Garage sales are a popular event within communities across America. If you’re considering having a garage sale, you’re probably looking for examples of garage sale ads that will help you attract the largest crowd.
Garage sales, along with yard sales and estate sales, can be a good way for households to clear out clutter while making some extra money. Plus, consumers can find a new treasure for a great price.
In order to attract potential buyers to your garage sale, it is important to have a simple but informational garage sale flyer that will stand out. After all, the more people that come to your sale, the greater the chance of making more sales.
Garage sales and all the preparation for it is a LOT of work. But I'm here to make it easier on you.
In this post, we go over the best garage sale tips including how to prepare, what to put on your garage sale ad, and where to post your ads. Plus, stick around until the end because we provide you with free downloads to give you ideas and inspiration!
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Preparing For A Garage Sale
Prior to thinking about having a sale, it is important to learn your city or county rules and regulations surrounding garage sales.
Many cities want residents to contact the Police Department to notify them that you are conducting the sale. Be prepared to let them know the time and date of the event, along with the address and telephone number of the person hosting the event.
Additionally, some municipalities only allow a certain number of garage sales to take place at the same address within a calendar year.
Therefore, plan on doing some research to see what steps you need to take to follow the rules within your specific city limits.
What To Include In Your Garage Sale Ad
Time and Date
Although this may seem obvious, many times these vital details are overlooked and left out of the garage sale ad. So, make sure to double-check to see that both the time and date are on your ad.
Also, once you confirm the time and date are actually on the garage sale ad, double-check to make sure it is correct. You do not want people showing up another day or time when you are not ready for a garage sale.
When it comes to the date, make sure to specify if the sale will be one day or two days. So, either put one specific date or include a date range.
Start Time
On your garage sale ad make sure to include the start time for the day of the sale. In order to prepare yourself for the early birds coming at the crack of dawn, consider setting a time later than you actually expect to start.
For example, if you want the garage sale to start at 6AM, actually put 7 AM. That way, you can still expect a decent amount of people to show up before 7AM, but you’ll already be set up and prepared once they arrive.
End Time
You may or may not want to include the end time of the garage sale. On one hand, including the end time lets potential shoppers know when the cutoff is.
However, this may attract an influx of buyers near the end of the garage sale because they expect to get a deep discount on the items that are left. They’re probably not wrong, because who wants to load up a bunch of things back into their house?
I advise setting the end of the day earlier than you expect. Similarly to the start time, you can expect shoppers to stay past the end time.
Because of this, don’t make dinner plans right after the garage sale. You’ll likely run it over time. Plus, it will be a long day of interacting, selling, and negotiating.
Types of Items
You may also want to include the types of items you will be having at your garage sale. Will you be selling women’s clothes? Men’s clothes? Baby Clothes? Shoes? Or all of the aforementioned categories?
When it comes to clothing, it may also be wise to include a couple of brand names of the items that you have. Additionally, check the clothes for a size range to inform your potential shoppers if you’ll have anything in their size.
What about household items? Make sure to include if you will be selling any kitchen items, power tools, craft supplies, toys, games, sports equipment, and other similar items. Many buyers are also interested in large items, like furniture, so be sure to specify if you will be having these high-ticket items at your sale.
Also, include if you will be selling any collector's items. These items can be very lucrative to garage sale hunting pros. This includes sports memorabilia, art, vintage items, and other valuable items.
You may also want to add the condition of the items, as buyers will have more peace of mind if they know what they will be buying is in good condition.
Garage Sale Pricing
If you are just trying to declutter and want to give a last-ditch effort at getting rid of items before you donate them, you may be able to attract shoppers by including the price range of your items.
For example, is everything going to be priced in a range from $1-$5? Or $1-$15?
Alternatively, if not everything is going to be priced in that range, you can use your categories from above and separate out the price range. For example, you can state that all clothing items are $5, and that all shoes are $15.
This practice will also save you time if you can price items in a group versus placing price tags on all individual items.
Payment Methods
As we continue into the digital age of cashless transactions, you may also want to include the payment methods that you will be accepting at your sale.
Either outline that the sale is cash only, or let buyers know you will be accepting payment via Venmo, Cashapp, PayPal, or another payment processing service.
