Selling Expression Products at Garage Sales

By Stephen Bucaro

The appearance of Internet auction sites like eBay hasn't reduced the number of garage sales. Millions of garage sales are held each year. A garage sale is the lowest overhead method of selling unwanted items from around your house. Why not set up a table to display your personal expressions products along with your other items?

The first thing you must do is Check with the local officials to learn what the rules are in regard to holding garage sales in your city. Many cities have rules about what types of signs you can post, where you can place them, and how long they can be placed. Some cities also allow each household to hold only a certain number of garage sales each year.

Advertise your garage sale. Place ads in your local newspaper, in shopper guides, and on bulletin boards. You can also post your garage sale online at websites such as Garage Sale Hunter. Be sure to put your hours of operation in your advertisements.

Set up your garage sale. Try to gather up a sufficient number of tables to display your products. Avoid placing items in direct sunlight, as this may cause the colors to fade. Make sure all your items have price tags.

Most people open their garage sales at 8:00 a.m. or 9:00 a.m. Open at 7:00 a.m. instead to attract the early shoppers before they spend their allotted funds. Many people close their garage sales at noon. This leaves many shoppers spending their money at the only sales remaining open.

If a neighbor is having a garage sale you can offer to assist as long as you can setup your own table. Multi-family garage sales are very common. If you can't participate in a neighbor's garage sale, you might ask them if they would accept 50 percent of the profit when they sell your personal expression products at their garage sale. Most people holding garage sales wish they had a wider selection of products to offer.

If you get permission to sell your expression products at a neighbor's garage sale, you must be prepared to setup your items promptly when the sale opens, and collect your unsold items promptly when the sales ends. Don't leave your neighbor with the responsibility to store your unsold items. When you come to collect your items, you might give one of your expression products as a gift of appreciation, this will make you welcome to participate in future sales.

Most garage sale shoppers like to haggle on the price. They don't feel right about purchasing an item if they have to pay the amount marked on the price tag. So make sure you inform your garage sale's host about how much they are allowed to negotiate on the price.

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