Dr. Lori Verderame
Are you considering taking all that old junk out of the basement or attic and selling it to buyers on your front lawn or out of your garage?
Here are only some, emphasis on some, of my tips for making the most of your yard sale. When people are hosting a yard sale, they realize quickly that not only can the stuff become overwhelming, but the actual sale can be a big chore, too. Remember, whenever you are inviting people to your home for any reason, you must do some preparatory work for the crowd.
Before you serve the first shopper, be sure you know what you are willing to part with. More importantly, know what the items that you are selling are actually worth. I mean current retail value on today’s market, including online selling platforms. That doesn’t mean just checking one online selling platform with listings from people who may know as much as you do about the market. Don’t think that a list price is a value either! That is a crucial part of the situation. Investigate the value of your stuff on the entire market. Remember, don’t sell yourself or your stuff short.
Yard sale tips
- Get help! Get your friends and family to help you with brains and brawn. Make sure you have helpers on hand. Give these helpers specific jobs during the sale. A helper needs to be sure no one goes inside your house, no matter what. Medical emergencies are the only exception. Another helper needs to be responsible for the cash box. Someone else needs to be available to answer buyers’ questions. The most important job for a helper ris watching the buyers. Why do you need to watch the buyers? Because people at yard sales are often tempted to just walk away with your stuff. Be sure that people aren’t just helping themselves to your stuff. You’ll need help moving objects, particularly furniture and heavy boxes, before, during, and after the sale. In today’s world of yard sale, videographers, decide if your yard sale is a source for filming.
- Decide if you are going to charge yard sale shoppers to look first or arrive early for a Peek Early Fee. This is a popular yard sale option that can make the yard sale host extra money. If someone wants you to start your yard sale early, charge them for it.
- Sleep is valuable. Try to avoid selling your stuff at your yard sale in bulk for one low price. Sure, you’ll get rid of a ton of items that way and most importantly, you’ll lose your shirt that way, too. If you put a bunch of random stuff in a box and just put an arbitrary price on the box, it will save you time sorting through items but often valuable items appear in those boxes. So, don’t be lazy. Review all the items, get appraisals for the items you don’t values of, and price them individually.
- There are some items that shouldn’t be sold at the yard sale ever. Furniture, jewelry and art are big ticket items and typically don’t command what they are worth when sold at a yard sale. So, don’t sell these types of items at a yard sale. Artwork regularly brings a big return on investment and will increase in value over time, so don’t decide to sell that portrait painting or landscape lithograph at the yard sale. Jewelry, both fine pieces with gemstones, pearls,and precious metals should never be sold at a yard sale as you’lllose design value and monetary value if you sell them in this environment. And, costume jewelry is the single most overlooked valuable sold at yard sales. Don’t put grandma’s faux jewelry out at the yards ale as these pieces sell much better at online platforms like eBay, Poshmark, Etsy, etc. You’ll be shocked at how much people are making online by selling old jewelry.
- Don’t listen to others when pricing items. There are many people who like to act as if they know the market for art, antiques and collectibles. Well-meaning friends, neighbors and Facebook friends or group sare notorious for pricing your stuff too low. If you want to know the real value of something, check with me for an appraisal. I review photos of old objects via my website, so you’ll know the value of your stuff fbefore you tag it and place it on the lawn.
Follow my tips if you want to make money at your yard sale.
Ph.D. antiques appraiser, author and award-winning media personality Dr. Lori presents antique appraisal events nationwide, appears on Netflix’s “King of Collectibles,” History Channel’s “The Curse of Oak Island” and “Pawn Stars do America.” Visit www.DrLoriV.com and watch videos on finding treasures and selling them for profit on www.YouTube.com/DrLoriV.
