Turn your move into cash with a garage sale

First, lock in a date. Saturdays during the pleasant spring and autumn weather are ideal.

To avoid fines, check with your local council regarding permits and Covid-19 requirements.

Next, choose a location. Highly visible places from the street are best, such as your front yard, garage or driveway. Have a Plan B for bad weather.

Give your neighbours a heads-up well in advance with a letter drop or personal invite to ensure they can make it.

Promote your event on social media well in advance, and give regular updates to build the anticipation. Put up posters, and consider ads in your local paper.

A good crowd creates FOMO for passers-by, so ask friends to come along to create a buzz, and to help you run the day.

Gather your sale items well in advance. You may even collect stuff from friends or other garage sales. Inspect and clean every item before the sale.

Sort your items into clearly labelled boxes so buyers can easily find what they’re most interested in.

To avoid being asked “How much is this?” 4 billion times, label each item with a price tag. To save time, put smaller items with the same price on a table with a sign clearly stating the price.

Cash is still king for garage sales. Be ready to hand over the exact change so as not to inconvenience your buyers, or cause hold-ups.

Offer other payment methods such as a credit card, Paypal, and bank transfers.

Give helpers clear instructions beforehand so everyone has a task, and to avoid duplication.

Check the crowd regularly to ensure there is enough room for everyone to move around easily. Clearly mark entry, exit and payment points.

Encourage haggling, as it will help you sell more stuff. Decide beforehand what discounts you’ll offer so you’re not put on the spot.

Keep the fun vibe going – and encourage more shopping – by offering free drinks or snacks.

And finally, think about small token items you can offer to sweeten big or bulk sales.