As a garage sale hunter, I must say it is much appreciated when garage sales offer cashless forms of payment. There have been many times I have spontaneously stumbled upon a garage sale during a walk in my neighborhood.
Obviously, I don’t have cash on me for a mid-day stroll, but I always have my phone! That way, you may be able to attract more buyers and increase sales if you allow cashless transactions.
However, pay attention to the new IRS tax rules when it comes to selling items. In no way am I a tax professional, nor do I claim to be able to give tax advice, but there is expected to be a new threshold for reporting income for casual sellers.
Although, this should not change things because you should always be reporting the income that you make. Now, it will just be tracked and more formal under the watchful eye of the IRS.
Starting for the tax year 2023 (when you file 2024 taxes), you will receive a tax form from any site or payment processing service where you receive $600 or more for goods and or services.
So, if you accept more than $600 in payment from Venmo, Cashapp, PayPal, or another platform, it may be reported to the IRS and you may have to claim it on your 2023 taxes.
I recommend that you consult a tax professional for further details on reporting your garage sale income.
Directions / Landmarks
On your yard sale ad, it is up to you to decide how much information you include about your location. You may opt to put your specific address on the garage sale ad.
However, depending on where it is posted, you may not feel comfortable having your full, exact address displayed. This may even lead to early birds knocking on your door asking when the sale is going to begin.
Alternatively, you can just use your street name and zip code. That way, only those that are actually shopping at the garage sale will have your actual address once they arrive at the sale.
If you decide to hold off on putting your full address, you may also want to use landmark descriptors to guide those to your residence. However, this is not completely necessary.
After all, once it’s time for the sale, it will be pretty apparent to shoppers which house is the right one.
Where To Advertise Your Garage Sale
Online
The first place you can advertise your garage sale is online. You can post on your personal social media page to attract your friends and family members.
Another great place to post your garage sale ad to draw a wider audience is on Facebook Marketplace. Here, you can post a digital version of your garage sale flyer along with additional pictures to show potential customers what to expect come sale day. This can make a big impact on the customer turnout.
Sellers can also post on Craigslist, Nextdoor, and other community pages to let your local friends, family, and neighbors know about your garage sale.
Plus, here's another garage sale tip. There are also wider-reaching pages, like Yard Sale Search, Gsalr.com, and Garage Sale Finder, to promote your upcoming sale. You can typically post for free without having to pay for any type of online ad.
Throughout The Neighborhood
In addition to posting online, it may also be a good idea to do it the old-fashioned way and post throughout your neighborhood. But first, check with your local city or county regulations.
Some cities do not allow garage sale signs to be posted at all, and some require a permit. Further, some towns require the signs to be a certain size. Even some cities only allow the signs to be posted on the day of the garage sale.
If you’ve cleared it with your town and you are able to post signs around the neighborhood, ensure you also make a plan to clean up after the sale. Try to avoid leaving your signs posted up well after the sale.
Local Shops
In addition to seeing if you can post your garage sale ads in public outdoor places, consider seeing if any public indoor places allow you to advertise. This is another great way to increase exposure to your sale.
For example, there may be a local coffee shop with a shared bulletin board for the community to post events. Similarly, think about restaurants, community centers, and more when it comes to advertising your garage sale.
In The Newspaper
In addition, you can also advertise your garage sale in the local newspaper within the classified ads. However, this typically costs money, which will ultimately decrease your profit margins from what you earn on sale day.
Due to the increasingly digital world, it is no longer necessary to advertise your garage sale in the newspaper. It is likely you will attract more prospective buyers by posting on my preferred method: Facebook Marketplace.
Many households have done away with paying for the print newspaper. Most consumers either browse online or don’t look at a newspaper at all. Thankfully, we’ve gone over a couple of free options to boost exposure for your sale.
Download Your Printable
Now that you’ve read through this guide, you’re ready to get started on your garage sale ads! All you have to do is make a copy and add the specific details of your garage sale, and you're ready to go.
Wishing you a lot of success and a profitable garage sale!
What is the most you’ve ever made at a garage sale? Comment below!
Stale Bank
Thanks for this article. Really helpful.
Amanda Manera
Awesome, I'm glad you found this post helpful 🙂