Tips for having a garage sale

We're taking part in a friend's garage sale this weekend. I consider myself something of a garage sale expert (I've been involved in at least 20) and thought I would share my sage wisdom on how to conduct a proper sale.

• When you go out to put up signs, bring a marker so you can draw arrows pointing toward your house. Don’t write the arrows beforehand or you’ll have less flexibility about where you can post the signs.

• Don’t forget to advertise on Craigslist. The site isn’t as popular as it once was but a lot of people still use it to find garage sales.

• Make sure you get lots of small bills and coins from the bank so you can give change. Also have some type of money belt or box to keep the cash in so it will be safe and confined to one area.

• Get a bunch of stickers that are different colors and assign a price to each sticker (red = $0.50, yellow = $1.00, etcetera). You don’t have to write the price on each sticker, just know how much money each color represents. Stick these on as many items as you can before the event. This saves a lot of time and stress during the garage sale because you won’t have to answer as many pricing questions about small items (giving you time to negotiate with people on the large sale items).

• Set up as many tables as you can. Your stuff will look a lot better displayed on a table than it will spread out on a lawn or a curb.

• Have as much set up in advance as you can. The most serious garage sale customers come very early and will be loitering around. You want to be able to interact with them and not ignore them while frantically setting out your stuff.

One final note. If you aren't sure whether or not you want to sell something do not put it out on the lawn. You may get caught up in the moment and sell the item only to regret it later. If you decide at a later date that you really don't want the item, don't worry. You can always have another garage sale!