Making the Most of Your Garage Sale

by James Fowler
http://www.mywebsource1.com/

It’s summer time. Children are playing out in the yard, the smells of burning charcoal fill the air as people grill their steaks and hamburgers, and everywhere you look, there are garage sales.

Garage sales are a type of small business. Granted, you are only open for two days out of the year, but why not make the most out of those two days? My neighbor is having a garage sale right now. She spent all day sitting out in the hot sun yesterday selling the “stuff” she no longer wanted. As I sat on my patio working on web sites, I didn’t notice many people stopping by, so I thought I’d do the neighborly thing and take a walk over. It was about 4:00 and I asked her how it was going.

“Not great” she replied. “I’ve been out here since eight this morning and I think we’ve made fourteen dollars.” (That’s $1.75/hour without a lunch break.)

Looking around, I could immediately see the problem. I bought a twenty-five cent item that I didn’t need and walked back home. I was going to offer her some advice, but it was already too late for this garage sale. Maybe she’ll read this blog and make the most out of her next one.

An 8-Step Guide to Selling More at Your Next Garage Sale

1. Plan Ahead. If you are going to have a garage sale, plan ahead. Don’t just throw a bunch of junk into boxes or onto tables. Make sure everything is easy to see and accessible. You wouldn’t walk into Kohls or Target and see items just piled up on tables. Don’t let your store look like that, either.

2. There is a Time and Place for Order. If you go into any store there are rows of items that belong in categories grouped together. The Men’s section, the Women’s section, the Shoe section, etc… So why do we go to garage sales and see children’s clothing next to a rusty grill and used fishing equipment? Organize items to sell. Guide people through the products of your past.

3. Make sure everything is clean. Don’t put out dirty or clothes that need ironing. Dust off the games, pieces of furniture, or electronic equipment. If you want to sell something, present it in a way that makes it appealing and doesn’t look like you dug something out from the back of your junk closet.

4. Put a price tag on everything. For the most part, people like to avoid confrontation. Many are afraid to be social, let alone confrontational. If you don’t have a price tag on everything in your garage sale, you are missing out on money. Some people will not ask for a price if they don’t see it and will just walk away. Remember, no one goes to a garage sale because they NEED something. They go to a garage sale because they WANT something (most of the time they don’t even know what it is) at a deal. You are still going to get the “professional” hagglers, but if you have a price tag on something, you’ll have a place to start. Have a price tag on everything.

5. Showcase the Stuff People Want. Let’s say you have a mini-fridge your kid used in college. You want that to sell, so you put a $45 price tag on it. Don’t put this item in the back of your garage with your old twenty-five cent Monopoly board on top of it. This is something that should be seen from the road. Showcase it! Put a big yellow sign on it that says, “Mini-Fridge: Gently Used, Works Great! Perfect for a Dorm Room or your Garage! $45.00” Don’t have a yellow sign? A package of construction paper and a marker are cheap to get at the dollar store. Get those big items out front where people can see them.

6. Show People it Works. Are you trying to sell that radio or 6” television? Put it in a place next to an electrical outlet and plug it in. People want to make sure that the radio they are buying for $5 is actually going to play. They want to know your junk isn’t actually junk but an unrealized treasure.

7. Market Yourself. Why don’t people know how to do this? My neighbor has (3) 8.5x11 store-bought, black and white signs promoting her garage sale. One is in her front yard and the other two are taped to telephone poles at the one end of our street. She also put a $15 ad in the newspaper saying “Come to my garage sale”!

The ad, obviously, didn’t work.
No one read it.
I didn’t.

She should have saved herself the $15 and made some big yellow signs with bold letters that directed traffic to her door. One on each end of the street, facing both sides of traffic, and a HUGE one in front of the house. Additionally, she should have put signs at all of the major intersections in her area. There are often places where you can post your garage sale for free online such as the local media. Google those resources, as well.

8. Talk to People. Once you get the people in the garage, talk to them. Greet them, say “HELLO”. Strike up a conversation…Now, I am not saying I want you to bull rush them at the door.

Just say “Hello.”

NEVER SAY: “Can I help you?” That is the wrong thing ever lead with because the answer is always “No, thank you, I am just looking.” The conversation is lost and you’ve lost your sale. Just talk and strike up a conversation. Tell them about all the fun little Tommy used to have playing on that Big Wheel. “Bryan Adams’ “Everything I Do, I Do It For You” was playing on that very tape deck when I met my wife...” Talking will get people to be more likely to buy from you.

