Secrets to a Successful Garage Sale Your Home

Your Garage Sale Guide

5 selling secrets revealed

Getty Images/Photo illustrations by Chris O’Riley Advance planning is key to hosting a successful garage sale. If you follow all our tips, you might be able to sit back and relax, and wait for the first buyer to come.

Get catchy and classy with your ad

Start with a headline that grabs attention: It’s not just a “Big Garage Sale”; it’s a “GIHUGANTIC Moving Sale.” Be as descriptive as possible with items and cost — for example, “Designer Clothes at Thrift Store Prices!” Online, photos will have a major impact, so stylize your pieces. Declutter the area, fluff the pillows, and get the dog off the couch you want to sell.
— Mike Sheldon, CEO, Deutsch North America, Los Angeles

Target your customers

Write multiple ads, because you have multiple kinds of buyers. Some people are obsessed with garage sales, so one ad has to say “Garage Sale” in the headline, along with the date. But post additional ads that highlight your best items. Or, if you want to be a bit cheeky, list several of the more eccentric and obscure ones. More is more here.
— John Long,group creative director, Ogilvy & Mather, New York City

Post your ad everywhere

Run it on sites such as Craigslist, Facebook and Nextdoor!

Get paid by phone

Beforehand, get a basic Square credit card reader that plugs into your smartphone. (Order one for free at squareup.com, or buy it cheap at the drugstore.) The convenience of plastic leads to more and bigger sales. I sold hundreds of dollars’ worth of goods at a garage sale using Square. Some of the costlier items wouldn’t have sold without it.
— David Broad, head of communications strategy, McCann New York

Or sell online

A garage sale is an antiquated way to get rid of stuff. Unless you enjoy sitting outside with a shoebox all day, take your 10 most valuable items and post them on the free Letgo app, where potential buyers can easily find them. Have a special blender? Include the model number in your post. Then you won’t have to haggle face to face.
— John Deschner, chief innovation officer, TBWA\Chiat\Day Los Angeles

Also of Interest

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