The Ultimate Guide to Having a Moving Sale

Whether you are moving for work or need a change of scenery, you could have a more pleasant experience if you have to transfer fewer items. A moving sale allows you to sell the things you don't need anymore to save money on moving costs and have a fresh, clean start to your new home.

If you have belongings you don't need anymore, clean them and put a price tag on them to give someone else a chance to enjoy them. You could also ask your family and friends to pitch in so you can make fun memories together before moving. This guide to a moving sale will help you consider how to have a successful moving sale.

What Is a Moving Sale?

A moving yard sale is a chance to sell some of your possessions before relocating to your new living space. Consider some of the benefits of a moving sale to determine if you should have one:

• Create more space: By organizing a garage sale, you'll get rid of items you don't want. That way, you won't have to pack them and bring them with you, only to take up more space in your new house.
• Make and safe money: A moving sale allows you to turn some of the clutter in your house into cash, which you can put toward moving expenses and getting oriented in a new town. You'll also reduce the number of boxes you have to pay the moving company to transport to your new home.
• Say goodbye to your neighbors: As one of the last events in your old living space, a moving yard sale gives you the chance to make memories with your neighbors, family and friends. You can say goodbye to your old house and town to prepare yourself for the new journey.
• Sell your house: If you didn't sell your house yet, a moving sale might attract potential home buyers. For your safety, try to have people interested in previewing your property come back another time for a private showing.

5 Tips on How to Prepare for a Moving Sale

Here are some moving sale tips for how to organize a garage sale.

1. Clean Out What You Don't Need

Decluttering your house is necessary for moving out of your current residence, but it can also help you start thinking about your moving sale. Go through each room on your property and examine your possessions for things you might not need or want. You may even have items that you forgot you had. Consider selling these unwanted belongings at your garage sale to make some extra cash and clear up your living space.

2. Sort and Organize Your Items

After cleaning out the whole house, put your belongings in three piles — keep, trash and sell. Throw out the items beyond repair and store away what you want to bring to your new property. Clean the things you want to sell to get them ready for pricing and organizing.

3. Ask Your Neighbors and Friends to Participate

Give your loved ones a chance to participate in the moving sale, especially if the idea of organizing a yard sale overwhelms you. Invite your family, friends and neighbors to sell some of their stuff and help you coordinate the event. You can split your earnings and buy lunch for all who contribute in some way.

4. Set a Date

Plan to have your moving sale a couple of months before you move to have a strict deadline and some time to make it a success. The best time to have a garage sale is on the first weekend of the month when most people get paid. You should also schedule it when the weather is pleasant, and plan a date for a later time in case it rains.

5. Get the Right Supplies

Gather the pricing, decorating and shopping necessities from the dollar store or around the house:

• Price stickers or labels
• Permanent markers
• Garage sale furniture, such as chairs and tables
• Cash register or vault for storing cash
• Blankets and storage bins to display what you want to sell
• Shopping bags or cardboard boxes for bulk items

Your Yard Sale Checklist

Follow this timeline if you're wondering how to organize a yard sale.

Three Weeks Before

• Pick a date and time for your garage sale.
• Research local regulations for garage sales, including where to place yard sale signs.
• Collect your yard sale items into the garage or another area in the home.
• Figure out the prices you should charge by going to local yard sales or researching online.
• Start collecting newspapers, shopping bags and boxes.
• Secure a folding table, either by borrowing or renting one.

Two Weeks Before

• Buy yard sale signs and pricing supplies.
• Borrow or purchase a fanny pack or an apron with pockets.
• Clean the items you want to sell to make them more presentable.

One Week Before

• Post an ad for your yard sale online or place an ad in the newspaper to run a day or two before your yard sale.
• Sort, price and tag the items you plan on selling.
• Create the yard sale signs with all the essential information.
• Decide on how you'll deal with merchandise that doesn't sell.

Two Days Before

• Post about the yard sale on social media.
• Get enough cash from the bank to make change.
• Move your non-sale belongings into your house or out of sight.
• Organize your sale tables and group like items together.
• Set up an area where customers can collect shopping bags and wrap fragile purchases in newspapers.

