What To Do When Your Kid Wants To Have a Garage Sale

Summer is drawing near and you are thinking of an activity you can all do together as a family but something that’s also profitable, then garage sale could be the best option to select. Just like other summer activities like pool parties and barbecues, garage sales bring the family together and there is a lot of fun and memories shared. So if your kid is urging you to help him or her have a garage sale, do not hesitate because it isn’t as hard as it sounds and you will help your kid get some money for himself.

You might be wondering how your kid will help out in a garage sale or if they could actually do anything at all? Well, they have a lot to help out with and so, you can do the sale together. If the sale is mainly about your kid’s stuff especially if the sale is about his items then, he has a lot to learn and do as well.

Here are some ways that you and your kid can work on a garage sale.

1. Have your kids pitch in

You can ask your kids to help in pricing the items they want to sell. They could even tagitems with their prices. This will make them be a part of the sale from the onset. They will know how to price things and keep it simple, not too expensive or confusing. For example, younger children can be asked to put a particular size of an object in a cart that’s already tagged with a price.

2. Matching your child’s funds

One of the ways to motivate your kid’s participation in the garage sale could be by offering to match up whatever they make from the sale. You will see your kid bringing out all their old stuff from every nook and cranny just to make the sale a success. It is also a way to reward your kids effort too.

3. Teaching your kid to give

So, it is a fact that garage sales will bring cash for you and your kid but it is not just about making money. It is also a way to teach your kid how to give charity or to invest in something else other than just buying new items again. Garage sales are not too easy and involves a lot of commitment to make it a success. Therefore, it is a great way to teach your kid about mindful spending and using the money to put into a worthy cause. Your leftover items may be donated too so that there is nothing left to waste.

So when planning that garage sale for your kid, you should take into account a lot of details as the success of your sale depends on it. You may want to take your kid along for some survey around your neigbourhood to get some ideas from other garage sales.  However, there is a plan that you can follow to help you conduct an easy and less stressful garage sale.

1. Pick out a suitable date

This should be a day that’s personally preferred by you and your kid. It could be a Saturday or Sunday, as most people do, but Friday and Thursday is also good. Just make sure to start on time so that more people are given the oppoutinity to attend. The garage sale will be outdoors so make sure to get a good canopy or umbrella to provide shade because it would probably be a sunny day. If possible, try to hold your garage sale when the weather is relatively cool. Heat brings discomfort and often people do not enjoy the heat at all and prefer to stay indoors. But having a garage sale in late spring or early fall will give you a higher chance of getting a large number of people attending.

2. Check for permits

Also, check for permit requirements with your local government. You should make sure to to fulfill that you have the right permission to run a garage le according to your local laws. You don’t want to start something and get it shut down, and be fined on top. Such a thing can hurt your kid and discourage them from their activities, so make sure to get everything sorted out befor you start.

3. Get your goods set

You could tell your kids to pick out their stuff and all of the items that they want to put up for sale. This will include items from their rooms, closets, attics, basements and garages. This is a chance to tidy up your home and get rid of all the stuff you don’t use anymore so don’t underestimate the value of what you find in your home. You have nothing to lose, so bring it all out.

4. Sort out your items

After identifying the items that you want to sell at your kids garage sale, tell them to categorize the items. This will help them to have a well organized garage sale which wont stress you out or your kids. You could do this by dedicating a room in your house to a garage sale and planning and your kids such separate the clothes from the books, toys etc. clothes could further be divided into men, women and children categories.

5. Pricing

This is very important in a garage sale, they need to know the price that they would want to sell the item. Keep your prices moderate because not everyone likes to haggle and so they might get discouraged and walk away if they think your prices are too high. You should also price your items individually and not collectively, because at times items may get mixed up and so you might not be able to keep them organized. You could ask your kids to price the items by rolling up a mania tape and with a sharpie cut out price tags to paste.

6. Advertise your garage sale

Ther are so many ways to make people aware of your garage sale. You could create a news ad, although this may cost money but you might want to invest in your kids garage sale. The ads on newspapers can get expensive at times depending on the amount of words used and space occupied. If the newspaper is too expensive, then you could use the social media platform to advertise. This would first require that you get a flyer which is a great way to catch peoples attention quick. Making a flyer is not as hard as it sounds, all you need is a good poster app and a creative mind. You and your kid can work on this to create a beautiful poster which you could post on community based social platform. You could send to friends and family via social media platforms. You could also print them out and paste on the public notice board or as a business if you could paste them on their walls. Futheremore, you could make make yard signs but these are subject to law and and you will have to find out the laws governing such acts. If you are allowed to make a sign then get to get and create one easily with just a brightly coloured board and a  sharpie.

7. Get supplies

Get everything you need a day before the garage sale starts. These include items such as the chairs you will sit on, tables to be used to place the items or any other flat surface and enough space to display our goods. Save your money by using flat surfaces to suit your needs to avoid renting tables.

8. Keep change

Because you will be selling of things at give away prices, there is the likely hood of items sold with a need for change. So you need to keep change inorder to avoid inconveniences on that day. Go to your bank or you could go inside a branch to do it.

On the day of the sale, make sure you and your kids are seated at a good position to see everyone that passes by. Be sure to greet and be friendly to customers and exercise patience and try not to be pushy. Your kid would have to keep in mind not to haggle but also not to let something of quality go out on a low price with the first, chances are that another customer would come to buy at the same rate.

In conclusion, your kids cannot do this on their own. They need your support and this is at every turn especially if it is aimed at making profits. Be there to help them on their first garage sale in order to make it a success and for your kid to learn skills of organizing such event and organization skills which can be applied in other circumstances as well. It is always good to let your child get involved in entrepreneurship activities especially once based at home with which he or she can be guided by you.