How to Host a Great Moving Sale
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Nina Seidl asked:
Moving into a new apartment has tons of great advantages. But if you’re downsizing and moving out of a large house into an apartment, chances are there won’t be enough space to store everything you’ve accumulated over the years, even with the ample storage areas available in many apartment buildings. So what’s a person supposed to do? Two words: Moving Sale. Clear out the clutter so you can lighten the load on moving day and make a couple bucks in the process, too.
Whether it takes place in the garage or on the lawn, here are some useful tips to hold a great moving sale.
It Pays to Plan Ahead
Like any part of the moving process, it pays to be prepared well in advance. Don’t start rummaging through your closets and crawlspaces the day before you plan to have the sale – as soon as you know you’re going to move, keep your eye out for items you think you’ll want to get rid of as you go along your daily routine and put these items in a separate box. Before you know it, you’ll have several boxes full of stuff ready to go weeks before your sale even takes place.
Don’t be too picky when deciding what to put up for sale, either – people will buy just about anything. After all, as they say, one person’s trash is another person’s treasure.
However, for larger items such pianos, aquariums and pieces of furniture, you might try selling online through eBay, Craigslist, Kijiji or other similar auction/classifieds sites. People will be more likely to buy these larger items over the web than they will be at your moving sale, where most people are only interested (and capable) of picking up small trinkets and articles of clothing.
Getting the Word Out
If you want people to come to your sale, they have to know about it first. Your ads don’t need to be anything fancy – it can be as simple as attaching signs to telephone poles at high-traffic intersections around your community. Just make sure that your signs are big and bright enough to be seen, and construct the sign to prepare for the elements – use cardboard to prevent the sign from blowing away and write in crayon, as opposed to marker, to ensure the lettering doesn’t become illegible if it happens to rain. Remember to drive by your signs to make sure they are visible – because if you can’t read them, nobody else will be able to either.
So what sort of information will you want to include in your ad? It’s important to be specific and concise (as you won’t have room on the ad to include a lot of information and still have it be legible). Be sure to mention specific clothing sizes and brand names (especially for children’s clothes) and list any big-ticket crowd pleasers (like antiques and other rare items you might have). When you set a date for your sale, make sure you start at the advertised time. If you’re not ready when you say you will be, chances are people won’t come back later in the day to look at your stuff.
Keep the Prices Simple
Make things simple on your customers – use 25-cent increments for all of your items. It’s easier to calculate and easier to provide change for. And since this is a sale, you need to have some bargains – for example, for an item that costs 50 cents, consider offering a “5 for $2” sale. You could also have a “by the bag” deal for bulk items like books, where your customers pay three or four bucks and are allowed to fill the bag with as much stuff as they can fit into it. Offering bargains like these is a great, guaranteed way to move your items quickly and easily.
To save space and time, and make it easier on your customers, you might also want to separate all of your items by price and have different tables for the 50-cent items, the one-dollar items, the two-dollar items, etc.
Most importantly, don’t charge too much – anything higher than 1/3 of the retail price will scare people off. If you still have a bunch of things left towards the end of your sale, bite the bullet and keep yourself open to all offers. Remember, everything you sell is something you don’t want anymore anyway, so getting even a little bit of money in return is a bonus. If something doesn’t sell, that means you have to take it back inside the house (and eventually, to your new apartment).
Keep the Customer Happy
A nice atmosphere created by some pleasant background music and a positive attitude on your part can do wonders for your sales. And if it’s a hot summer day, consider selling cans of pop or bottled water. Your customers will appreciate it and you’ll make a couple extra bucks as well.
Be sure to clean up the things you plan on selling – people are more likely to buy items that at least look shiny and new as opposed to something that looks like it’s been buried in the basement for the past decade. As well, it doesn’t hurt to display things nicely. Hang clothes on a rack instead of carelessly dumping it in a box – not only will this make it easier for customers to browse your selection, but the perceived value of the clothes will be higher.
Other Words of Wisdom
Before you start planning the sale, be sure to check your local by-laws, as some communities require a permit to hold a yard sale.
To ensure the event goes smoothly, there a few things that you should always keep handy, including a trash can, bags (for people buying multiple items), a calculator (we’re not all math professors), and electrical outlets / extension cords / batteries to test things out, as people will be more likely to buy that old clock or VCR if they know that it actually works.
In the end, the most important part of a moving sale is to have fun and meet a bunch of new and interesting people. Don’t get too worried about how the sale goes, either. If there are still a few items left at the end of the day that that you just weren’t able to sell, you can always donate some things to charities and thrift stores (and you might even be able to get a tax receipt as a result of the donation). Remember, the main goal is to clear out the clutter so you actually have space to live in your new apartment. Anything on top of that is gravy.
