Well I am taking the plunge. I have a lot of apparal fabric, a few housewares, craft books and some patterns. Sorry quilters I am hanging on to my cotton. I don't sew clothes anymore so I am getting rid of things I will never use. Does anyone have any tips on how I can appeal to customers?

We're having one soon and I keep telling everyone in my family that they need to mark prices cheap!! People don't go to garage sales to spend lots of money. :D

Garage sales cheap, other venues you can up the prices :wink:
Can you advertise in your local paper?
How about getting a few neighbors to join in? Out here there is a bigger draw if you get several in the same area :D

Just write a brief list of what you will be offering at your sale. Place an ad on Criag's List also since you do have some specific items.

Be prepared for shoppers to want to pay less than what you may think things are worth.

We just had two separate yard sales. Did great at the first one as we had more of a variety. Second one DH was nearly giving things away just so we would be able to get rid of it.

You may also want to contact a local school - home EC or even 4-H or even a senior center to donate the fabric to if it is for sewing. They could use it.

Good luck.

Put in the paper some papers give free advertising to garage sales. Craigslist get people also.

I would say to only do it if you live in a busy road or if the sale will be huge. I lived in a street with moderate traffic and garage sales were always slow until I advertised on the paper (We have adds a free section), made the sale huge with two other families and listed thinks like bicycles, air conditioners, lawn mowers, and real expensive items that made people come to see if they are still available. The bike was sold as soon as I opened the door but people kept coming all day long asking about it, and ended up picking up a few things since they were already there.

If you are doing it expecting to make a fairly good amount of money, you need to have several fairly big ticket items...furniture, appliances, etc. that you can sell for more than the usual $1-$5 (and mostly under a $1) garage sale pricing. Also if you consider it an estate sale, you can usually get by with pricing things as much as double or more what you would for a garage sale. Then have things at half price on the afternoon of the second day.

put prices on everything!! I HATE having to ask, how much is this, how much is that....

Don't forget to notify any SEWING guilds. They will gladly help you out.

When I wanted to dispose of some of my sewing items I called a local community center where they teach sewing to youngsters and adults. They took it all and I got the tax write-off.

ali

ali

Thanks everyone for your advice. What would you charge for a yard of fabric?