With Memorial Weekend approaching, I am hoping this will help, I gathered some of this off of R.G.J. (Reno Gazzette Journal) and personal experience as a seller and buyer….

Making your Reno Garage Sale Successful

Spring is here and so is the return of multitudes of garage sales. To make your sale reap some extra dollars, you need to know the mindset of the customer.

FIRST - You will want to advertise the time and date of your Reno garage sale in your local Reno paper, and/or on www.craigslist.com which is becoming one of the most effective web sites for local Reno advertising. The wording is crucial in your ad, and clothing items are not usually at the top of the customer list. Lead words like “antiques” or “retro” items will always catch the eye of the buyer.

SECOND – Be prepared to lay out directional signs in your neighborhood to get buyers to your address, preferably using a bright color. Make sure your signs are secured for windy or inclement weather, check your “bait” often to make sure they stay up.

THIRD – Encourage your neighbors to join you in your sale, this also puts them on notice. Multiple sales, means less time traveled – attractive to buyers.

FOURTH – This is as important as your advertising. Make sure you have plenty of change; especially single dollar bills, quarters, and five dollar bills.

FIFTH – Be an early bird. Start at 7:00 am to attract the buyers who make the circuit every week, be ready, they are a hardy bunch of early risers. Generally, it is not profitable to stay open past 1:00 PM.

SIXTH – Pricing items to sell is of course the most crucial item in the success of your sale. Make sure to place a price tag on everything (maybe everything on this table is $1), as people want to know where to START with their offer. I also like a free table and advertise I will have one.

SEVENTH – Make sure your sale items are clean and place your items so that they “go together”. You don’t want to place a dirty garden shovel among kitchen items.

EIGHTH – Try to have someone close to you with you to help during the sale. Don’t forget to tie up the dog and make sure young kids are being babysat if needed. It helps keep things in order, and you may be too busy to handle the crowd yourself. Have fun with it and don’t be afraid to give them a smoking deal, your intent is to declutter, not reclutter!

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