Yard Sales for Money

It's almost that time of the year, when people around the country will set out a wealth of nearly worthless items and try to sell them for a mint. The concept of a yard sale (or in the case of richer folk, an estate sale) is almost as old as people have had stuff. Guess what, there are things in your house that you never use that other people would be willing to pay money for, so let's get ready and get your stuff sold.

How do I prepare for a yard sale?

Advertising is everything, and while most people rely on signs stapled to telephone poles throughout the neighborhood or colorful poster boards with barely visible writing to catch the eyes of passers by, you can take a few extra steps to ensure that you are getting the maximum visibility for your crap.

While most of us no longer get print news paper, your target audience probably does; the older crowd. Yard sales veterans from way-back-when like to see an ad taken out in a local newspaper to know that your crap will have value, whether it actually does or not. Check with your local newspaper to see how much an ad costs.

You can use Facebook and Marketplace to get the word out among your friends and strangers alike for free, and free is never bad. Just make sure to give an idea of some of the items you'll be trying to pawn off on other people so they'll have a better idea of what they might find.

Finally, yes you will need signs. Write legibly in thick black permanent marker, none of that fine point crap, so the address can be easily seen from the street. Make sure to include the dates and times of your yard sale, and don't be afraid to hype it up with lots of adjectives like "high end furniture" to describe a tall book case, or "good quality used video games" if you can still read the label on the cartridge/CD after your kid has drooled all over/spilled kool-aid. Obviously you shouldn't lie, but don't be afraid to be creatively descriptive.

Setting up a yard sale

Tables. Lots of folding tables. If you don't have any then even a blanket (no stains please) on the lawn/sidewalk is sufficient to hold your crap until someone buys it. All joking aside, present it neatly and make sure everything is priced. People will still ask you how much you want for something even with a neon green price sticker on it, but it helps.

Set yourself up with a seat in a shaded area, or use a pop-up shelter, and keep any cash you have in your pocket and not in a lock box that you'll eventually walk away from without thinking. Keep some fives, tens, and twenties in a pocket and keep ones in another so you can reach for appropriate change without pulling out a wad of money to shuffle through like some jack-leg mafia boss.

Make sure to keep a cooler of ice with an assortment of sodas and other drinks, and put a big sign that says "$1 per can", and maybe even some homemade cookies or snacks from the store. People get hungry and thirsty, and at the height of the day a $1 soda doesn't sound too bad. Don't scam people, but go ahead and make your money.

Best yard sale practices

Haggling goes with the territory. Don't get offended, or be weirded-out by someone not thinking your grandmother's plate with a cross-eyed cat isn't worth $10. People want something for cheap when they go to a yard sale, so price the item high on your sticker and then let them haggle you down to a realistic number. People are more likely to buy more than one item if they think that are getting a deal, so let them have the win on the ugly plate and then offer them something else as well.

People are going to get pissed that you don't have a certain item, whether you advertised it or not. Here in Kentucky it doesn't happen often, but it can happen and you'll need to know how to deal with it. You can either be polite, explain the situation to them, and attempt to offer them something else... or you can tell them to leave. Some people like confrontation, others don't, so you decide your tolerance level for crazy and act accordingly. Also, it can be fun to yell out as loud as you can "Get off my damn lawn!"

What do you do with leftover items that didn't sell?

Here's another way to make a little money, just not right up front. Places like Goodwill and Salvation Army will take most of what you are trying to get other people to take, and often times they'll let you fill out a declaration form for your taxes. You can decide the value of items to be donated, and while you might be tempted to say your crap is worth a fortune keep in mind that Uncle Sam may come knocking come tax season with an audit form. Your socks are worth 10-25 cents per pair if they are clean and don't have holes, shirts might net you fifty cents, and a solid pair of pants could be 2-5 dollars depending on the quality. Yes, you payed way more than that, and NO, you won't get close to what you paid but it gets them out of your closet and a few bucks in your pocket. Take the win where you can get it.

Now that we've covered how to successfully prepare for and operate a successful scheme to have others pay you to "Marie Kondo" your house, get out there and do it. That's my advice for almost everything, because it's some of the best advice you can ever get; stop waiting, and jump. What are you waiting for? The articles over, stop reading this. Seriously, it's getting creepy that you haven't gone on to watch Youtube videos about Marie Kondo yet. I wonder what the fishing will be like this summer...

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