One Day Before

• Put change, a pen and pad in your apron or fanny pack.
• Set up yard sale signs in designated areas.
• Block off parts of your property where you don't want your visitors to go.
• Charge your phone.

The Morning of the Moving Sale

• Lock your house and secure valuables.
• Keep your cell phone in your pocket.
• Place the merchandise and supplies on the organized tables.

After the Moving Sale

• Collect what you didn't sell and bring it to your local thrift store.
• Gather all the yard sale signs around your community.

Your Yard Sale Checklist

Your ultimate goal is a moving sale that allows you to get rid of your unwanted possessions, not make a hefty profit. Price items for a moving sale by making them low enough for people to want to buy them. At the same time, you should make some sort of profit, so don't make the costs too low. Follow these tips for pricing items at a garage sale:

• Name your price: You should decide the value of your belongings before the day of the sale so shoppers don't have to inquire whenever they are interested in something. Try to price the item at a fraction of what you paid for it, and round up the price to a whole dollar or quarter so you can easily make change. If you're having trouble finding the actual value of the possessions that are sentimental to you, ask a friend for their objective opinion of what they would pay for them.
• Make your prices visible: Display the prices of the things you're trying to sell with tags or labels. You could also use colored stickers with a sign that displays the cost by color. Make sure the prices are visible for your shoppers so there's no confusion. If you're selling larger pieces, like furniture, use a sizable price tag to attract potential buyers.
• Group similar items: Make a bundle package and sell similar things as one. Instead of selling books for one dollar each, when moving, sell five books for $4 a bundle. Buyers will feel like they're purchasing the fifth book for free, so they'll be more likely to invest. After you've almost completed the garage sale, you could also let your customers fill a bag for $10 to get rid of the items you've had trouble selling.
• Price your items so they sell: While you should make some money at a garage sale, remember that the goal is to get rid of what you don't want. Even though shoppers expect to negotiate, they'll walk away if they think what they want is too expensive. Don't lose a sale for the sake of potentially making more money. Instead, choose discounted, fair prices for your possessions.

How to Advertise Your Moving Garage Sale

To have a successful moving sale, you need to make sure the whole community knows when and where it's happening by advertising with:

• Signs: Get poster board and markers from your local craft store to create informative yet straightforward yard sale signs. Draw arrows that mark the way to your house and provide directions that are easy for anyone to follow.
• Balloons: Bright, colorful balloons will attract the eye of any person driving or walking by your house. Get some balloons to tie on your signs and tables to encourage guests to stop by your property.
• Online classifieds: Use online advertising services to let those in your local area know about your garage sale. In your description, include the date, time and location, along with any contact information you feel comfortable sharing. You can also post an advertisement on websites for local yard and garage sales.
• Promote it on social media: Let your friends and family know about your garage sale by creating an online group for the event on social media. You could also use this group to provide real-time information and photos of what's selling and what's still available.

What to Do on the Day of Your Moving Yard Sale

To have a successful yard sale, you should be strategic and plan for several months. When the day is finally here, follow these moving sale tips and tricks to make the most of it:

• Be ready to give change: You don't want to miss out on a sale because your shopper has a twenty-dollar bill and the total comes out to $12.50. Have several dollar bills and quarters on hand to help you give change to those shoppers who have limited billing options. If you priced your items to the nearest dollar or quarter, making change should be pretty straightforward. You could even set up your phone to charge credit or debit cards if some customers don't carry cash.
• Prepare to haggle: People enjoy going to garage sales to bargain the best deal for their money. How should you negotiate at a moving sale? If a customer wants to haggle, you can play the game if you're up for it, but don't accept an offer that's too low. While some buyers may like haggling, if the idea makes you uncomfortable, you can make all your prices firm, but then provide a discount at the end of the day to make your products sell faster.
• Get your family involved: If you have kids at home, make them part of the experience. Encourage your teenager to help by sharing your profits with them, especially if they can find some products to sell from their closets. Besides getting some assistance with the heavy lifting, giving your teenagers an incentive to help will also get them to clean their room. If you have younger kids in the house, let them make signs or set up a lemonade stand to get them involved.
• Plan for unsold merchandise: After the garage sale, you may have some items that didn't sell. If they're worth a lot of money, consider selling them online. When you post them online, include high-quality pictures and specific measurements to attract potential buyers. Consider borrowing or renting a truck to donate those items that aren't worth the shipping to your local charity. You could also hire a moving company to clear away the products that you didn't sell.
• Have fun: While preparing for and organizing a moving sale can be challenging at times, remember to have fun during the process. Focus on making new memories with your neighbors and collaborating with your family members. Serve refreshments and engage with everyone who stops by your house. Once the moving sale has ended, throw a pizza party to celebrate and figure out what to do with the rest of your profits.

