Spirit of Monticello’s First Annual City-­‐Wide Yard Sale – Helpful Tips for a Successful Sale! June 28th – 8:00 AM – 4:00 PM
We’ve compiled some tips and a supplies checklist to have at the ready for a great sale. Thank you for participating with us! 2-3 weeks prior to the sale
Call your neighbors, your mama, your sister and friends and invite them to join you for the sale. The more items you have the better your sale can be! Start gathering and sorting your items room by room including the basement and garage. Designate a place in the garage that you place unwanted items and then decide what to keep, sell, or donate. Research some of your items that you think might be a collector’s item on eBay. You don't want to sell something for $1 that was selling for $50 on eBay. Start saving your grocery and store bags to bag up all of the wonderful items you sell. Research donation options for those items that don't sell that you’re willing to part with. You may want to go with an organization that will give you a tax receipt. Clean and sort your items. It is important that you make your items look as pretty and new as possible. It will dramatically increase the chances of selling and getting the prices that you want.
Price your items. Stick with pricing such as .25, .50, $1, $2 to make change easily. Another option is to price your items by color (all green sticker items are $1.00, all yellow sticker items are $2.00 etc.) Make sure that your pricing is visible and attractive looking. Gather tables and hanging racks for your items. You don't have to go out and buy fancy expensive tables. Pieces of plywood on top of boxes with a sheet over it can double as a table and no one will know the difference. You can also use ladders and rope or saw horses for hanging racks. Just get creative and make it look as clean as possible. Make category signs that alert the buyer to what is in an area. You can separate Boy's clothing/Girl's clothing/ Kitchen, etc. Consider a free box of giveaways. Everyone likes a good freebie now and then! Wear an apron like the carpenter ones you can get at Home Depot or craft ones from Joann’s. Don't leave a money box sitting out. It’s easy for a customer to distract you when you are busy. Get at least $100 change at the bank and break it out as follows: $10 roll of quarters, $40 in one's, $20 in 5's, $30 in 10's. But you can do whatever you feel comfortable with... just don't forget!
Day before the sale Set aside calculator, tape, bags for customers, pencils, paper, measuring tape and extension cord for testing electronics. Have seating for those working the sale. You will get tired and want to sit for a little while. Get drinks and snacks together to sell if you are up to doing that at your sale. This is also a great way to get the little ones involved. You can even do a lemonade stand. Arrange items on tables and hanging racks. Sale Day Put balloons on signs. This is a cheap and cute way to jazz up your sale a little. Open early... There are always people there ready to shop early. Wear comfortable shoes and clothes. If it is a hot part of the year, have a couple of fans. Organize your tables throughout the day. People love to touch everything and try not to let it drive you crazy when they move it all around and mess up your pretty organization. Sell, smile and enjoy your day!! After the sale
Take down all of your signs. You don't want to have people driving up to the house looking for your sale. Cause someone will knock on your door... Sort unsold items into keep and donate. You can try to sell any big ticket items on craigslist or eBay. Take your donations to your charity of choice and get a tax receipt. Go out to dinner at the Spirit Festival. You deserve it! Checklist of Items for your Sale Apron or Fanny Pack Calculator Notebook Cash (small bills) 50-­‐ish Grocery Bags Newspaper (wrapping) Balloons (for Mailbox) Thick Cardboard (to mount signs) Painters Tape (Hang Signs) Colored Price Stickers Markers Tape Measure Radio Fan (Cool Down) Chairs (To Sit) Drinks & Snacks Table (For Checkout) Book Shelves Tables Table Cloths Clothes Racks Mirror (Full Length) Extension Cord Batteries You’re $10 to participate includes a sign for your yard and the following advertisements: Newspapers
Herald Journal plus their additional 6 sites
Papers including: Rensselaer Republican, Iroquois County Times, Lafayette Leader, Kankakee Valley Post News,
Fountain County Enterprise, Hoopeston, IL Chronicle and Watseka IL Times Republic, Journal Courier and Carroll
County Comet. Pharos Tribune including Northern Indiana, Kokomo and Goshen, Frankfort Times including
Huntington, Peru and Wabash.
Online
facebook-‐Spirit of Monticello and Monticello News, Craigslist, Gaslr.com, yardsalesearch.com
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Come join us at the Sprit of Monticello Festival on June 27 & 28 . Please visit our website at
www.spiritofmonticello.org.