I only have one pair of pants left to wear to my tag sale tomorrow! Why? Because it takes a lot of work getting ready for one of these things and I'm too tired to get my clothes washed! I'm worn out and sore from all the walking back and forth tagging the items I want to sell! I think I've also worn out the Peptalk app trying to get into the right frame of mind to keep me going!
Today, I'm taking it easy though, so maybe I'll wash those clothes tonight. It's Tag Sale Eve! I thought it would help to rest before the big day! In today's post, I want to share with you what I do to get ready for a tag sale. There are many things to think about, because it's basically like setting up a one-day store! Hope you consider these tips for your next sale.
- Start Early: Get a running start by stock piling the things you don't need in your life any more! Designate a corner in one of your rooms and pile it up. Work often interrupts this process and many people are stressed the day before because they didn't have time to pull things earlier. If you're working, start even earlier! I think a month prior gives you a great head start.
- Tag Items: I know this is tedious....I know. But I would rather think about the price I want before I'm rushed by the mob! Tagging items prior to the sale reduces the questions on the day of the sale allowing you to serve more people. I start tagging a week prior to the sale and price to sell!
- Use Preprinted Tags: To save time, companies have started producing preprinted tags. The little stickers are easy to pull off and just place it on the item. I remember the good old days when I have to stop and write on my masking tape before I tore it off the roll. In fact, I think I had a masking-tape bracelet and an ink-pen hair piece for days! Anyway, preprinted tags will save lots of time.
- Make a Great Sign: It's hard to sell anything when they can't find you! If you are not on a main road, make a sign to post on the main road. Be sure to put your address so they can google the location and an arrow can point them in the right direction.
- Advertise: Facebook is a wonderful way to announce to your community that you're having a sale. In the olden days, we advertised in the newspaper at a cost. The power of the Internet is certainly at play here! Be sure to add a cute clip-art for eye appeal, the time, date and location.
- Prepare Food the Day Before: Since I have everything marked, I'll be making some snacks today to have available for tomorrow. I think I'll fix some finger foods like pinwheels, sandwiches, cut veggies and cookies. I'll also have my ice chest ready with water. I have three reasons why I do this: 1) I dislike spending my hard earned money on food for the day - it's so expensive to eat out! 2) I might not get a chance to go get something. You never know how busy it'll be. and 3) It's a great time to have a picnic with the friends and family you're having a sale with.
- Think About Displaying Your Items: Make sure you have plenty of surfaces to place your items on so your customers don't have to bend over to look at things. If you don't have tables, think of ways you can make the surfaces. We're bringing the saw horses and wood to make a table and also using a feed trough that we'll put a board on top of for another surface. We also have a rack made out of metal pipe to hang our clothing. Think outside the box when it comes to your display!
- Bring Supplies: I like to have everything I need readily accessible. Here's some things I have handy: Newspaper or tissue to wrap breakables, plastic sacks (recycled from previous store purchases), boxes, extra tags, pens, pencils, markers, calculator, tape measure, hammer, screwdriver, tape, notebook, a chair to sit in, your premade food, water, and lots of change. You also may need a canopy, tarp or umbrella to shield you from the sun.
- Write Sales Down: I like to write everything down because my memory is gone! But, seriously, writing things down helps you separate the money later, if you're selling with others. Sometime, I just pull the sticker off and stick it to my notebook to add them up. Don't worry about separating the list until after the sale. Your customer is the most important at the time of the sale, so add their items up on the notebook. Put an initial of the person the item belonged to and later separate the items out to get a total for each seller.
- Be Early On the Day of the Sale: Have you ever had a sale that starts at 8am and people show up at 7am? I have. It's so frustrating for people to be looking through your stuff as you pull it out. I even changed my time to 10am and they still showed up at 7 am!!! Not only are they looking at things as you pull them out, they try to talk you down from the price you posted or ask a ton of questions, interrupting your work. It would be so nice to just open the doors, but all my sales have been in the yard. So, if you can't open the doors, show up early. If I have a sale that is supposed to start at 8am, I show up at 5am and pull things out until 7am, thus being ready for the early birds! I also sit down and cool off before a crowd gathers!
- Be Prepared to Negotiate: It's a sale, so be prepared for people trying to get a good deal! You're not selling things new, so be flexible. You're clearing things out of your house to make room for newer items!
- Add Variety: Invite friends and family to sell with you! Their stuff will make the sale look huge and people love that! Give your customers plenty to look at. Variety is always an attraction to get people to stop. You'll see them driving by slowly and only stopping if there's something interesting to them!
- Have Fun: I hope you're not too tired to have some fun! Laughter is the best medicine for just about anything! Bring music, decorate and enjoy the food you made the day before! If your friends and family are there, enjoy the day with them!
- Tally Sales: If you are working together with others, tally the sales at the end of the sale. It gets confusing if you try to separate the sales during the sale; too many interruptions! Designate one person to tally while the others are packing up the remaining items. Sit down together and separate the money. Yeah! You have cash!
- Remove Tags: I remove tags after the sale because I dislike the little sticky mark it leaves if it's been on there for a long time.
- Donate: I like to donate the remaining items to a non-profit like Goodwill or Salvation Army. Donations are a great tax write off and now you have that space you used for stockpiling freed up! Win, Win!
I hope these tips help you out for your next sale! Have fun and sell, sell, sell! I hope you make lots of money to go out to eat when you feel fabulous and look great!
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