Tips for a great rummage sale

Planning your sale

Advertise your sale in Classified Central.
Many people who shop at rummage sales use the newspaper to map out their weekend bargain hunting. You can place your ad in Classified Central by logging on to wisinfo.com, clicking on place an ad or by calling 888-774-7744. Remember to sprinkle your ad with tantalizing words like “huge” or “massive” and to list a few tempting items for sale.

Advertise your sale with signs.
Place them in your yard, on a bulletin board in the grocery store, at a local school, or in other public places. Because of the potential for utility workers to be injured by tacks, nails, and staples, many cities prohibit affixing signs to utility poles and traffic control devices or posting them on stakes on street corners. Check with your city or town before you post anything outside. If you get the green light, try to post at major intersections and street corners. Click the link above for an easy to print 11x17 sign.

Make the most of the space on your sign.
People need to be able to read all the information in 3 seconds from a distance of 7-10 feet. Print the date, time, address, and direction arrows on your signs in thick, easy-to-read black marker. Post your signs 2-3 days before the sale.

Word of mouth helps, too.
Tell everybody you know about your sale: friends, co-workers, and family members.

Know what you’re getting rid of before you sell it.
Just because you don’t want it doesn’t mean it isn’t valuable.

Get plenty of change before the sale starts.
Be sure you have at least $20 in change and a supply of one-dollar bills.

Make a list of everything you want to sell.
Just go though your house and jot down items as you go. Hot items usually include lawn mowers and garden tools; old chairs, especially wooden ones; surplus lamps; rugs; patio furniture; and good clothing, especially children’s clothes.

Know what NOT to sell:
Do not sell unused prescription drugs, personal hygiene products, halogen floor lamps, hair dryers without ground-fault detectors, or items that are missing parts, particularly baby cribs, playpens, and child safety seats.

Get things ready to sell.
Test all electrical items to see if they still work. If it’s necessary to clean or repair items, then do so.

Make arrangements ahead of time for the things that don’t sell.
You can take them to thrift stores, but phone ahead to see which stores will take your leftovers and whether they’ll pick them up or sell them in Classified Central.

Spruce up.
If your sale is actually in your garage, clean it up beforehand. Mow the lawn if needed. Appearances are everything! Gather lots and lots of shopping bags. At a good sale, buyers need plenty of bags.

Pricing and displaying

Mark everything with a price.
People will negotiate, but they need to know where to start.

Price your items to sell.
Nothing’s worse than hauling yard-sale leftovers back into the house.

Do comparative pricing.
If you don’t know what to charge for larger items, such as furniture, check prices on merchandise at antique shops or thrift stores.

Don’t price merchandise according to which table it’s on.
In other words, no $1 tables, $5 tables, etc. Shoppers will inevitably move items around, and you’ll end up getting $1 for your $5 items.

Be willing to negotiate with buyers.
Know how much you would like to get for each item. If you don’t care, ask buyers to make an offer.

Be neat.
People would rather look at items attractively set out on a table than dig through boxes. Your extra efforts for neatness could net you extra cash.

Hang clothes if you can.
Even hanging them on a makeshift line stretched from a basketball goal to a fence is better than dumping clothes on a table.

Consider selling soft drinks and snacks on the side.
It’ll make buyers stay longer, boosting the odds that they’ll see something they want. If you have kids, they’ll love pitching in and earning a little extra money.

The days of the sale

Start early.
It’s not unusual for buyers to arrive at 6 a.m. or earlier.

Keep your money with you at all times.
Make sure it’s in a pocket, an apron, a fanny pack, or something else attached to you. Don’t set your money or valuables down just anywhere. Have your cell phone with you. That way, you can give people directions to the sale without leaving the scene.

Never let people into your house.
No bathroom breaks—no exceptions.

Watch for shoplifters.
They’re an unfortunate fact of life at rummage sales.

Keep names and numbers of people interested in big-ticket items.
Ask them to write down their phone number, the name of the item, and what they are willing to pay for it. That way, you can contact them after the sale if the item they want is still available.

After the sale

Promptly take down all signs. Be a good neighbor.

After the sale, visit http://www.wisinfo.com/classifiedcentral/ or call 888-774-7744 and sell any remaining items. Ads for merchandise under $200 are free!

Think about donating unsold items to charity.
Many donations are tax deductible. Just ask for a receipt.