Holding a Diva Garage Sale – Part I
…An excerpt from Tossed & Found
Be Prepared
Selling used goods from a driveway, a yard or the interior of a home has been referred to as a garage sale, yard sale or tag sale. People hold these homespun events to raise money and rid their homes of all the unwanted things that have collected over the years. Although these sales are a lot of work, they are a great way to purge a home and turn unwanted things into big profits.
The following schedule outlines how tasks can be chunked-down into manageable parts, rendering a gargantuan job … doable, turning even the wildest project into a tame affair.
A Diva of a Sale
Two Months Before the Garage Sale
I learned to set my sale dates around the financial prosperity of my customers. By scheduling sales around the 15th or 30th day of the month, I hit their paydays. It stands to reason that people are more likely to splurge during these two days versus the weeks they walked around with no money in their pocketbooks. After all, my goal is to attract shoppers not window shoppers.
Two Weeks before the Sale
The transformation of my garage into the Diva Shoppe begins.
- The entire garage is rearranged. Anything that is not being sold is moved to the back of the garage.
- All restricted areas are draped with sheeting. Every attempt is made to prevent people from entering personal areas or examining items that are not for sale. This simple ounce of preventions avoids unnecessary distractions once the garage sale is in full swing.
- The garage is then cleaned from top to bottom.
- Next, display tables are set in a u-shaped pattern which is the best arrangement for an effective traffic flow, allowing customers to walk around and examine the merchandise. In some instances, a row of tables can be placed down the middle depending on the amount of room available.
- Each table is draped with sheets and topped with pretty tablecloths or pieces of fabric.
- All boxes and containers holding similar contents are place next to each other.
- I enjoy creating scenes in my sales, so all like items, kitchen, family room, household, décor, clothing and toys are placed together.
- My next project defines a labor of love. Tables are arranged attractively, with attention to every detail. I go to great lengths to create eye-catching “tablescapes.” My reasoning is simple. People like to shop in pleasant surroundings despite the fact that they are doing their shopping at a tag sale.
- Furniture is arranged in scenes or quasi rooms. In turn, each area is festooned with accessories, throw pillows, pictures and silk plants to create a warm inviting designer look. Over time, it became obvious that the extra effort spent putting together artful arrangements and furniture groupings resulted in heavier traffic and substantial sales.
My recipe for a fabulous Diva Sale is to add a crate of creativity and a big dollop of sassy spice.
All my bags, boxes and paper goods that crept into my home were saved for the garage sale. By the time I opened my Diva Shoppe I had collected a good stock of reused wrappings to pack and box the items that I sold.
