Painted Prairie Community Garage Sale Tips

To sell more, show more - do whatever is necessary to have plenty of merchandise on hand.
Clean out your house. Combine your sale with your neighbors’.
Large and small household goods, sporting goods, group sets, tools, clothes, furniture, baby items, toys, linens, automotive, jewelry, cosmetics, antiques and collectibles, and miscellaneous items.
Remember, it’s not junk if someone will buy it.

Painted Prairie garage sale setup tips

Make a good first impression.
Have enough space to effectively display all merchandise.
Display area should be clean (and well-lit if inside).
If you’re holding the sale inside your garage, cover items you’re not intending to sell with sheets or tarps so as not to confuse shoppers.
Each item should be as clean and attractive as possible. Shoppers will buy items that are not cleaned and polished, but only at giveaway prices.
Organize your materials so that shoppers will linger. The flow should move shoppers through items with the check-out station being the last stop.

Price should not compete with retail stores or antique shops. Typically, good quality items should bring 25-35% of their current replacement cost.
Use a quarter as the lowest denomination of your pricing - making change will be simpler and more efficient.
Leave room in price for negotiation.
Give quantity discounts.
Never give anything away unless it helps you sell something else.
If you are anxious to get rid of any item, price it accordingly.
Remember, your goal is to sell everything and not bring it back into the house.

Mark prices clearly on every piece of merchandise.
Where appropriate, provide info about the item, such as “like new,” “never used,” “works fine,” or “needs repair.” This will help reduce the questions you’ll need to answer.

A change box… and don’t forget to go to the bank before the sale to get some change.
Bags and newspapers for wrapping.
Sign-making equipment, including sign board or white paper, scissors, markers and scotch tape or duct tape for affixing signs.

Clean up and take down any additional signs that you put up around the neighborhood.
Do not place items at the curb with a "FREE" sign - we’ve heard of other (not free) items getting taken by mistake.
Do donate your usable unsold items. We try to partner with a charitable organization each year, and details are posted on the Garage Sale page.

Diana Kearns and Michael Kearns, Realtors