Following these eight easy steps should help your garage sale immensely. What’s more, there is an added bonus with these tips: You’ll probably make more money. More people will come to your sale, they will know how to find your wares, they will know the price and you will talk with them to ensure that they get what they are looking for and come back in future years. Good luck with your garage sale and I hope you sell a bundle!

WHO COULD USE SOME MORE MONEY?

COULD YOU USE SOME EXTRA SPENDING CASH?

We live in troubled times where gasoline is over four dollars a gallon, grocery prices are going up. People need a little extra cash. There is little altruism left in this world, but I would like to change that. If you think you could help me, I’d like to help you.

How would you like me to give you ONE HUNDRED DOLLARS?

That’s right. I want to give you a hundred dollars for helping me out. All you have to do is introduce me to someone who would be interested in building a web site. If they decide to have my company build them a web site AND they tell me that you were the one who suggested it, I WILL GIVE YOU ONE HUNDRED DOLLARS.

There are no strings attached. You don’t have to sell the web site. You don’t have to do ANYTHING else after I sell a web site to your friend except collect ONE HUNDRED DOLLARS.

1. Introduce me to a person/company/business in need of a web site.
   
2. Have them tell me that you told them about myWebSource1.com when they buy a web site from me.
   
3. I’ll give you ONE HUNDRED DOLLARS upon receipt of their paid web site through my company, myWebSource1.
   

I am only offering this to you because you know me in some way. It is either through being a friend, a reader of my blog, or a member of one of my social networking web sites.

This offer is valid for only one person, per web site. The money will be given to the person whom the web site owner states that gave me their name. No one else will get the money.

If you know someone who is interested, pass their name along to me via my email address at info@mywebsource1.com.

So let me give you ONE HUNDRED DOLLARS. Send me a name of a company that needs a web site along with the person in charge and I will contact them. Everybody knows someone who owns a business or company. Why not make this work for you!

James Fowler
www.myWebSource1.com
info@mywebsource1.com

High Gasoline Prices Turn Consumers To Online Shopping

by James Fowler
www.mywebsource1.com

Do you sell a product or service? Are you looking for a way to make money with a hobby or business idea? Maybe you should look to selling your business online. Even if you aren’t looking to have an ecommerce site, people are going online to find your business. If you do not have a web site, this is something you may want to consider.

The high price of gasoline does have one positive effect for consumers: As gasoline prices rise, people forgo driving their SUVs out to their local malls and start up their PCs to shop online.

As prices of gasoline threaten to peak over $4.00 a gallon across much of the United States, online sales are beginning to rise. According to Drapers.com, a website dedicated to the international fashion market, online clothing and shoe sales rose 38% in the past year. In fact, internet sales now are responsible for almost 2% of all sales made in the United States. This may not sound like a lot, but that number is over $50 billion dollars in US sales – almost double from the $24 billion dollars spent online in 2004.

This number continues to grow at a steady pace. Free shipping, discounts and ease of ordering over the Internet are also attributed to attracting customers. The war with Iraq and fear of terrorism are other reasons some Americans state as to why they are now shopping online.

In a recent survey from Shopzilla.com, 40% of internet shoppers say they have increased their web purchases to save on gasoline. With gasoline rising on a daily basis and people moving away from driving to the store and looking for products online, maybe it is time to build your web site.

Losing the Safety Net...

Today was my last day at work. For those of you that do not know, I have been Director of Marketing for Acor Orthopaedic for the past seven years. We parted on good terms and I wish them nothing but the best. Even still, saying goodbye to my friends was bittersweet. I met a lot of great people there over the years. I keep in contact with some of them and some of my past co-workers have become clients. Today, I walked in and was surprised by a table full of food and drinks. My co-workers had thrown me a surprise going away party, which was great of them. I will miss them, but it is time to move on.

Today is also the first day that I become a full-time entrepreneur. I have been working on my business – www.mywebsource1.com – for almost two years now. We do internet marketing and web design for small businesses, local governments, and non-profits. I have four people working for me and now I have cut loose my safety net. Part of me is elated. The other part is scared to death. From everything I have read and from every business owner I have questioned, this is how I should feel and there is something wrong if I do not.

So, I am taking the weekend off to gather my thoughts (as if I haven’t been thinking about this) and Monday morning I am getting up at my regular time, getting ready for work, putting my shoes on and making my twelve foot commute to my home office. Think of the gasoline I am saving?

I am happy about my decision. I am happy that everything has occurred the way it did at Acor. I didn’t want to end it with a hassle and it went smoothly. That is the way things should be.