Advertising your garage sale is a must! If you want to have a great turnout, you need to put an ad in the paper, put up fliers around town, tell your friends, family and co-workers as well as creating fabulous signs. You can also advertise on-line at craigslist.com. Here are a few tips for writing an ad that the hard core garage sale'ers won't be able to resist!
You have to know what works in your area in regards to advertising. In my rural area, the local "Advertiser" newspaper is the place to advertise your garage sale and I truly believe that this is not the place to skimp! My 2007 garage sale was a huge event; it was a group sale with 4 of us selling our treasures. Our ad cost $100, but it was definitely worth every penny! We sold about $4500 as a group and my hard earned profits totaled $1300.
Items to include in your Garage Sale Ad:
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Date and Times - State the day, date and hours of your sale; you may also set a rain date if you wish (Fri. June 19, 8-5 & Sat. June 20, 8-12)
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Your Address - Be sure to include your address, this is very helpful to your future customers; they can even look up your address on-line if they are not familiar with the area. Some avid garage sale folks have been known to plan their garage sale route with Google maps!
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Clear Driving Directions - Give clear driving directions and if you are in a rural area, you may want to include the distances too (south on Your Ave for 2 miles, west on 150th St. for 3 miles).
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Landmarks Close to You - List landmarks such as: 1 block north of Blockbuster or 1 mile south of Burger King.
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Name or Names - If you feel comfortable, you can add your last name. We have a sale every year and we have a following of people who come every year, so these folks are usually watching the ads for our sale.
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Cash Only - If you do not want to deal with checks, you can state "Cash Only" in your ad. Personally, I have not had any issues with bad checks so I will take local checks, but that is totally up to you.
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Be Descriptive - You want your shoppers to see your ad and come to your sale, so the more information they have, the better. Describe your sale: Huge Annual Multi-Family Sale, Heated Shed Sale, Huge Moving Sale and so on.
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Catchy Headline - Use this line to catch the reader's attention. Some examples I have seen are: "Cleaned out my Daughter's Bedrooms", "Obsessive Shopper Sale", "I Have too Much Stuff Sale", "Downsizing for Retirement Sale".
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List your items - I love reading those lists in the ads and if they have boys clothing in size 3T...I am there for sure! If you are selling clothing, be sure to list the gender and sizes and even brand names. Be sure to list any furniture, appliances and large items, outdoor toys, swing sets, popular kid's toys or collections and baby items like cribs, walkers, car seats and so on.
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Add a Teaser - Give them another reason to come to your sale by stating a little perk, like "Free toys on Saturday" or "Clothing 1/2 price on Saturday" or "Everything 1/2 price after 12:00 on Saturday" because at this point, trust me, you just want it gone! (I say Saturday because we usually have our sale on Friday and then a few hours on Sat.)
Sample Ad:
This is the sale you have been waiting all summer for...the annual Last Name - Last Name - Last Name
"I Have Too Much Stuff Sale"
MEGA - HUGE - 3 GENERATIONS GARAGE SALE
When: Fri. Aug 17, 8-6 and Sat. Aug 18, 8-12
Where: 123 Any St., Any Town, Any State
1 mile north of Your Landmark - watch for signs
Why: We have too much stuff! We are down-sizing and cleaning out every
nook and cranny to bring you great deals on great stuff!
What: A little bit of everything!
Educational: Lots of TEACHER books & resources / activity books (pre-school--elementary), tons of quality children's books
Unique: magazine collections, homemade bar soap
Antiques & Collectibles: porcelain collectible dolls, old spice box, old dishes (some Bavarian) & more
Entertainment: movies, music cd's, books, computer games
Household: washer, coffee maker, dishes, bedding, computer stuff
Furniture: like new oak coffee table, twin bed, 5' x 6' hutch
NEW Fabric: fleece, flannel, cotton, satin, chenille
Kids & Baby: inside toys, outside toys & more toys, movies, games, dolls, baby gym, jumper
Purses, Shoes & Clothing: Name brand kids & adult sizes: Girls 2 - 6 & 14-16 / Boys 2-4 & 7-8 / Junior & Women 0 - 12 / Men M-L
½ Price Toys & Clothing on Saturday!
**Don't forget to check the deadline for you newspaper ad, you definitely don't want to miss the cut-off date!
Tashia Calhoun is the author of the Secrets of Successful Garage Sales Ebook, Planner and Pricing Guide. The Easy Garage Sale Planner includes a 4 week Time Line, an overall extensive Garage Sale Checklist, Inventory Lists, Writing your Ad, Mapping your Layout, Mapping your Signs, a Sales Record Sheet and a Donation Record Sheet. Garage Sale Pricing Guide has a list of low, average and high prices for over 100 items! Tashia made $1300 at her 2007 sale with a total of $4500 for her 4 family group! Find out how at http://www.Garage-Sale-Secrets.com
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