Top tips for a successful pre-move sale

These days, moving into another home can be extremely expensive regardless of the fact whether you are downsizing or not. Not only will you need to enlist the help of one of the best moving companies in your area, but you will need to outfit your new place with additional items. Since money is usually scarce when relocating, it is perfectly natural that you may want to boost your budget with a pre-move sale. In this article, we are going to be sharing our top 9 tips on holding a successful garage sale so you can have all the money you need for that new pool table you’ve always wanted!

9 tips for a successful pre-move sale

Garage sales have been around for practically an eternity. People love browsing for great deals, after all. For you, a pre-move sale is an ideal opportunity to earn some quick cash to help you relocate in an easier manner or get everything you need for a successful DIY move. However, holding a garage sale can be quite daunting for many people.

If you want to make your sale as best as it possibly can be, you might want to take note of the following tips:

1. Organize
2. Advertise
3. Have fun
4. Have prices ready
5. Try to make an attractive display
6. Check with the local authorities
7. See if the neighbors want to join
8. Create bulk deals
9. Offer refreshments

As with anything else in life, the more time you put into your garage sale, the better. Therefore, it is best to start planning the sale as soon as you can, as you can always invest a bit more time to make the sale a bit better. You might also want to look into temporary storage options for moving prior to holding the sale, as having a place to safely store your belongings while you are attending to the pre-move sale is going to allow you to focus on what really matters: Making more money.

With that in mind, let’s see what you can do to make the most out of your garage sale.

Organize, organize, organize

The reason why many people find garage sales to be quite daunting is the amount of organizational work that goes into them. Basically, you will need to devote quite a bit of your time to going through all your items and figuring out what to take with you and what to try and sell. After that, you will want to carefully choose the date and time of the sale. Usually, the best time for a garage sale is on the weekend, preferably on Saturday. This may vary according to your location, however, so don’t take it as an ironclad rule.

If you can manage it, it is also best to hold the pre-move sale in the spring, as the nice weather will make people more eager to spend their time outside. Since you are trying to do is maximize the number of people that will visit your sale, you should try to avoid hosting the sale on holiday or any big event that may be happening in your location. Furthermore, you will want to start early in the morning and hold the sale well past the afternoon. Also, make sure that you are prepared to meet the “early birds” who may arrive before your sale officially starts.

Another thing, you want to be able to focus on your sale once it’s up. In other words, you don’t want to combine packing your home for relocation and holding a sale at the same time. Organize your efforts to be focused on one thing at a time, and you will have no issues creating the best garage sale ever!

Be creative with your advertisements

When we think about garage sales, we usually think about a dinky sign on the road saying, “Garage Sale on Saturday at 8 am!”. While this may be a tried and true method, you can do much more than that. These days, you have access to amazing advertising avenues such as social media, cheap flyers, etc. You may also want to get in touch with some of the local businesses and ask if you can post the flyers on their windows. Most of the time, your fellow community members will be happy to oblige. In fact, getting in touch with local businesses is also one of the moving hacks that will make your relocation easier, as you can ask them if they have some cheap/free packing materials for you to use.

The more time you are able to commit to advertising, the more successful your pre-move sale will be. You want to reach out to as many people as possible in the shortest amount of time. If you think alongside those lines, you are sure to find great marketing opportunities.

Try to have fun

Inherently, garage sales are a lot of fun. More importantly, however, is that people who are having fun are more likely to purchase something. That is why you need to consider your attitude when holding a pre-move sale. If you are smiling all the time and make the shoppers feel comfortable, they will be much more likely to pay more for your stuff.

Furthermore, having fun at a garage sale will make it, so you forget about all the mental challenges of moving, at least for a short while. You need that extra boost of mental energy to help you overcome the challenges that lie ahead of you, after all. Therefore, all you need to do is get into your garage sale with the right attitude. Don’t fuss over how much money you need to make in the sale. Instead, focus on making the day as fun as possible for both yourself and the people that are shopping for great deals.

Price all the items before you display them

One of the most common mistakes that you can make in a garage sale is to not price your items straight away. You may think that doing this is going to increase your income as someone might overpay for some items but that rarely happens. Instead, what you want to do is spend some time researching similar items and their prices so you can put a price tag straight away.

