Secrets of Hosting a Successful Moving Sale

Are you facing an upcoming move or relocation? If you're like most of us, this is an incredibly busy time.  There are people to notify, utilities to transfer, and plenty of boxes to pack.  All of this adds up to a large potential for stress.

Ironically, actually adding something to your moving checklist may make things easier in the short and long term- hosting a moving sale (a.k.a garage sale, yard sale, white elephant sale, flea market, etc.)  Now I understand that this sounds silly when you first hear it.  After all, you're frantically busy with moving, so how on earth will you have time for a garage sale?

The answer is actually pretty simple.  The time required to move is directly related to how much stuff needs to be moved.  The more things you have to move, the more time it will take.  So when you're looking around at what needs to be moved, think about this: If you choose not to sell excess items, when will you have time to:

• get the items organized
• prepare, wrap and pack them
• write down the items in your moving inventory
• make sure the items are properly covered with moving insurance
• label the boxes the items will go in
• physically move the items
• load the items into the truck
• unload the items from the truck
• unpack the items at your new destination
• break down the boxes the items arrived in
• find space for the items in your new place
• and set them up?

Also, you might think of it another way.  If you imagine that you are simply packing unused items to be delivered at your moving sale

And on the positive side, you might earn between $200 - $1000 on a well-planned, well-executed garage sale, which works out to a pretty decent wage per hour.

Here are a few basic tips:

1. Pack separate boxes in each room for your "moving sale" items as you pack up everything else.  Store  "sellable" items in these boxes, and then simply put them out on the actual moving sale day.
2. Stuck on how to price things? Start by dividing the original price by 5 and then discounting for any damage.  This helps insure that most items will be sold out by the time the sale is completed.
3. It's easier to make categories of items all the same price, such as "all clothing $4 each."  It also saves hours of time creating tiny price tags!  You can also price items by table, meaning everything on a certain table is priced at one fixed price.  However, if you follow this route, it can be difficult to remember where each item came from.
4. Make arrangements in advance to have a charity donation truck arrive at the closing time of your moving sale to take away anything that wasn't sold.  The charity gets donations, and you clear out of any items that didn't sell by the end.
5. Price everything to be easily divisible by 2.  This allows you to hold a "1/2 price clearance" during the last hour of the sale, and clear out lots of remaining items and pocket cash you might have missed otherwise- you would be amazed how many times I have seen this work successfully.
6. Have lots of spare change (bills and coins) on hand on your person (not in a box that can be stolen at the sale).  Lack of having correct change is a frustrating reason to lose a sale.
7. Start advertising at least 2 weeks prior to the sale.  Use clear street signs in very large letters, ads in local papers, and flyers on cars in a 5-block radius from your place.
8. Recruit as much help as you can stand for the big day. You can use assistance for watching tables, helping customers move items and answering question.

Following this steps should ensure a successful move and the chance to put some well-earned dollars in your pocket.

There are several great, FREE resources online for you to use for your move.  Here are a few from the author's website, Movers-Edge.com:

• Getting organized for moving, with plenty of advice on how to get started.
• 101 Best Moving Tips, collected from over 100, books, articles and moving websites.
• Ultimate Moving Checklist, containing dozens of items you might otherwise forget.
• Easy-to-follow packing tips to make the hardest part of moving easier.
• Finding great movers/ moving companies, including resources on where and how to check out your potential vendor.

I wish you the very best of luck with your relocation!  :-)