Estate and Tag Sale Pointers

Having an estate sale can be a real challenge.  Read below for some pointers to make the process easier. 

TIMING - The best time to have an estatate or tag sale is the summer months, but not the only time.  If you’re in warm climate, the timing around winter won’t be so important.  But, any state above a 40 degrees latitude has to be conscious of periods of very bad weather that could postpone your sale unexpectedly.  Basically, coinciding dates with traditional family holidays, like Thanksgiving, will bring a poor turnout to your sale.  

PREPARATION – It’s important to have a plan, time and energy to sort and clean all the items for sale.  Test all electronic items that are for sale.  Plus, using online research for any recalls, pull items that should not be sold due to safety hazards.    Sort all items in categories like: clothing, tools, furniture, kitchen, linens, electronics, etc.  Bringing items out of cupboards and drawers is important for the display aspect. 

DISPLAY- Think of your sale as a ‘department store’.  Every catetory of items should have a ‘department.’  Keep in mind that each object should be visible, reachable & have clear walk-ways to it.  Use as many available flat surfaces as possible – window sills, shelves & countertops.  You may also need to add some tables topped with pretty  table cloths.  Keep small items withing eye-sight – or they’ll go in dishonest customer’s pockets! As each day progesses, gather your items closer together for the ease of the shopper.  For example, bring in a small table that’s not been inquired about very often into the main furniture room to increase its chances of getting noticed and purchased! 

PRICING – Tag your largest and most expensive items individually.  Then, use 3×5 cards or full sheets of paper to price items in categories, i.e. linens $1 each, and coats $5 each.  If the item is absolutely new, you could list it at about 75% of retail price to start.   To determine pricing on gently used items, take the value of the “type of items” if new, cut it down by to below 30% of retail price.  For example: If most of your shoes were ‘on average’ $30 per pair, your shoe category should be $10 each pair.  Some items that I tend to sell in pre-bagged LOTS are:  Kitchen plastics, kitchen utensils, misc. clothing by size (especially with kids clothes), toys and craft supplies.  As the sale continues, your prices should go down – especially on your last day.

ADVERTISING – The main venues of advertising sales is newspaper.  Many times your buyer is not one who frequents the internet, and the newspaper is their only means of finding sales.  Second, Craigslist and other free online sites will be very helpful.  Sometimes they allow you to insert photographs to highlight key items in your sale.  Signs should be placed in the main intersections with time, address and an arrow pointing toward the sale location.  Try to keep signs consistent in color to help draw the eye and help in locating your sale.  Grocery store & church ads also are helpful – just print out a 1/2 or 1 page flier to display with a photo & contact phone number if possible. 

DAY OF THE SALE – It’s your sale, your rules, but try not to have too many rules!  Have a sign on the door with any basic rules like: We ask no large bags or pets, the type of payment accepted and pickup requirements.  Open 10-20 minutes early if possible.  Be friendly.  Offer cookies & lemonade to your customers.  Have at least 1 other person in the home with you for answering  questions & security.   And, if that person can help customers lift heavy items – what a deal!

AFTER THE SALE – Unless you have a buyer come pick up your left-overs, you will have to deal with the scraps.  Now, if you have higher priced items remaining, call an auctioneer or try listing them yourself online if you have experience.  Another option is just one donation pickup with the coveted ‘tax write off’.