How To Host A Stockpile Yard Sale

Many of you sell a portion of your stockpile during the summer. After a long season of shopping, it is time to earn some cash for all of your hard work.

Before you get your yard sale ready, here are a few stockpile sale tips to keep in mind.

Get organized

You want to have a system in place. Small items should be located closest to your payment area.

These items are subject to theft so you want to have them within your line of vision at all times.

Items that would fit in this category include:

• Toothpaste 
• Makeup 
• Medicines 
• Lip Balm 
• Travel size products 
• Eye Drops 
• Nasal Sprays
• Hair accessories
• Nail Care products

Product Placement

Help direct the flow of your yard sale by placing your products in strategic areas.

Since clothing tends to draw people in, hanging clothing at eye level is ideal. Make sure that you put clothing in front of your sale as well as in the back near the payment table.

The clothing that draw them in from the street will make them stop but the clothing near the payment table makes them walk through and see everything you have to offer.

Top sellers at yard sales consist of:

• medicines
• mouthwash
• toothpaste
• personal care items
• health and beauty items

Keep like items together so that you can keep an accurate count of them. Spread these popular items throughout your yard sale so customers will be forced to view each table.

For instance, place toothpaste on the table with knick knacks and other gently used items. This draws the customer’s eye towards those items that may not sell as quickly as toothpaste.

When placing items on tables, try to keep items that are in the same price range, in the same area.

You want to know that everything on table “B” is $2. This will prove helpful when it gets busy and it also helps customers as they shop.

If you’re selling video games or movies, leave the game covers out for customers to browse through and make their selection.

The games and movies themselves should be separated and located in front of the cashier.

**A shoebox with cardboard dividers makes a great game and movie holder.**

Layout

You want the layout for your yard sale to resemble the letter “U”. This will allow the customer to view every section of your yard sale.

Since the goal is to increase your sales, you want the customer to pass what they saw when they entered the sale just in case they were on the fence about a purchase.

A second look could be the move to push the customer to purchase.

Catching The Customer’s Attention

If you’re looking to catch the customer’s attention in regards to a particular item, you may want to place this item at a higher level than other items at your yard sale. This method would work when looking to appeal to adults.

If you’re interested in selling toys at your yard sale, you may want to keep these items lower so a child can easily pick them up.

You also want to keep toys out front so that customers can see them from the street and you can keep an eye on them from your payment table.

Advertising & Timing

Start yard sales early in the morning. You want to begin your yard sale early so give yourself 1 ½ hours to set up and post signs around the neighborhood.

Place ads on websites like Craigslist, Backpage, and Oodle.

Make sure all signs and yard sale ads contain specific times and give specific directions.

All signs should have arrows that point the customer in the direction they should follow in order to reach their destination.

Customers should not have to stop and read small print on signs. Big letters and big arrows are key to getting the customers to your front door.

When giving directions, the closest major intersection will be your starting point.

Many people start conducting yard sales as early as Thursday and end on Saturday.

Yard sales begin to slow down after 12pm. It is imperative that you begin your sale early so that you have time to make money.

Check the city ordinances for rules and laws that govern yard sales in your area.

Some areas will only allow yard sales for 1-2 days out of the year and require a fee.

Make sure to comply with all laws and ordinances governing your area when planning your yard sale. (… otherwise, Karen… you know…)

Inventory

A yard sale is pointless if you do not have a grasp of what you plan on selling. If you’re planning a large sale, you want to have a large inventory. The more you sell, the more you make.

Your inventory should be recorded prior to the start of the sale. No later than the night before you conduct the sale, write down the items you’re selling and how many are in your inventory.

This will help you monitor what is being sold and what should be left at the end of the day.

Pricing

There are two prices you want to keep in mind when conducting a yard sale. Your stockpile sale price list will be very important to this whole process.

• The price on the item
• The price you will take

Many customers see a yard sale as a place to haggle. I am not a fan of haggling so I set two prices.

On my inventory list, I write the amount I am willing to take and on the item. If you have toothpaste, you want to sell it for $1. Write this price on your inventory list.

On the product, write the price as $1.50. If a customer pays $1.50 for this item, you can be lenient on the price of another item.

If the customer wants to negotiate, you know that you will take no less than $1 so the customer feels they have gotten a steal of a deal!

Pricing items a little higher than you want will give you wiggle room and keep you at your targeted goal. 

When setting prices, you want to make sure to price items for half the price consumers typically pay in the store.

Example stockpile sale price list prices including how to sell stockpile bundles:

• Toothpaste $1
• Tampons $2-$3 (dependent on package size)
• Sanitary Pads $2-3 (dependent on package size)
• Toilet Paper (varies depending on package size)
• Lip Balm $1 (bundles of 6)
• Shampoo $1
• Conditioner $1
• Sunscreen $2-$3 (dependent on size)
• Eye Liner $1
• Foundation $2-$3
• Concealer $3
• Lipstick or Gloss $1-$2
• Dish Detergent $1
• Dishwasher Detergent $1-$2 (dependent on size)
• Clothes Detergent $4 (Tide or Gain)
• Clothes Detergent $3 (Extra)
• Medicine depends on laws in your area and size.
• Scope $2 (large bottles)
• Listerine 500ml $1.50
• Listerine $3 (large bottles)
• Lysol Toilet Cleaner $1
• Mr. Clean Erasers $0.50 for single boxes
• Scrubbing Bubbles Toilet Cleaner Starter Kits $2
• Swiffer Starter Kit $4 (Sweeper)
• Swiffer Duster Starter Kit $2
• Swiffer Mop Starter Kit $5
• Swiffer Wet Refills $3
• Swiffer Duster Refills $2
• Swiffer Sweeper Refills $3
• Glade Aerosol 2/$1
• Febreeze Aerosol $1
• Glade and Airwick Automatic Spray Starter Kits $4
• Glade Candles 2/$1
• Airwick Candles $2
• Drinks (cold in a cooler with ice) $0.50 for cans and $1 for bottles

Sell small bags of chips and individually wrapped snacks for customers who have been out shopping all day. The items should not exceed $1.

Create surprise bags (brown paper bags) worth a high value with various yard sale items for a set price.

The bag should be stapled so that the customer gets a surprise. Write the value of the items in the bag and place a sticker with the asking price in the corner of the outside of the bag.

This keeps the yard sale interesting. You want to have plenty of bags on hand. Whether you choose paper or plastic, bring out all of your bags because you’ll need them for your customer’s heavy bundles.

So, have you had a Stockpile Yard Sale before?  How did you do?  Share your tips in the comment section!