5 Tips For A Successful Garage Sale In North Texas
Garage sale, rummage sale, estate sale or yard sale--any way you look at it, they can help to unclutter your home and make you a few extra bucks in the process. In Texas, garage sales are commonly year round because of the unpredictable weather conditions, but many local county offices begin selling garage sale permits in the spring.
1. Get a permit. In order to have a successful garage sale, you have to have permission from your city or county. Failure to do so could result in a fine and the closing of your garage sale and fines. Check with your local city or county clerk office before you set up your garage sale.
2. Advertise. Advertise your garage sale at least two weeks before you have it. There is nothing worse than hearing about a great opportunity at the last minute, so don't short change yourself by waiting until the week of the sale to post up signs. Try advertising in local community papers, centers and online.
3. Get organized. Set up your garage sale so that it does not look like a storm came through. Think about what retail stores look like when choosing how to set up. Organize like items and keep big items grouped together as well. If you have mostly clothes, hang items that require TLC and fold other items neatly on a table. If you have someone to help out, have them periodically attend to moved items so that you can keep your garage sale looking professional.
4. Label your items clearly. While the excitement of bargain hunting is to haggle over pricing, you don't want to spend your day haggling about prices. Be sure to label your items with a reasonable price so that people can see what you are asking for.
5. End when you are supposed to end. If your garage sale is not successful, don't spend extra hours waiting for stragglers to visit you. Chances are, they won't. Instead, consider taking all your unsold items to the nearest donation station or church and help out the less fortunate. Try local shelters as well like Genesis Shelter.
These local businesses and organizations can help make your garage sale a success.
Genesis Benefit Thrift Store
3419 Knight Street
Dallas, TX 75219
(214) 520-6644
www.genesisshelter.org
Hours: Mon to Fri – 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., Sat – 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., Sun – 1 p.m. to 5 p.m.
Grubbs Graphics Inc.
15301 Dallas Parkway, Suite 65
Addison, TX 75001
(972) 960-1088
www.grubbsgraphics.com
Hours: Mon to Fri – 8 a.m. to 6 p.m.
2nd Choice Resale Market and Indoor Flea Market
701 E. Pioneer Pkwy Ste. B
Arlington, TX 76010
(817) 801-5400
www.2ndchoiceresale.com
Hours: Mon to Sat – 10 a.m. to 7 p.m., Sun – 12 p.m. to 6 p.m., Closed Tuesdays
Ivy N. Carter has been professionally writing since 1998 when she started writing for the Texas Southern University The Herald student newspaper. Since then Ivy has enjoyed writing for several magazines, newspapers, businesses and other publications throughout the country. She has a MBA is the owner of Written By INC a professional writing and editing company. Her work can be found on Examiner.com.
