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So you're going to have a yard sale...

Before the sale: Call your city government to find out if your area requires a day license in order to host a yard sale or if they have any restrictions on how you may conduct your event. Plan to coordinate your yardsale on the same day as your neighbors - the term "Block Sale" in your advertising will draw visitors who otherwise may not have made the effort. Pick a date and advertise! Include a general description of the types of items you are selling. In addition to listing your yardsale here at Yard Sale Search, you may want to place an ad in your local paper. Most cities have a free classifieds publication such as The Recycler, Penny Saver, or Thrifty Nickel.

Tips for buyers: Get there early in the day. Take lots of dollar bills and change. At yard sales, they don't take Mastercard or American Express, but they do take cash! Don't forget your ATM card just in case you spy a treasure priced just out of the amount you have with you. Print out maps for all yard sales you intend to visit and organize them by their proximity to each other.

Guerilla Advertising: Make lots of signs to post around your neighborhood before the morning of your sale. The sign should include your address (obvious yes, but easily forgotten!) and directional arrows pointing the way. Printing them on bright colored paper or coloring them in makes them more attention grabbing. After the sale, be a good neighbor - remove and dispose of your signs. Wherever possible, price your items ahead of time and label them. People are likely to buy more if they don't have to ask you "how much is this?" twenty times in a row. Use removable stickers for pricing (drafting tape also works well for this). Damage from a price tag might lose you the sale! Be sensible when pricing. A yard sale is not the place to sell a valuable antique for its true value. People go to yard sales because they want a good deal (we're talking a couple bucks to 10 cents for most items and possibly twenty dollars for furniture). Make sure they get one. Otherwise, you may want to sell your item through another type of venue. Have a bunch of items that seemingly have no value? Throw them in a big box or on a table and label it "Free." Your generosity will endear you to customers and make them less likely to offer you a ridiculously low price for the items you want to sell. Thoroughly go through the items you have gathered to sell to see if something valuable fell in by mistake. This is especially important if you will have more than one person handling the cash since they won't know that rhinestone pin was a memento from your first love!

During the Sale: Keep your pets out of the yard sale area. It's easy to lose sight of them when someone is walking in and out of the gate, and many people are afraid of even the tiniest of dogs -- let alone your Boa Constrictor or Pit Bull. Be ready to deal. If your prices are reasonable, it's possible you can make most of your sales without going down further on the price, but if someone hesitates, you'll earn more if you quickly assess the other items they were considering and give them a discount for buying the whole lot. Items should be organized and displayed in an orderly fashion with every item clearly visible. If everything is in boxes or piles that the customer has to dig through, she may never find that porcelain poodle she just has to have. Visually striking items should be placed as close to the road as possible -- especially if you live on a busy street. You may be able to lure in those who weren't planning to go to yard sales that day. Offer to plug in all electronic items to show that they are indeed in working order. You should have an extra long extension cord for this purpose so that you don't have to let strangers into your home. Leave your customers alone. If you go up to them every time they look at something, they'll feel uncomfortable and you'll lose the sale. Be friendly, but wait until they approach you before speaking. Never leave your cash unattended. It only takes seconds for someone to spot the opportunity and run off with all your day's earnings. Keep grocery bags on hand for people who purchase several items. They won't buy what they can't manage to carry!