By doing this, you will avoid both underpricing and overpricing your items, allowing you to focus on the other aspects of your sale. Be ready to negotiate, however, as that is one of the largest attractions of any pre-move sale. Try to negotiate in good faith and with a laugh, and you will be surprised at how many people will start buying your unwanted belongings.

Display your items in an attractive way

If you are not careful when displaying your items, potential buyers may think that they are rummaging through a pile of junk. While some people might find that experience enticing, most people will simply walk away from your pre-move sale instead.

What you want to do is take a note from the supermarket’s playbook, so to speak. You want your items to be clearly displayed, with more prominent items having something that will pull attention to them, such as a special sign. You can also make liberal use of stickers that denote a “good purchase”, such as yellow or red stickers found in supermarkets. What you want to do is pique the interest of your customers, many of whom will not know whether the price of your items is incredibly low or just slightly lower than normal.

Get in touch with your local authorities

Most of the time, you will not get into any trouble by simply holding a pre-move garage sale. That said, it is entirely possible that your city may require you to have a special permit to hold one. What you want to do is take some time off planning your long distance moving process, get in touch with your local authorities, and ask them if you require a permit for a garage sale. Even if you don’t need one, there may be some other rules and regulations that you are required to follow.

The best time to get in touch with the authorities is around four weeks before the sale. You may need the time to get a permit if necessary or to make any additional preparations that are required of you.

Your neighbors can help you make a larger garage sale

What is better than a garage sale? A larger garage sale! While you may have only so many items to display, you can ask your neighbors to “pitch in”. The fact of the matter is that larger garage sales garner more interest, and people are more inclined to buy things.

Furthermore, your neighbors may take on some of the organizational and advertisement load off your shoulders, allowing you to focus on other things, such as your impending relocation. If you have particularly capable neighbors, you may even want to give them the proverbial reins of your pre-move sale while you focus on preparing your office for relocation, for example. As an added bonus, the presence of your neighbors will make it a lot easier to have fun on the day of the sale, making the entire event much more enjoyable for everyone involved.

Everyone loves bulk deals

If you happen to have a lot of items you wish to sell, consider creating bulk deals. Let’s say that you have a lot of books to sell and that you price each individual book at $0.50. What you may want to do instead is offer three books for $1 or six books for $4. While this might “cut” into your profits a tiny bit, you might be able to move a lot more items if you also offer them to be bought in bulk.

Furthermore, most people love bulk deals as they feel like they are getting more value out of the purchase (which they are). Just make sure to avoid any predatory strategies (such as overpricing items and then selling them in bulk at normal prices), as those can easily backfire.

Bonus tip: Surprise bags

Another thing that you can do is create “surprise bags”. The basic premise of these bags is that they usually cost very little, and there is a chance of getting a valuable item out of them. These bags are a great way of getting rid of all the miscellaneous items you may have, items that you might not know how to price. You may also want to put a few “treats” inside the bags. Most people will open the bags straight away, after all, and their excitement might prompt other people to buy a bag of their own.

Refreshments go a long way

Refreshments are something that can help differentiate your pre-move sale from other similar events. If you are feeling particularly entrepreneur-ish, you may even sell baked goods, snacks, and drinks. Just make sure that you have plenty of free refreshing drinks (even cold water will do) on hand as well.

While preparing snacks and drinks might seem to be a lot of extra work (and it is), the results are usually worth it. You want the atmosphere to be one of fun and laughter, as happy people are much more inclined to buy things that they don’t actually need. Some people might even buy your stuff solely because you went out of your way to prepare refreshments!

Lastly, you don’t want to take your pre-move sale extremely seriously, or the entire thing will stress you out faster than you can blink. What you want to do is ensure that both you and the potential customers have a great time. That is the best way to create a successful garage sale!

Once you have the extra money in your pocket, you may want to hire additional moving services to make your relocation a bit easier. You can find all the best moving companies right here at the Consumer Opinion Guide, as well as a selection of great articles on how to make your relocation as fun and enjoyable as possible! Good luck!