What NOT to Say in Yard Sale Ads…these are based on real ads I’ve seen on Craig’s List, and I read a bazillion of them because I go to sales every weekend. You want to draw a crowd. How should you word your ad? Scroll down for tips at the bottom. I can definitely tell you what NOT to say! Check out commonly seen ad content below:
What NOT to Say in Yard Sale Ads:
*Ads with an incomplete address or no address..SYITF! It’s a no brainer, but you would be surprised how often this info is missing.
What in the Heck is “SYITF”?
My acronym for “Shooting Yourself in the Foot.”
*Ads with a one sentence description and no details: SYITF! Give us more than just one sentence please!…don’t just say “household” or “collectibles.” Such commonly used words are ignored. Yard sale junkies want details! Giving us an idea of what you have is a better come-on. Ads with no details like the one below don’t entice me to come if I have other choices. You may have a gold mine, but if you don’t tell me about it, I don’t bother.
*Timing of your post: Submit a yard sale ad at least 2 days in advance, either on Craig’s List or Facebook. I can’t tell you how many times I look at the list and see a new one I would have gone to had I known about it. DO NOT wait until the day of your sale to post an ad!! On yard sale day, I’m moving fast. I don’t take time to check all the sites to see if a new ad is posted. You either get me the night before or you don’t get me. Yard sale junkies plan in advance and will likely miss your ad entirely.
*Ads with no pictures is a TOTAL waste: SYITF! The more, the better. I frequently go out of my way when I see a picture with interesting junk. Craig’s List and Facebook allow lots of photos for free. Take advantage!
*Try not to make it just about clothes, baby stuff, shoes, purses: These are not big draws for a mega sale. I totally ignore and avoid these. But if you do have clothes, please hang them up or find a way to display them nicely. No one wants to paw through a bag of wrinkly clothes that look like they sat in the dryer for 3 days.
*”By Appointment” SYITF! This is a death knell…there is NO WAY I’m going to a yard sale by appointment, unless there’s nothing else, and probably not even then! Remember, you have LOTS of competition!
*NEVER say “Antique Dealers’ Sale” or Booth Owner’s Sale: SYITF! Every time I go to these, they are ALWAYS more expensive than the sale of the average joe. Instead say, “Loads of Vintage Items,” with no hint that you are a dealer.
*Don’t say it’s a clearance sale SYITF! because I know all the good stuff is gone by the time you’re having a clearance.
*Don’t say you have painted or repurposed items SYITF! Because I know you have spent time and effort fixing something up and it will be more expensive. I’m not going to a vintage market or a fair. I’m going to a yard sale!
*Don’t say it’s an Ebay sale! SYITF! I’m going to assume you’re trying to unload what you can’t sell on Ebay, so why should I want to buy that? I have seen people advertise their ebay store saying they are having a sale, but this is not a good way to do that.
*Try not to start later than 10 am like 12 Noon, 1 pm, or thereafter. Serious yard sale junkies get up early and they’re done by then.
TIP *Start at your advertised time! I go to early sales, and they’re not ready. They’re still pulling out stuff. They overslept. Whatever. But I have a list and don’t have time to stand around waiting on you to finish. I’m gone!
TIP *Ideal time to start: 7-8 am. I know I’m going to get in trouble with this one! Does anyone REALLY go to 6 am sales?? Not me! SYITF unless you’ve enticed me with your pictures or description.
I’m still in my jammies at 6 am.
I’m still trying to wake up at 6 am.
I’m having my 1st or 2nd cup of coffee at 6 am so I can wake up.
TIP *And for heaven’s sake, be ready with your change! I’ve been to many sales where mama is running around trying to find the husband or the daughter or whoever…”do you have change, do you have change?” Or they’re running in the house to get it. And I’m standing there wishing I’d never picked up your item in the first place.
NEVER Say “No Junk” SYITF! Stress how much junk you have and you will get more people. You would be surprised how many people look for junk! One man’s junk is not another man’s junk! Don’t run them off before they even get there!
*Neighborhood Yard Sales. These have their place, but consider doing one NOT with the neighborhood. Most dealers I know avoid these like the plague. Dealers are your best customers! But we’re in a hurry and fly from yard sale to yard sale. We don’t want to get stuck in a neighborhood. Cars bunch up from house to house, with people walking all over the place. Some houses participating have almost nothing to offer. You get the picture.
*Don’t itemize with prices on Craig’s List ads: SYITF…you’re running people off before they even get there with any suggestion of high prices. People will either conclude that everything is high and not come, or it looks like that’s all you have.
I’m talking about something like this below:
*Warehouse Sales, Resale Shops, Flea Markets: Having a sale ad on yard sale pages gets you quickly ignored. Not an effective place to advertise!
*DON’T use worn out come-on phrases: You tend to get skimmed, scanned, & skipped.
*Something for Everyone
*You don’t want to Miss This One
*Too Much to List
*Household items
*Collectibles (please tell me what kind)
*Everything Must Go…this one kills me. I see this, I go, and the prices are ridiculously high. Price your items cheap & they WILL go!
*And above all, don’t say “No Early Birds.”You will have them regardless.
