dg, I believe some yard sales are legitimate, even though the practice has been infiltrated by communists and socialists and tree hugging greenie wimps who are using it for secret messages. The infiltrators can easily be identified if people will follow these simple rules:
Decide if you have adequate parking to handle an additional 4 or 5 cars parked near your house at one time.
6) Expect early birds. Some sellers love them, others hate them. If you really don’t want them, consider putting “NO EARLY BIRDS” in your ad
7) Another idea for signs is to use paper grocery bags to draw your signs on then fill the bottom with heavy rocks, stuff with newspaper.
8) Put your prices on everything. The price should be on top of an item, not on the bottom. It’s a lot of work, but worth it because you won’t have people asking every two minutes, “how much do you want for this?” As a general rule of thumb, price items about a third of what they would cost new. There are exceptions clothes are generally very poor sellers, unless it’s baby/kids clothes. But if you price adult-sized clothes cheap enough, it will sell regardless.
9) When selling clothes (and coats) take a minute and go thru the pockets. You will never know what you may find.
Make your items the most attractive they can be. If the first thing that someone picks up is dirty, it may turn them off to looking at other things you have to sell. If you are selling an old soccer ball, make sure it is full of air. If you are selling a TV, have it turned on. If something needs batteries to run, put batteries in it so it works.
10) Yard sales are more relaxing if there is some background music on.
11) Display some of your more interesting items at the end of your driveway to act as a magnet to attract customers.
12) Ever notice how hard a woman has to work to convince a man to stop at a yard sale? To solve this, set out an old lawn mower or power tools fishing equipment etc. out front in plain view of the road, and you’ll get more business! It’s also smart to set up a small table with nothing but “man-things” jars full of screws and nails, electronic parts, tools and parts of tools, old copies of popular mechanics, fishing hooks etc. This gives the men something to immerse themselves in while the women find all the real treasures.
13) If you are planning your yard sale on the hot day, consider selling sodas or having the kids run a lemonade stand.
14) GUARD YOUR MONEY! Have lots of coins and small bills available to make change. If you don’t, your first customer will be a little old lady trying to buy .50 worth of stuff with a $20 bill. Do not leave your money sitting around in a box. wear a fanny pack or carpenter’s apron because you’ll always have your money with you. If you are running out of change, and someone is trying to haggle a price down, be willing to negotiate if the buyer has the exact change.
15) Don’t accept checks unless you are willing to take the risk of getting a bad check. A check that looks perfectly fine may be from a closed bank account.
16) Have plastic grocery bags available to put sold items in. If selling breakables, have newspaper available to wrap fragile items. Having a calculator handy is helpful in totaling up purchases. Make it easy for yourself to total items - price things evenly : .25, .50 and $1, NOT .40, .75, $1.20.
17) To avoid any hassles later on, post a sign that says “All Sales Final”.
18) If you have a ton of kid's clothes or small toys you are dying to get rid of, consider having a “fill a bag for a set price” kind of deal.
19) When garage sale is complete don’t forget to, TAKE DOWN YOUR SIGNS!
Here's the rest of the very helpful and interesting advice:
http://www.phlexmall.com/Garage_Sales/Garage_Sale_Tips.asp
