Tips for having a more successful NENA Garage Sale June 16

By RUTH DENNY

Garage sale time is upon us. For some, it’s time to rejoice, and for others, it is time to do the dreaded cleaning and de-cluttering that we have all put on the back burner for the next day that never comes. Top that off with the coming of warmth after a winter that would not quit.

For us in the NENA (Noko­mis East Neighborhood Association) neighborhood, the big community-wide garage sale comes once a year, and we can rejoice that we can sell our old and new goods in the comfort of our garages and yards or we can look for goods that we need in someone’s garage.

NENA does all the work for us with its excellent publicity machine, and we have only to erect a few garage sales signs and arrows, and we are in business. Time to get your rusty or ready customer service skills together and meet your neighbors!

Take it from someone who has been on both sides of the garage sale tables—I have some valuable tips for having a good garage sale day.

I organized over a dozen garage sales over the years by myself and with friends or family, and the amount of money I made ranged from $20 to over $300 when I had furniture to sell. The joy was in getting rid of stuff! Believe me, you don’t want to have to lug all your stuff back to your garage or basement after a long day of selling.

Pricing is important. You don’t want to hear someone say the reason they walked away from an item they wanted was that the price was too high. The number one goal should be to get rid of stuff, and that means a willingness to negotiate. Of course, if you are selling rare family heirlooms or antiques, price as you see on the internet for similar pieces, but if it is an old stereo or couch be willing to negotiate.

A good looking sale table says a lot when people are looking, so try to be as neat as possible, get as many items on a table as possible without looking junky and price everything. Of course, if you want to organize a dollar table that helps too.

Clothes should always be hung up on hangers, ironed and laundered. Do not sell items with holes, dirty or stained unless you are giving away a rag bag and who does that?

The NENA community-wide garage sale brings in savvy bargain hunters from all over the metro area. One year when I did not have a sale of my own, I went around the neighborhood to some of the sales (I didn’t make the over 100 that are out there), but I met some great people, media celebrities, writers, musicians, lawyers, business owners and just some very nice people along the way.

NENA puts out a map of all the garage sales that bothered to sign up, but sign up or not, this is by far the best time to have a sale because you will never get as big an audience for your show of wares or buyers willing to give you money.

NENA Garage Sale Day is on Sat., June 16, 8am to 4pm. Printed maps will be available the week of the sale at the NENA office, on the website, or at select businesses.

Editor’s Note: Ruth Denny is a freelance writer and is a new member of the NENA Board of Directors.