I am not sure about the yard sale etiquette, but have been needing to have one for a long time now. Every time I want to, the weather says the weekends aren't looking good (even though they turn out okay). Then I forget until a weekday. I don't work, so I was just wondering if it was okay to have a yard sale during the week?
By Melissa from Northbridge, MA
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There is no ettiquite for having a garage sale other than to obey city ordinanes (fees, etc.) and be nice to your customers.
If you think that people will come during the week, by all means have your garage sale. I have noticed in the mid-west that years ago, garage sales were held on Saturday and Sunday. Then they went to Friday and Saturday - no Sunday. More recently they're held on Thursday, Friday and Saturday and occasionally even starting on Wednesday.
The reason yard sales are on the weekend (I think) is that the weekends are when more people have the free time to cruise and buy. During the week a lot of people work. If you live in a retirement community or one where there are many stay-at-home people, weekdays may work for you. Unless your town has a limit on the the number of sales you can have a year, all you're using is your time. Good luck
A lot of people feel they are getting the bargain by hitting them up throughout the week so you may get more customers that way, good luck. My own personal experience is sell cheap bottled water and baked goods at your yard sale if you can. Always goes over big at mine.
Having a yard or garage sale during the week is perfectly acceptable. But let me give you some advise; make signs that say the day and time of the yard/garage sale and post them 2 or 3 days in advance. That starts informing people it is going to happen. During the week I would recommend a late day sale, say 3 to 7pm. Make sure that is on the signs. This makes your sale available to people coming home from work. People usually don't have time in the morning or during lunch for a sale. This will help them know your sale will be going on. Most sales are over late in the day so people don't look for them.
This is a tip for yard or garage sales for anyone on any day: make good signs. Big enough to read from a moving car with a distinguished arrow pointing the way. Make the sign big enough to put your house number and street name. Post the signs well before necessary traffic turns. It doesn't hurt to post more than one sign for a turn. One well in advance and one at the turn. Make all the signs the same color and size. If the sale isn't obvious from the road as a driver approaches post a sign without an arrow. Again, same color and size.
The theory is, if its easy to find they will come. I've been doing yard sales for 34 years now on a regular basis. Not just having them but going to them (mykids get upward of 40+ gifts at Christmas and most of them are from yard sales). This works. Also, if your sale is a good distance down a street add to the sign how far it is: 1 mile, 3 blocks, 5 miles, etc. If I turn onto a road because of a yard sale sign and I don't see any thing within the first block I turn around... unless the sign told me how far to go. And signs that look the same let me know I found the right yard sale.
Someone who puts effort into their signs for me to find them deserve my business. This is more for weekend sales. Especially during the summer when they are more numerous. It is not hard to follow some good signs and stop at a yard sale and then find out the yard sale you were looking for is down the street further. And I always try to ask if that was their sign I was following.
I suggest planning a yard sales for the first weekend of the month - or as close to the first days of the month as possible. People who receive SS checks and other checks have money then. They won't at the end of the month. For my next yard sale I'm having it in the evening -- a "Midnight Madness" sale - for all the people who work 8-5 and can never make it to the weekday sales.
Also, remember, one man's trash is another's treasure. As a joke, my husband brought home from a yard sale a popsicle stick lamp decorated with shells from Florida. Butt ugly. I put it out at our next yard sale and a lady paid $5 for it! But I couldn't give away a set of 2 end tables and a coffee table with no scratches! You never know what will sell. Good luck! Keep a sense of humor -- that will help you when someone makes disparaging remarks about your stuff.
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When planning to have a yard sale, be sure to find out what kinds of events are going on in your town the same weekend. If your area is like ours, it's better to have your yard sale when nothing much is going on.
The more distractions going on elsewhere, the chances of having a great yard sale isn't good. Also, holiday weekends most people spend time with family and friends, so this time isn't good for yard sales around here.
By Terri
I have an annual perennial sale with a girlfriend of mine. We divide the plants in our yard and have a sale with them. Next year will be our 10th year. Because we always have it on the last Friday and Saturday of the month of May, we have many repeat customers who watch for our sale. We try to let everyone know who comes to this year's sale that we will be in the same place at the same time next year. (07/14/2005)
The opposite is true for our town. We live in a small town and most people plan their yard sales for when an event is happening. That way there are more people in town to shop the sales. As we live in a rural area off the beaten path, this works great for us. (07/15/2005)
By Susan