Moving Sale FAQ

Here are some frequently asked questions about how to have a moving sale.

1. When's the Best Time of Year to Have a Moving Sale?

The best time of year to have a successful moving sale is about seven weeks before moving day so that you have plenty of time to get rid of all the things you don't want to bring with you to your new house. If you can time it, you should also schedule the event when the weather is pleasant in your local area.

2. What Day of the Week Should a Moving Sale Be?

Saturday or Sunday is the best time to have a moving sale because most people are off from work, so they have time to browse through your products. Consider having a two-day garage sale in case you don't sell everything on the first day. If the weather is pleasant during these times, you can also try having a moving sale on Black Friday, Memorial Day or Labor Day.

3. What Sells at a Moving Sale?

People buy gently used items that are still in good condition at moving sales, especially:

• Clothing: Before selling your gently used clothes, you should clean them to prevent the spread of germs, even if you haven't worn them.
• Designer shoes: While customers tend to skip worn-out shoes, they'll consider buying designer footwear at a discounted price as long as they're clean.
• Books: Even though e-books and audiobooks are gaining popularity, garage sale shoppers also like searching for old books to add to their home library.
• Costume jewelry: If you have inexpensive necklaces and bracelets in your jewelry box, sell them at your moving yard sale for a couple of dollars apiece.
• Toys: When customers look for toys for their loved ones, they want to make sure they're clean. Plastic toys sell, but stuffed animals that hold onto grime might not be as attractive to buyers.
• Games: To get the best deal out of your old games, make sure you have all the pieces and clean them as necessary.
• Furniture: Wooden furniture sells at garage sales because it's easier to clean, but people tend to pass upholstered furniture that could be home to bed bugs.
• Bikes: Put extra air in the tires and scrub the metal parts of your bicycles to make them look more appealing.
• Sports gear: Since camping and sports equipment can be expensive, customers will buy your old gear at a discounted price, especially if it's in good condition.
• Small kitchen appliances: If you have functional coffee pots or convection ovens that you don't need anymore, clean them out and put them up for sale.

4. What Should You Not Sell at a Garage Sale?

While you want to get rid of everything, be careful about selling these items:

• Bike helmets: Old bike helmets may have obsolete or worn-out safety features, so they're not safe to sell to other people.
• Car seats: Upholstered car seats may hold germs and could lack updated security components.
• Cribs: Like car seats, cribs that don't have modern safety components could be a danger to your customers' children.
• Running shoes: If your running shoes are no longer comfortable, you may want to sell them, but they wouldn't be a good investment for customers. Only sell your running shoes if you only wore them a couple of times.
• Old TVs: Most customers will pass up old computers and TVs in favor of purchasing newer, refurbished products at a fraction of the price.
• Giant computer monitors: Most people could find cheap but modern computers online.

Instead of selling some of these valuables in your moving sale, you can post them online, donate them to a local charity or create a free pile by the cash register. Before giving your family heirlooms away, make sure they're not worth thousands of dollars by getting them appraised at a local pawn shop.

Contact BNT Movers for Relocation Services in Northeastern Pennsylvania

After you've had a successful moving sale, you're ready to begin the process of packing, making phone calls and hiring a professional moving company. If you're in Northeastern Pennsylvania and you need help reaching your new destination, we offer residential home moving services to help you through your move from start to finish. Whether you need help packing or shipping your items, we've got you covered. For more information about what we provide, contact us online or call 570-842-6683.