GRAHAM
Moving into a new apartment has tons of great advantages. But if you’re downsizing and moving out of a large house into an apartment, chances are there won’t be enough space to store everything you’ve accumulated over the years, even with the ample storage areas available in many apartment buildings. So what’s a person supposed to do? Two words: Moving Sale. Clear out the clutter so you can lighten the load on moving day and make a couple bucks in the process, too.
Whether it takes place in the garage or on the lawn, here are some useful tips to hold a great moving sale.
It Pays to Plan Ahead
Like any part of the moving process, it pays to be prepared well in advance. Don’t start rummaging through your closets and crawlspaces the day before you plan to have the sale – as soon as you know you’re going to move, keep your eye out for items you think you’ll want to get rid of as you go along your daily routine and put these items in a separate box. Before you know it, you’ll have several boxes full of stuff ready to go weeks before your sale even takes place.
Don’t be too picky when deciding what to put up for sale, either – people will buy just about anything. After all, as they say, one person’s trash is another person’s treasure.
However, for larger items such pianos, aquariums and pieces of furniture, you might try selling online through eBay, Craigslist, Kijiji or other similar auction/classifieds sites. People will be more likely to buy these larger items over the web than they will be at your moving sale, where most people are only interested (and capable) of picking up small trinkets and articles of clothing.
Getting the Word Out
If you want people to come to your sale, they have to know about it first. Your ads don’t need to be anything fancy – it can be as simple as attaching signs to telephone poles at high-traffic intersections around your community. Just make sure that your signs are big and bright enough to be seen, and construct the sign to prepare for the elements – use cardboard to prevent the sign from blowing away and write in crayon, as opposed to marker, to ensure the lettering doesn’t become illegible if it happens to rain. Remember to drive by your signs to make sure they are visible – because if you can’t read them, nobody else will be able to either.
So what sort of information will you want to include in your ad? It’s important to be specific and concise (as you won’t have room on the ad to include a lot of information and still have it be legible). Be sure to mention specific clothing sizes and brand names (especially for children’s clothes) and list any big-ticket crowd pleasers (like antiques and other rare items you might have). When you set a date for your sale, make sure you start at the advertised time. If you’re not ready when you say you will be, chances are people won’t come back later in the day to look at your stuff.
Keep the Prices Simple
Make things simple on your customers – use 25-cent increments for all of your items. It’s easier to calculate and easier to provide change for. And since this is a sale, you need to have some bargains – for example, for an item that costs 50 cents, consider offering a “5 for $2” sale. You could also have a “by the bag” deal for bulk items like books, where your customers pay three or four bucks and are allowed to fill the bag with as much stuff as they can fit into it. Offering bargains like these is a great, guaranteed way to move your items quickly and easily.
To save space and time, and make it easier on your customers, you might also want to separate all of your items by price and have different tables for the 50-cent items, the one-dollar items, the two-dollar items, etc.
Most importantly, don’t charge too much – anything higher than 1/3 of the retail price will scare people off. If you still have a bunch of things left towards the end of your sale, bite the bullet and keep yourself open to all offers. Remember, everything you sell is something you don’t want anymore anyway, so getting even a little bit of money in return is a bonus. If something doesn’t sell, that means you have to take it back inside the house (and eventually, to your new apartment).
Keep the Customer Happy
A nice atmosphere created by some pleasant background music and a positive attitude on your part can do wonders for your sales. And if it’s a hot summer day, consider selling cans of pop or bottled water. Your customers will appreciate it and you’ll make a couple extra bucks as well.
Be sure to clean up the things you plan on selling – people are more likely to buy items that at least look shiny and new as opposed to something that looks like it’s been buried in the basement for the past decade. As well, it doesn’t hurt to display things nicely. Hang clothes on a rack instead of carelessly dumping it in a box – not only will this make it easier for customers to browse your selection, but the perceived value of the clothes will be higher.
Other Words of Wisdom
Before you start planning the sale, be sure to check your local by-laws, as some communities require a permit to hold a yard sale.
To ensure the event goes smoothly, there a few things that you should always keep handy, including a trash can, bags (for people buying multiple items), a calculator (we’re not all math professors), and electrical outlets / extension cords / batteries to test things out, as people will be more likely to buy that old clock or VCR if they know that it actually works.
In the end, the most important part of a moving sale is to have fun and meet a bunch of new and interesting people. Don’t get too worried about how the sale goes, either. If there are still a few items left at the end of the day that that you just weren’t able to sell, you can always donate some things to charities and thrift stores (and you might even be able to get a tax receipt as a result of the donation). Remember, the main goal is to clear out the clutter so you actually have space to live in your new apartment. Anything on top of that is gravy.
GRAHAM
