A one weekend work at home job having a yard sale. Any tips you want to share to make it our best one ever?

Put big "guy" stuff out closest to the road. I snagged a lot of cars with men driving this way - had an engine stand there, and I spent the time to erect one of the camping tents, and the ice shanty.

Spend the couple dollars and get those BIG neon green "YARD SALE" signs that are like 2'x2' and put your address and an arrow on the corners of your road, if allowed. I don't drive down the road unless I can read the sign.

Put a yard sale sign where it's visible to cars coming down your road. I can't tell HOW many times I've gone right by yard sales because I couldn't see the house number or whatever, and I can't tell if it was in the garage or something.

I know you aren't big on plastic bags, and here's the chance to get rid of the ones you might have - have them handy for buyers to use if they want to purchase multiple items.

Mark every item. Or, mark a bunch of stuff - All books 25c or something. The easier on you the better.

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Hang up your clothes. I mark all my clothes $1 or $2 for sets and go down the next day or as the day goes depending how long I will be having it. It makes them go super quick and I think you make more money by selling more instead of marking it up.

Also, I make a box of Happy meal goodies for the kids. It keeps them occupied and I will sell them for $.25 a piece. Most people will buy in bulk. If it is just a little kids wanting one or two, I just give it to them.

This is great advice! The SIGNS are so important. Advertising on Craigslist made a huge difference for us to, and It's free!

Mark everything in increments of 25 cents. It is so much easier that way and you don't have to worry about having pennies, dimes and nickels!!! Also really big clear signs.

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~Happiness is a large family~

My biggest piece of advice is mark everything. Signs get knocked down, trampled on, lost. I rarely buy something if I can't figure out the price without asking.

Having bags/boxes/newspaper is a nice touch. I actually had someone say I was the first yard sale she'd been to that offered a bag! We wrap glass items, and offer a bag to everyone - even if they only buy one item.

Definitely put out 'men's' items and/or furniture (esp. baby items) where they're visible, these are great to draw people in. GL

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Stephanie (27) & Virgil (31)
Caden 3 y.o. 11/28/04 29w preemie
Wyatt 17 mos. 9/25/06
#3 due 8/24/08

Make sure your stuff is CLEAN. I think this really makes a difference. If it's going to be hot outside sell some bottled water. We get ours on sale and sell it out of the cooler for 25 cents. It was a big hit last year.

Go to the bank and get change the day before. I always forget to do this!! LOL

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Shelby

Don't try to get too much money for your stuff. Most people expect to get stuff dirt cheap!

I go to hundreds of yard sales a year and have 3-4 per year. Living in Florida, there are sales every Saturday of every week including Christmas!!!! The number one thing to do is make your signs big enough to read and have a sign at every single turn!!!!!!!!! I can not stress this enough. Because of gas prices, if I drive in a neighborhood and don't know which way to turn, I turn around and leave. Do not expect people to know where your street is located! Big signs are best. It is cheaper to make your own signs with poster board, but do not go any smaller than a half sheet. The actual house number is insignificant, the most important info is street name, date, and time. Put an end time and stick to it, don't start packing up 30 minutes before. Do reorganize your items when there is no one around. Another trick to use is have 2 adults running the show. When it slows down, have one act like they are a buyer. People are more likely to stop if there is someone else already there. Trust me it works!

Another thing we do during the last hour is we price everything at 25 cents. I do mean everything! If I can't part with it for a quarter then we bring it back inside but that is usually just a couple of things. I have sold hundreds of things for 25 cents that have blown people away! I just place huge signs, which are usually a large box at the end of my driveway and write "everything 25 cents each". We usually make another $25-50 during the last hour and get rid of many things. After the sale is closed, it is all Free. We average about $350-400 on our yard sales for 5 hours.

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"He that is of the opinion money will do everything may well be suspected of doing everything for money."
Benjamin Franklin