Tuesday, August 20, 2013

Garage Sale! Let’s talk about saving some of your hard earned cash on your move!


Garage Sale!

Here are some helpful tips on lighten the load! Most moving companies charge an hourly rate for your local move and if you are moving across state lines, then your move is estimated based on the weight of your household items. Having a garage sale can not only clean out your closet, but it can also save you tons of money when it comes to moving your house!

Here are some helpful tips on how to get the most for your items. A successful garage sale is the key!

PRICING YOUR ITEMS

·         Keep prices in multiples of five, such as 5 cents, 10 cents, 25 cents and $1.00 – This makes it a lot easier to calculate the change that you need to give back to people and keeps a lot of the mind work out of it.

·         Set your prices with leeway for bargaining and make exceptions for collectable items that you feel deserve a higher price range.

·         If you have items that are defective or broken, mark them “AS IS” and reduce the price for those types of items. If you do sale the items, make sure your customers know what is wrong with them first to avoid a potential returning angry customer.

·         Always put price tags on every item. This avoids constant questions on how much things cost and streamlines your communication with your customers.

Advertising!

Your garage sale will be profitable if you operate like a successful business. Doing some basic advertising will not only draw your customer in, but it will also make your garage sale a bigger success.

·         Run an ad in your local neighborhood newspaper

·         Announce the sale to friends and local clubs and hang flyers

·         Advise your local church, newsletter and school newspapers

·         Hang large colorful signs with clear arrows for people to follow to your garage sale

One of the best techniques used is bold black lettering on white paper that jumps out to the eye. Be sure not to forget to list the dates and times on your flyers so people know when and where the garage sale is.

Days before the sale, put signs in windows or on bulletin boards of local stores. The day before, put signs in the area around the location of the sale. Have a big sign at the garage sale location.

SETUP!!!!

·         Remove all items that you are not trying to sale from the area

·         Organize clothing by size and set up a hanging rack or clothesline.

·         If possible, try to provide an electrical outlet for testing appliances and electrical items

·         Keep a tape measure handy so that shoppers can use it to measure items

·         Set up a table for the children (if you have any) to sell their own personal items. This will teach them about making money and business and it makes the garage sale even more exciting for them!

·         If you have a lot of clothing to sell, think about having a large mirror

Sales Staff

It’s very hard to manage a garage sale by yourself. Try asking some friends and family to help out. Have a car available for errands so that you can treat your helpers with some lunch and drinks.

Security

·         Keep your items safe buy having as many eyes as possible watching over them.

·         Wear a money belt or use a lock box for your money with limited access to it.

·         Allow customers in the sales area only. This prevents burglars from scoping out your possessions to steal at a later date.

·         Keep an eye out for people who loiter or watch you constantly

·         Put expensive items in a place where you can monitor them closely or assign a friend or family member the duty of watching those items only.

·         Keep your house locked up during the sale.

Final Details

Have everything you need the day before the garage sale! Here is a checklist to help!

·         Have lots of change and dollar bills so that you can properly give people change back. Rolls of coins are quite useful and you will be glad you have them.

·         Makes sure you have the lock box or money belt. If you don’t have one, then use an old tackle box that has divided sections for change.

·         Paper and pencils for computing costs or a calculator would work even better.

·         Don’t forget to have a trash can.

·         Have a large CASH ONLY sign made so that your customers pay with cash

·         Keep your pets confined during the sale. Even if you have very properly mannered pets, some of your customer may be allergic or frightened of them.

Wrapping it up

·         If the sale was a cooperative effort, divide up the profits and split it between all of the parties who helped make the garage sale a success.

·         Remove all of the garage sale signs that you put up

·         Consider donating the left over items to a charity

We hope some of these tips will lead you to a successful garage sale. Not only will you make some money by selling some of your items, but now your move is going to go a lot smoother and cost you a lot less! Saving you money is our motto!

Thanks for reading!


Buehler Companies (Denver Office)
(Google Plus Page)
3899 Jackson Street
Denver, CO 80205
303-388-4000
Denver Office Moving Website

Buehler Transfer and Storage (Fort Worth Office)
(Google Plus Page)
633 Mony Street
Fort Worth, TX 76102
817-624-8466
Fort Worth Texas Moving Office

Manitou Express – Mountain View Moving (Colorado Springs Office)
(Google Plus Page)
2545 Carmel Drive
Colorado Springs, CO 80910
Colorado Springs Moving Company

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