When my husband accepted his new position in LA we had to move in 2 1/2 weeks. One of the first things that I did was complete the work that we had begun in our basement, creating a storage area. In it we stored everything we didn't want to ship to LA and things we weren't sure we'd have room for. We stored large furniture in the garage. After deciding to sell the house (after renting it furnished) I had to fly back to deal with all of this stuff.
My thinking was that if we've been living comfortably without it for 4 months then we just don't need it. Full stop. The only things I was interested in shipping cross-country were several pieces of art that we had commissioned and a few antiques. Only extremely sentimental items would be stored. Everything else needed to go, so I got my yard sale on.
I did a little bit of Pinterest research and made a plan. And honestly? The sale was an enormous success, far more profitable than I imagined. Here's what I did:
On my first day in town I wasted no time in lugging items up from the storage unit and displaying them. It made sense to group like items and create departments around the empty house. I cleaned everything off and assigned prices to the items once they were all in their places.
My financial goal was $1000. I thought that was a bit high, but it seemed reasonable to expect to recoup the cost of airfare for me and my children.
I made a public Facebook event and shamelessly invited everyone I know. I also created a very simple flyer to put up around my neighborhood. Friends helped by hanging these up around town as well. On the flyer I had a custom tunyurl that linked to my FB event page. Items were listed Craigslist with explicit instructions not to contact me, which everyone totally ignored.
On the FB event page I posted pictures, details, prices, and the link to the item (if possible). This was not difficult because everything was grouped, clean, and priced.
I offered a Yard Sale Happy Hour on Friday from 5-8 and offered free beer. Since I was in during the Easter holiday weekend, I wanted to add the Friday evening sale just in case I didn't get any turnout on Sunday. Obviously, I'm not a lawyer or a ATF agent, so I have no idea of this is a legal thing to do in your area, your milage may vary. I simply viewed this as a friendly get together where people could choose to buy something if they wanted to. No different than a tupperware party! See? Not so bad when you think of it that way.
The biggest takeaway from Pinterest was that I should play music. Easy! A friend offered her wireless speaker and we played Adele and Beach House. It really was less awkward when there were just a few people standing around.
I ordered a card reader for my phone, which was the best idea. Several people made rather large purchases and I didn't have to worry about all that cash. The reader was free, the fees are minimal, and it's very easy to use. The money transferred the next day! For people paying cash, my friend assumed the role of cashier and handled everything.
Some thing just don't sell - Holiday decorations and clothes, for instance. Who knew?
Everything that didn't sell was either given to friends or donated to local charities. There are several Free Stores in Pittsburgh and I divided my donations between them. I know the items will be distributed fairly and not for profit, which is important to me. If my goal was more money-making than clear-out-the-house, I would have either consigned or continued to Craigslist any unsold items.
When it was all said and done, it was absolutely exhausting! I found people's expectations to be a little odd, but overall it was a good time. The Happy Hour was a HUGE success. There were people lining up at 4:30! By 6:30 it appeared that 3/4 of my stuff was sold. I actually didn't even have the sale on Sunday because there was nothing left.
Several people took the time to comment either in person or on Facebook that they liked how things were run. People saw what I had, knew how much it cost, knew what they wanted, and came and bought it.
All total I made $2700, waaaaaaaaay over goal. That money will pay for this trip, my husband's trip in May for his brother's wedding, and my trip in for business in August.
I shipped one box to LA via Amtrak and had to leave two large canvasses in Pittsburgh at my in-laws. I call that a success!
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