Do you have stuff lying around that you haven’t looked at or touched in the last six months? Do you want to make a few extra bucks? My family and I had a garage sale this last weekend and as I was negotiating with strangers for cash in exchange for my old junk one thing kept running around in my mind. How can I do this better? As soon as the last customer was gone I spoke to all of my friends and family that I know to be garage sale veterans. Here are the 5 most common things that I learned for you so that you don’t have to look like an “Idiot” the next time you want to have a garage sale.

1. Price the items:This can be tedious and mind numbing but there are certain advantages to doing this. First, with price tags on the items the people visiting your sale are less likely to haggle with you. This means more money in your pocket for the effort of putting on the sale. Second, if you have friends and neighbors helping you they will not be looking at you every single time someone asks “How much for this?” Keep in mind that price haggling should still be okay because the ultimate goal is to off load your junk!
2. Hang your clothesThe bottom line here is that if you take the time to hang up your clothes you will sell more of them. Think about it, department stores don’t create big piles of clothes for customer’s to toss around. The easier it is for people to paw through you collection of old Hawaiian shits and sundresses the more they will want to buy.
3. Take your time and make visible signsMost of the yard sales that I have been to in my life I never planed to be there in the first place. The fact was, I was driving down the street and happened to see a sing and decided to follow them to see what was there to offer. The little black and red signs you see at The Home Depot just don’t work. Your signs don’t have to be a work of art or need to be expensive. But they absolutely need to be as big and visible as you can make them.  And for goodness sake make sure that the arrows are pointing the right direction!
4. AdvertizeTaking out a garage sale add on Craigslist.org  is quick, easy, and free! It just takes minutes and this ad will bring in all of the serious garage sale shoppers. A few tips on making an effective ad are: Give a general description of what you have to offer ( kids stuff, electronics, etc.). Make sure that your address is clear and include the map that Craig’s list offers. Many rummage sale  hoppers will plan out there morning based on what else is going on in your area so make it easy on them. Last, upload photos of any big ticket items you may have. Even if these sell early in the sale you will still bring people in to peruse the rest of your offerings.
5. Sell the Hot Items The things that most shoppers are asking for are electronics, fishing tackle, purses, tools, and anything that looks like an antique. So when you are going thought your house for what to sell separate these things and price them accordingly to maximize your profits of the day!

I you have other great tips I would love to hear from you! Leave a comment or reach out to me at: preparedidiot@gmail.com.

The Prepared Idiot looks to answer the “Dumb” questions so you don’t have to look like an idiot on your next venture. For more like this check out the Podcast on iTunes and Stitcher.