Since many people seem to be cleaning out their closets and thus setting up their own personal castoff consumer magnets frequently known as garage sales, I have decided to address what I as a veteran of both having sales and attending sales consider to be essential garage sale ettiquette. So if you are planning to have a sale, listen up and take notes people. Here's my Garage Sale Ettiquette Top Ten.
#10 - Price appropriately. You are not Macy's, Kohl's or even Walmart. Do not price your items like they are new. They say pricing it AT MOST 20% of what you paid for it is sufficient. I don't want to pay $30 at a garage sale for a nearly new purse even if it is Vera Bradley. The cheaper the items, the quicker they move. And on that note, mark everything clearly while you are at it. Mass marking with signs (such as all clothes $1) are best. When it comes to marking items, then pretend you are Macy's or Kohl's. No bar codes needed though, tags are just fine.
#9 - Don't hover. I know you want to be helpful but I am not looking for the employee attention that I get at Talbot's, White House/Black Market or even Old Navy when I come to a garage sale. I will look. If interested, I will ask. I don't want to know your opinion of what I should be buying. Your tastes are not my tastes and to be honest I may be looking just to be polite. "Helipcoter sellers" beware.
#8 - Be prepared. Have plenty of bags and change. If you have bags, I will be more apt to buy more stuff. If you have change readily available, I will not want to strangle you. I recently went to a sale where the woman had to go into her house and hunt for five minutes to find $3 change for my $5 bill on a $2 purchase. Had she not taken my $5 into the house with her, I probably would have left during her monetary scavenger hunt. Especially be prepared for people to come bearing $20 bills as that is the unit amount dispensed by the ATM.
#7 - Location, location, location. If the weather is good, and it needs to be to have a successful sale, garage sale doesn't really mean garage. Put your items in the yard or in the driveway. I don't want to go into your dark, dank most likely stinky garage to see your items. Besides, the lighting and head clearance are not helpful when shopping. And when people do drive-bys (slowing down to see if it is worth getting out of their car), they don't even bother stopping if they can't see anything.
#6 - Be honest. Multi-family implies lots of items - not two card tables set-up by you and your closest neighbor. If its a sale of mostly baby items, advertise it that way. If something doesn't work right or have all the pieces, tell me. I may still buy it. Some people are looking for broken things to tinker with. They may be looking for parts for another item that does work. Just because you're honest doesn't mean you are not going to make the sale.
#5 - Sign timing. Once you are ready for customers, put up your signs. Do not put up signs while you are still setting up. And you cannot, CANNOT get mad at early birds if you do this. And don't forget to take your signs down when you are done. There is nothing worse than chasing down a garage sale that is not actually occuring. Do not send people on a wild goose chase because you are too lazy or forgetful to complete the art of having a garage sale.
#4 - Size matters. Do not put out five items and call it a garage sale. A garage sale implies that you either a) have enough stuff to fill a garage or b) you have cleaned out your whole garage and are selling most of its contents. If you don't have enough items to have a sale, wait a year or just wait till the end of the summer. If you don't have anywhere to store the items you want to sell, then simply donate them and take the tax credit or use Ebay. When I do a drive-by if you don't have a lot of stuff, then that's what I simply do - drive by.
#3 - Don't smoke. You are trying to sell me things that you no longer want. They are used and the last thing I want to know is that they are filled with smoke too. It doesn't matter how nice something made of fabric is, if the seller is smoking, I don't buy. Most of the time if the seller is smoking I don't even stay to look. There is a reason you can't smoke in restaurants and stores. Treat your garage sale like your personal store. And just because it is outside doesn't mean nobody else can smell your smoke. Just don't do it.
#2 - Keep your pets away. Unless you are selling Fido or Fuzzy, keep them away from the sale. If you want them to be outside with you, keep them on a leash. People may be frightened of dogs or simply allergic to them. I cannot tell you the number of times I have had my toes licked by a roaming dog at a garage sale. When my toes are wet, I am less likely to make a purchase.
#1 - Be there. I cannot tell you how many times I have gone to a garage sale, found something I like, and then realized I was alone. There was nobody there to sell me the item. If you are going to commit to a garage sale, commit. The worst garage sale I think I may have ever gone to and surely the most bizarre was void of any seller until a voice came through the door connecting the garage to the house. It was competing with the TV that was on and it said to ask any questions I may have by yelling into the house. Yup, she was watching TV and couldn't be bothered to even come to the garage when she knew someone was in there. Don't be a "ghost seller".
Happy shopping and happy selling everyone!
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