Yard Sale advice sought

george'smom

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I'm trying (have been trying) to get motivated to do a yard sale. My basement looks like the local land fill!
I'm going to try like heck for this weekend. In the past I've advertised in the local paper. . . . this costs $$ and also makes me crazy as people start showing up 2 hours early. . . . and don't give me the chance to get set up. Fortunately I live in close proximity to a main street in town and can easily put a sigh up to attract people (when I'm ready for action).

Any advice from Yard Sale experts out there??

I don't want to drag all this stuff back to the basement. . .

Also-
What can I do to keep the pesky bees (wasps & yellowjackets) from bothering me & my customers? I'm terrified of them. . . and even though I had several nests sprayed last month. . . . they are still flying about the yard.

Laurie
 

momofmany

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Really can't give you advise, other than if you really want to get rid of the stuff, price it for a quick sell. Kansas City is the kingdom of yard sales....not only on weekends as you would normally expect them to be, the biggest day appears to be on Wednesday's. People take off for lunch to go yard sale hopping. I've never had to advertise other than a sign along the road pointing them to my house and usually sell off 90% of my stuff. I've gotten lazy and started donating to charities rather than putting forth the energy of having a sale.

Good luck!
 

kimward34

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Originally posted by George'smom
I'm trying (have been trying) to get motivated to do a yard sale. My basement looks like the local land fill!
I'm going to try like heck for this weekend. In the past I've advertised in the local paper. . . . this costs $$ and also makes me crazy as people start showing up 2 hours early. . . . and don't give me the chance to get set up. Fortunately I live in close proximity to a main street in town and can easily put a sigh up to attract people (when I'm ready for action).

Any advice from Yard Sale experts out there??

I don't want to drag all this stuff back to the basement. . .

Also-
What can I do to keep the pesky bees (wasps & yellowjackets) from bothering me & my customers? I'm terrified of them. . . and even though I had several nests sprayed last month. . . . they are still flying about the yard.

Laurie
Ooooo...I lost my patience for Yard Sales a few years ago... It makes me crazy dealing with rude people showing up way too early, then haggling over my prices that were already WAY low... LOL!!

IMO, I think you should just plan for a BIG day, sell as much as you can and haul the rest to Goodwill..

As far as wasps and yellow jackets go, I would spray for them the evening before...My bug man told me that, instinctively, they won't fly around in the evenings, so you can actually catch them right in their nest!

 

mom of 10 cats

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Did you notice the google ads at the bottom are for wasp and hornet sprays?


Best of luck with the yard sale. I really ought to do that myself, make some extra room in the attic.
 
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george'smom

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Originally posted by kimward34


As far as wasps and yellow jackets go, I would spray for them the evening before...My bug man told me that, instinctively, they won't fly around in the evenings, so you can actually catch them right in their nest!

I'm extremely terrified of any flying stinging insect. The nests are way up on my roof. I'm not about to go climbing up there myself to spray. Thanks for the advice though!

I think I will just wear a light colored shirt. . . rub on some mentholatum. . . . and maybe stratigically place some plastic cups of beer around the yard (I read that it attracts yellow jackets and they drown!).

Laurie
 

kimward34

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Originally posted by George'smom
I'm extremely terrified of any flying stinging insect. The nests are way up on my roof. I'm not about to go climbing up there myself to spray. Thanks for the advice though!

I think I will just wear a light colored shirt. . . rub on some mentholatum. . . . and maybe stratigically place some plastic cups of beer around the yard (I read that it attracts yellow jackets and they drown!).

Laurie
I am allergic to wasp, hornet and bee stings - they scare the heck out of me, too. I was told not to wear any flowery smelling scents like, deodorant or hair products, even "Downy" and "Tide" scents, etc... One year, a wasp flew up into my shirt sleeve and stung me in my arm pit - OMG! That freaked me out.! I was sick for the rest of the day and the swelling where I was stung, grew to the size of an egg.

LOL! If I left cups of beer around my yard, the customers would probably try to drink them—it's sweltering here in Fla, ROTFL!!

 

russian blue

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Boy, have I done yard sales. I refuse to have them anymore, and just give a hand to help friends do it at their place!

1. Have lots of change on hand and small bills.

2. Advertise on church notice boards, grocery stores, local merchants etc.

3. If you have electrical items, make sure you have an outlet so they can test a product out.

4. Group similar things together and make one overall price. People will more likely buy a 'group' for a low price, than a pile of similar items that are individually priced (ie: books, odds and ends)

5. Make sure you have friends who can help you watch the tables, there are many pickpockets!!

6. If you want to have baked goods for sale, this will also bring people in. People always are attracted to food! (ok, maybe not a good idea with the hornet problem
)

7. See if anyone on your streets wants to participate in a street sale, the bigger the sale, the more people will come out and look. Also, then you can split the costs in advertising in the local paper etc. Also, if you want to donate 'x'% of your sales, a local charities could help to advertise your garage sale and again bring more people. In my neighborhood this summer, the Cancer Society came together with a couple of local residents and had huge success with their garage sales because people were more willing to be 'donating' to a charity.

8. Make sure all your items are clean, organized, and well priced with a clearly marked sticker. I hate when I go to a garage sale and can't find the price or it has fallen off!!

9. Make sure you have lots, and lots of bags!

Last, but not least, smile and have fun. Hopefully you won't have to do this too often!!!

 
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george'smom

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Lot's of very good advice here! Thanks
 

mzjazz2u

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If you advertise state that early arrivals will have to wait or come back. (We used to do this all the time) Price things to sell. Especially if you just want to get rid of it. I'm not sure if you can do anything about price hagglers. There will always be some! But pricing things low already helps a little bit. And I agree with taking what's left to goodwill (or the salvation army). That's what I used to do!
 

kiwideus

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Maybe this is a little late, but how about taking the stuff to a flea market instead of having it at home? That way there is a lot of foot traffic and no one has to go to your house.
 

malynn

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Every once in a while we clean out of attic and take it all to the local flea market and price it really low and get rid of it that way, you'd be surprised at what people will buy. Seems like all our junk stuff went quickly and the good stuff is left over. Its a lot of trouble though. Lately, I just take it to our Humane Society, they have a Thrift Shop and I think it's a good idea. All the money goes to the shelter by donating it to the Shelter Thrift Shop.
 
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george'smom

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Originally posted by malynn
Lately, I just take it to our Humane Society, they have a Thrift Shop and I think it's a good idea. All the money goes to the shelter by donating it to the Shelter Thrift Shop.
That's a wonderful idea. I don't think our local shelter does that. . . . I should suggest it.

Laurie
 
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