Community Corner

Tips for Hosting a Successful Tag Sale

The summer season is upon us. Here are seven tips for hosting a successful garage, yard or tag sale.

Spring cleaning? Looking to simplify your life and get rid of the clutter? Consider hosting a tag sale! Here are some tips to get started:

  1. Set the Date: Nationwide, the most popular time to host a tag sale is between the months of June and October. Consider choosing the first Saturday of the month. Most people get paid on the 1st of the month and are more likely to have extra cash to shop that first weekend.
  2. Choose the Times: To get rid of most of your stuff, consider being "open" the better part of the day, say 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Or, 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. That way, you will catch the early birds as well as the late afternoon browsers.
  3. What to Sell: I'd say if your "baby" is off to college, it's about time to sell that old stroller, crib and bouncy-thing! Take some time well in advance of your tag sale to wander through your house, basement, garage and attic to determine what is no longer useful to you, but may find a happy home with someone else. That old exercise bike collecting dust in your basement for the last two years? That would be a definite sell item. 
  4. Promote, Promote, Promote: If people don't know about your yard sale, how will they come to it? Post plenty of waterproof signs around town with the date, times and highlights of items you are selling. Post it for free on Waterford Patch's online boards. Share it via social media outlets like Facebook and Twitter. Hang flyers at your local libraries and town-wide public posting boards.
  5. Supplies You Will Need: Calculator for tallying sales, cashbox with money to make change (a variety of ones, fives, tens and quarters should be good to get started), tables to display items for sale and stickers and a marker to price items. 
  6. Get Organized: In advance of your tag sale, clean all items that you are planning to sell. Items with dirt and grime are not likely to sell. Price your items using stickers and a dark-colored marker or pen. Placing the sticker on the top of the item is preferred over making a potential buyer search for it on the bottom. Sort your items and group like items together. You might want to consider a book table or a CD table so bargain hunters can easily look through like items.
  7. Sell, Sell, Sell: On the day of your tag sale, set up in advance of your designated start time. You don't want to be running in and out of the house carrying items while people are trying to browse. Be available and willing to negotiate. People who shop tag sales are looking for a bargain. Be open to their suggestions and be sure to make a counter-offer. It's all part of the fun of hosting a tag sale!
Help us help you get rid of your unwanted items of worth by posting your Tag Sale on the Waterford Buy|Sell|Trade Board! For even more free publicity, add it to the events calendar as well.

Better yet, your tag sale might be featured in a weekly tag sale roundup article that gets posted on several area Patch sites and shared via Facebook and Twitter! Talk about FREE publicity!

After you post the information for your tag sale, email the link to julie.weisberg@patch.com by Thursday evening with TAG SALE in the subject line.


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