What is a GOOD Garage Sale Ad?
Those with lots of pictures and bins full of stuff. The more pictures, the better. **Take the time to take decent photos that aren’t blurry or dark.
Ads that say “multifamily, hoarder, purging, downsizing, cleaning out.”
Ads with pictures showing interesting junk. (like the one above)
Ads with lots of smalls, meaning small items that are easily shipped
Ads that say “I’m cleaning out Granny’s house” are golden.
Ads that say “it’s a 20 year, 30, 40, 50+ year accumulation.”
Ads that say you have vintage items, even better if you say what kind.
Ads that say you have vintage oddities, all kinds of junk
**You have this kind of ad, and you will have droves of customers!
Do YOU have anything to add to my list? Please say so in the comments below!
Florence
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So true! And with those ads, tell the truth. Don’t say cleaning out Granny’s house when you only have a chair and a picture.
Oh yeah, I’ve been to quite a few of those too!
Some good points and tips-THANKS!!!
Thanks for coming by and commenting Michelle!!
Florence, this is golden. I have held many garage sales in my life and the most money we made is when we moved into my husband’s trailer. It was in a trailer court and we sold so much stuff! I gave out plastic shopping bags and let people fill for $1 and we made more money than when we have had garage sales in our new home, in a new addition, in a more affluent side of town. Yes, we had our junk, and furniture, all kinds of stuff, and it surprised me that it almost all sold!
Your tips are brilliant, hopefully people will listen and get rid of more of their “oddities” LOL.
LOL…so funny that you made more money at that one when you let people fill a bag for $1. I need to try that at my next one! Good way to get rid of stuff. I can always tell when I’m going to a sale when the person running it has no idea how to price. I used to be in that boat too.
This is a great list -I would love to go to yard sale ( they don’t have them here in Ireland)
Thank you Amber! Wonder what would happen if you started the first one in Ireland?? Thank you for dropping in too!
These are great tips Florence. Valuable for people hosting sales especially. The one about before noon is so on the money. When I go to garage sales I am up early, grab a travel mug. Have three or four garage sale addresses and thats it. By noon I am starting my day.
Great stuff lady.
Thanks Leanna! I’m glad you could relate to what I’m talking about.
I need to pin this Florence. I am going to have a yard sale when I go back to the states. My dad’s house is so full of stuff he cannot even find anything anymore. This is an invaluable post.
Thank you Mary! Good luck with your dad’s sale. I bet he has a lot of vintage items!
Great tips for having a garage sale. It’s been years since I’ve had one. But now that I have Friday and Saturday off maybe I can have one. I sure need to do a major clean out.
Thank you Linda! Glad it was helpful to you!
We don’t have yard sales here in South Africa unfortunately, but your tips make so much sense Florence. When your scanning a whole bunch of ads you want something that grabs your attention and makes you want to fly across town to rummage around.
That’s right Michelle. Maybe you could be the one to start a new trend of yard sales in South Africa!
Unfortunately we have no yard sales in our country 🙁 There are only shops which sell some interesting items. I think that these are great tips to use… I wish to have chance to use them 🙂
I wish you did have yard sales in your country Christina. Maybe you should start the trend!!!
I haven’t planned a yard sale – yet. But your tips make a whole lot of sense to me. And some are surprising bits to consider, including the part about NOT saying ‘no junk.’ You are absolutely right about that – one person’s trash is another’s treasure. Let the buyer decide, after all. Thanks for the great advice!
Thank you Jelica! Glad they made sense to you. I learned all these from personal experience & reading a ton of ads.
I am planning a yard sale and these tips helped so much. I was going to do some of the SYITF things until I read this. although I would extend the hours until two or three in the afternoon just because I sometimes don’t see the ads until 1:30 or so that say it ends at one and I am always bummed I missed out
I’m so glad it’s been helpful to you Annalisa! Good luck with your sale!!
We have a shed full of stuff so will be purging and having yard sale soon. Can’t do when it’s so hot here.
Have printed out your tips and will be reading them for reference when we make up our ad, thanks for great tips.
Happy Spring and Easter
Great! I’m glad you’ve found the tips to be helpful for your next garage sale ad. They really do affect what I do & where I go when I’m about to go yard sale-ing. Good luck with your sale too. I’m about to do one myself in the next couple of months.
Hey Florence, I dropped by to read your valuable suggestions for Yard Sale “Fails”! As always, Thank you for your expert advice.
I haven’t seen your wonderful comments, Blogs, “What Sells” in several months.
Hope you are well and just busy with your own projects, move & sales!
Just letting you know WE MISS YOU!! And depend on your valuable advice!
Thanks for all you do & share with us, hope you are healthy & happy!!
Cindylouhou
Why Cindy, thank you for those encouraging comments! I’m glad to know you have missed me! I guess I’m taking a blog break. To tell you the truth, I’m sort of burned out. I had to have a break. We’ve been working on house and yard a lot, so blogging has taken a back seat. Not ready to move yet, but it’s definitely in the works. We’ll have an estate sale & get rid of a lot of stuff. So much to do. It’s gladdened my heart to be missed, so thank you for your note!