Yard Sales and Storage Auctions

Making Money With Storage Units And Yard Sales

Do you want to make money with the buying and reselling of merchandise found at mini storage auctions?  If so, you need to find a great way to resell your purchases.  While you do have a number of different choices, you may find hosting a yard sale to be your best option.

Before outlining how you can use a yard sale as a way to profit from merchandise bought at self-storage auctions, it is important to focus on those items.  When bidding at a storage auction, you are urged to use your best judgment.  Do not place a huge bid when you do not know what is inside.  If you can catch a glance at the items up for bid, look for name brand products, household appliances, antiques, and furniture.

Hosting a yard sale is recommended when you have many items to sell.  One table of sellable items may not be worth your time.  If you buy a storage unit that packed to capacity or if you purchase the contents of multiple bays, a yard sale will be worth the time and energy.  Also, remember that you can add your own unwanted personal items to the sale.

When looking to make a profit reselling merchandise, you are urged to limit your business expenses. After all, the less you spend, the more money you make.  This is true, but yard sales rely heavily on advertising.  If you do not live in a heavily populated or a well-trafficked area, no one will know that you are having a sale.  That is why advertising is important.

As for how you should advertise your yard sale, visit Craigslist.org.  There, you can place a free advertisement online, just find the closest city to make your posting.  Buy advertising space in your local newspaper.  Most have a section just for yard sales.  This will cost money, but it will be more than worth it.  Always include your full address, the date and time of the yard sale, as well as a sample of what you have for sale.  On the day of your sale, hang bright colored signs with your address or rely on arrows.

When using yard sales to resell items bought at a mini storage auction, keep your asking price affordable.  Yes, you want to make a profit, but remember that people visit yard sales to find the best deals.  That is why you are urged to have a lot of items on hand.  The good news is that if you buy the contents of a whole storage unit, as opposed to a few closed bins, you should get a lot of things to sell.

Before preparing for your yard sale, one step you will want to take is using the internet.  Do you have any items that look like they could be valuable or antique?  You can use eBay.com to see.  Perform a completed auction search of each item.  If it sells online for more than what you would make at the yard sale, pull it from your sale pile.  Do not expect to get full price for antiques at a yard sale.  Instead, sell them online or contact an antique dealer.

Before your sale, start labeling all items for sale.  Blank yard sale stickers are available for sale at most dollar stores and office supply stores.  Pricing your items is important, as not all shoppers stop and ask for price information.  If some don't see prices listed, they will just move onto the next sale.

The day before your sale, visit your local bank.  Ask for change.  If you get buyers who stop because they saw your sale when driving by, they may not have small bills.  Be sure to have plenty of dollar bills and quarters on hand.  Keep your money in a well-secured location.

The day of your sale, start laying out items for sale.  Group similar items together.  For example, did you get a couple of boxes of movies, toys, and books?  Make sure all books appear together, and so forth.  Clothes can be folded on a table or hung from makeshift racks.  Never lay items flat on the ground, especially if you have other options.