Consumer Tips

Biggest Garage Sale Mistakes

From our partners at Sirva

May 15, 2023

A garage sale might be a great idea, but before you jump in headfirst, be smart and learn from others’ past mistakes. Here are a few things you should consider:

1. Don’t Assume You Should Have One: The first thing to understand — garage sales are a lot of work — make sure it’s going to be worth your while. Look at the items you need to sell and do a quick estimate of how much you might make. Estimate that you might only sell 40-60% of your stuff. Be realistic with what you think you might get for high-valued items by looking at sites like Ebay for historical sale data of similar items. Look at what kind of options you might have to sell your high-valued items locally — either at thrift stores or online. Look at the pros and cons of doing that versus having a sale.


2. Don’t Go Alone: If you can pair up with someone else or host a neighborhood sale, you can split the responsibilities and cost — especially if your neighborhood plans to do the advertising for you. Leverage the traffic that might be coming through your area for local sales.


3. Don’t Drop Prices Early: For your high-value items, be sure you get out of them what you need to make the sale worth it. On your first day, be sure to take down the name and number of people who are seriously interested. Let them know that later in the day or the next day — if it still hasn’t sold, you might give them a call to negotiate further.
    
4. Be Descriptive: In all of your marketing — signs, advertising and social media — offer up details on what you’re selling. Include brand names, large items, categories, etc. The more descriptive, the bigger the chance someone might see something of interest that drives them to your sale.
    
5. Use Social Media: Be sure to post pictures of your sale items to your social media channels (encourage friends/family to share). You never know, you might get a few sales by just posting a few pictures. If anything, it’s free advertising and might get some more people to your sale!

If you’re selling items to eventually move — be sure to remember the Union Plus Real Estate Rewards Program when you’re ready to find your next home. You can earn $500 cash back for every $100,000 in home value when you use a real estate agent, approved by Sirva, to sell or buy a home.*

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