Yard Sale Tips

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Joe Cline has 297 Published Articles

United States of America,
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Irvine, Ayrshire,
Austin Texas Real Estate,
Carnegie House, 32 Springfield Gardens

Yard Sale Tips

Posted On : Jul-20-2010 | seen (418) times | Article Word Count : 737 |

One man's junk is another man's treasure, or so says the legacy of the yard sale. The purpose of holding your own yard sale is not necessarily to pawn off junk, but rather generate a good revenue from items you are no longer using. To hold an effectual yard sale, you need to start with a little bit of bankroll, some advertising ingenuity, and have a full day on the weekend to sell your household inventory. Yard sales can be a lot of work, so be sure you have all your bases covered to cash in and make your yard sale worthwhile.

1. Advertise your yard sale at least one week in advance. Yard sale enthusiasts stretch far beyond your immediate neighbors, often attracting bargain hunters on the look out for the next big sale on the lawn.

2. Free advertising is plentiful at your local supermarket bulletin boards. For added exposure, you may opt to include a message board at churches, colleges, park and recreation centers and anywhere else with a community forum board. Your ads may be as descriptive as you see fit, however, be aware that people are not likely to stop for fine print.

3. If you have enough merchandise to satisfy an advertising investment, local newspapers and the Pennysaver can pull in a quality crowd. However, the ads are generally sold per word or character, so keep the listing to time, date and location only.

4. Place yard sale signs around the neighborhood to attract the local traffic. White or yellow colored poster paper works best with a wide-tipped Sharpie for the text. Be sure to indicate your directions with arrows and post the hours you are opened for business.

5. Before placing your yard sale posters on someone's lawn, be sure to ask permission from the homeowner. Although some cities claim rights to the strip of land along the curb, many homeowners are either unaware or do not care, and thus may take offense. Just like any professional Realtor, get the homeowner's approval before you prop a sign on their lawn. In addition, telephone poles, stop signs and other official city equipment is never appropriate to hang a personal sign. Rather, park one of your vehicles along a major road with your yard sale signs in the back window.

6. Keep a cash bank. Yard sales deal in cold, hard cash, so you will need plenty of change on hand to last you the day. Assume that the bulk of the sales will be paid in twenty dollar bills, so you will need a substantial amount of return change. To keep things simple, you may wish to eliminate any cents, rounding the price tags to whole numbers only. Your change should be locked in a mobile strong box, and taken with you should you need to walk away for a few minutes.

7. There is security in numbers, so you may wish to have a family member or friend stay with you for the day. Yard sales tend to be the busiest in the early hours, and an extra pair of hands and eyes will come in handy with keeping a watch out for theft and assisting your customers.

8. Watch your time and check your cash box regularly in case you need to run to the bank for more small change. Weekend banking hours may be scant, and if you run out of change, you have run out of luck.

9. Prices should be clearly marked on every piece for sale, but always be willing to bargain with a serious buyer. Haggling is half the fun at a yard sale, and you can be sure your customers will do it. Price reductions over the course of the day is also a good measure of security that the items won't end up back in your garage tonight.

10. If you have left over merchandise and need to get rid of it quickly, check your telephone book for local charities that will be happy to collect it for you. Most charitable organizations do not pay cash, however, they will issue you a tax credit for the value of what they take. A tax credit is as good as cash in the hand to deduct from next year's taxes, and your unsold yard sale items will be going to a good home.

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<h1>Yard Sale Tips</h1> Author: <a href='http://www.articleseen.com/profile_ Joe Cline.aspx'> Joe Cline</a> One man's junk is another man's treasure, or so says the legacy of the yard sale. The purpose of holding your own yard sale is not necessarily to pawn off junk, but rather generate a good revenue from items you are no longer using. To hold an effectual yard sale, you need to start with a little bit of bankroll, some advertising ingenuity, and have a full day on the weekend to sell your household inventory. Yard sales can be a lot of work, so be sure you have all your bases covered to cash in and make your yard sale worthwhile.

1. Advertise your yard sale at least one week in advance. Yard sale enthusiasts stretch far beyond your immediate neighbors, often attracting bargain hunters on the look out for the next big sale on the lawn.

2. Free advertising is plentiful at your local supermarket bulletin boards. For added exposure, you may opt to include a message board at churches, colleges, park and recreation centers and anywhere else with a community forum board. Your ads may be as descriptive as you see fit, however, be aware that people are not likely to stop for fine print.

3. If you have enough merchandise to satisfy an advertising investment, local newspapers and the Pennysaver can pull in a quality crowd. However, the ads are generally sold per word or character, so keep the listing to time, date and location only.

4. Place yard sale signs around the neighborhood to attract the local traffic. White or yellow colored poster paper works best with a wide-tipped Sharpie for the text. Be sure to indicate your directions with arrows and post the hours you are opened for business.

5. Before placing your yard sale posters on someone's lawn, be sure to ask permission from the homeowner. Although some cities claim rights to the strip of land along the curb, many homeowners are either unaware or do not care, and thus may take offense. Just like any professional Realtor, get the homeowner's approval before you prop a sign on their lawn. In addition, telephone poles, stop signs and other official city equipment is never appropriate to hang a personal sign. Rather, park one of your vehicles along a major road with your yard sale signs in the back window.

6. Keep a cash bank. Yard sales deal in cold, hard cash, so you will need plenty of change on hand to last you the day. Assume that the bulk of the sales will be paid in twenty dollar bills, so you will need a substantial amount of return change. To keep things simple, you may wish to eliminate any cents, rounding the price tags to whole numbers only. Your change should be locked in a mobile strong box, and taken with you should you need to walk away for a few minutes.

7. There is security in numbers, so you may wish to have a family member or friend stay with you for the day. Yard sales tend to be the busiest in the early hours, and an extra pair of hands and eyes will come in handy with keeping a watch out for theft and assisting your customers.

8. Watch your time and check your cash box regularly in case you need to run to the bank for more small change. Weekend banking hours may be scant, and if you run out of change, you have run out of luck.

9. Prices should be clearly marked on every piece for sale, but always be willing to bargain with a serious buyer. Haggling is half the fun at a yard sale, and you can be sure your customers will do it. Price reductions over the course of the day is also a good measure of security that the items won't end up back in your garage tonight.

10. If you have left over merchandise and need to get rid of it quickly, check your telephone book for local charities that will be happy to collect it for you. Most charitable organizations do not pay cash, however, they will issue you a tax credit for the value of what they take. A tax credit is as good as cash in the hand to deduct from next year's taxes, and your unsold yard sale items will be going to a good home.About the Author: Joe Cline writes articles for <a rel="nofollow" href="http://www.joecline.com">Austin Texas real estate</a>. Other articles written by the author related to <a rel="nofollow" href="http://www.joecline.com/rollingwood.php">Rollingwood homes</a> and <a rel="nofollow" href="http://www.joecline.com/westlake-hills.php">West Lake Hills homes</a> can be found on the net. Article Source: <a href='http://www.articleseen.com/Article_Yard-Sale-Tips_26223.aspx'> http://www.articleseen.com/Article_Yard Sale Tips_26223.aspx</a>

Article Source : http://www.articleseen.com/Article_Yard Sale Tips_26223.aspx

Author Resource :
Joe Cline writes articles for Austin Texas real estate. Other articles written by the author related to Rollingwood homes and West Lake Hills homes can be found on the net.

Keywords : Austin Texas real estate, Rollingwood homes, West Lake Hills homes,

Category : Finance : Real Estate

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