1. Ask every member of the family to sort through their belongings and set aside items they want to sell.
2. Contact your local town clerk to see if you need a permit to hold the sale, pay a fee or collect sales tax. It’s also a good thing to ask if you can put up signs to advertise your sale.
3. Clean all items. Dirty or shabby items generally don’t sell.
4. Put a price tag on all items. This alleviates questions from your customers.
5. Group like items together. Keep books and magazines together, clothing and shoes displayed in the same area, and keep household items on the same table.
6. Make sure there is adequate parking available that won’t block neighbors and ongoing traffic.
7. Place an ad in the local newspaper and on community bulletin boards.
8. Be up early on the day of the sale. You will get early birds, so be sure to have things set up the night before. Covering tables with tarp or plastic protects your saleable items.
9. Make sure you have plenty of change including singles, fives and coins.
10. Be open to bargaining. Your customers are looking for bargains and you are looking to get rid of as much as possible.
11. Collect shopping bags and extra boxes to help your customers cart their purchases away.
12. Have an electrical outlet or heavy-duty extension cord available to test hair dryers, electric razors and other electronics.
13. Group items together that will sell as a unit. Crockery, glasses and flatware will sell faster if priced as a single unit rather than individually.
If you do end up with leftover items, check with local charities to see what they accept; get a receipt for tax purposes.
