard sale begins, post a teaser ad with the information and a few photos of your bigger ticket items.
Craigslist and apps that are specifically designed for promoting yard sales are also great places to place your advertisements.
How to Attract People to Your Yard Sale
Then, on the day of your yard sale and after you are set up, post again with more information and more photos. Do this for as many groups as you can, but please do be careful that you do not spam groups that do not allow it.
Next, you will want to place your garage sale signs the morning your sale begins. Now you can do this in a completely random manner, but I find it best to do something a bit more thought out.
As I said earlier, I personally use THIS yard sale kit every time I have a garage sale. I like that the signs are very visible and easy to manage.
I then print out black arrows like these and add them to the sign too instead of writing my address then post signs at different intersections facing the correct direction leading people to my home. Don’t forget to add one at the end of your street.
Then, in front of my home, I use one final arrow sign with balloons to highlight the sale so that people don’t miss it and drive past.
In essence, I lead them directly to the street to my home.
No Return Policy
Finally, after the sale is all said and done, you’re left with the items that didn’t sell. Do yourself a favor and do not bring them back into the house.
Don’t hold onto them for “the next sale,” don’t put those knick-knacks back on the shelf, don’t throw them into a storage unit. Just don’t allow any of it to return to your home.
You put it out there for sale for a reason, why would you bring it back in? Take it to your local Goodwill or Salvation Army, offer it for free on Facebook, or donate it to a friend instead of bringing it back inside. Your home will be less cluttered and in the long run, you’ll be happy that you did it.