You have to love YouTube. We were clicking through our regular loop of videos when something “new” popped up in the window — a song called “Yard Sale” by country crooner Sammy Kershaw.

Go on, give it a listen. http://youtu.be/kF1CYC6L-2E

This is one we’ve never heard before. Must be that Mr. Kershaw wasn’t a family favorite in the Yard Sale Secrets household, since we certainly heard a lot of country music while tooling around in the back seat of mom’s station wagon.

The song, which came out in 1992, peaked at No. 17 in the U.S. charts. In it we see Sammy selling off his memories one at a time — all the while pining for his lost love.

Yep it’s typical country.

As we watched, we kept on looking for price tags on his stuff we noticed a few things:

• 38 seconds in Sammy is trying to sell some ice cube trays. One of those things you should never sell. It’s just kind of gross.
• At 1:04, he’s committing another no-no — leaving records out in the sun to warp!
• Not long after, he hasn’t bothered to fold up those nice blankets. In fact, he left them in his steamer chest! It’s all about presentation, Sammy!
• By 1:34, he’s learning a few things. He grouped his like items together. Why buy one vintage Kentucky Derby glass when you can buy two?
• We award him bonus points at 1:57 because he was smart enough to put that pretty dress on a hangar.
• Well into the video, we see the closing minutes of his yard sale, and he’s still got lots of stuff. Our advice: Keep those tables closer together and consolidate them as you go. Move the big items out front to get a little curb appeal.  And, brother, no one’s gonna buy a wedding dress that’s been dragged through your lawn.
• And throughout the video, we were h hoping to catch a glimpse at sale prices. Unfortunately, there wasn’t a single one to be seen. No florescent pre-printed stickers. No masking tape. Not even a sign.

Bad form, Sammy! You should price everything at your yard sale.

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We managed to hit yard sales on Friday and Saturday of this week.  On Friday, we hit the Sherman Oaks yard sale which is always monstrous. It’s big from a parking standpoint, from  the sheer number of sellers and fromall the shoppers.

We’re betting the folks who reside in the development must make out like bandits. But at the same time, we feel bad for the people who don’t participate — they have to struggle through two days of nightmarish traffic in their sleepy little neighborhood.

We also stopped at the group yard sale held in the parking lot of Central York High School. Perhaps it fed off of the Sherman Oaks sale, because it was huge as well.

That being said, we didn’t get a whole lot of stuff in our expedition. Granted we did get a lot of kids clothes, but we’re getting kind of sick of taking pictures of heaps of fabric. Just trust us, once again, we bought lots of kids clothes!

We bought more, too. Among the non-pictured deals:

• A plastic sandbox for $20. The box, molded to look like stonework, was in great shape.
• Several “Project Runway” art kits for the the junior Yard Sale Secrets team-member. It’s always nice to find relatively new items like that on yard sale tables.

 

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The Yard Sale Secrets team finally got back out on the trail this weekend. The weather was nice and a few items in the classified ads hinted at some great buys.

With that in mind, we aren’t guaranteeing we will be out next weekend. Our suggestion, write a great classified ad, schedule a sunny Saturday and you might see us.

Anyway, our finds were fun, if not typical, for a good Saturday on the hunt for great bargains at the hands of York County’s residents.

Also note that in the top photo there is a Wii game in the picture. Any time we come across games, electronics or books that spark our interest at a yard sale, we use our smart phone to search reviews for the item.

If it gets good reviews, we buy. In this case, we picked up the well-received Wii “Go Play Lumberjacks” for $4.

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As you know, yard sales can be a huge money maker if you do it right.  Since that’s the case, you often see yard sales that benefit a charity.

With that in mind, some suggestions on setting up a fundraising yard sale:

• Recruit multiple vendors: You shouldn’t be the only vendor at your fundraising sale — you need plenty of sellers. This helps ensure variety for your customers since word will get around about your big event. It also means shoppers will stay longer, and likely spend more too!
• Or … Gather lots of donations: If you’re sure you want to stick to being the only vendor, then cast out a wide net for donations. Send out a mass e-mail to everyone associated with the organization and ask them to pass it along to their friends too, then see what comes in!
• Get space: If your fund-raiser event looks like it’s going to get bigger than your front yard, then you might want to rent out a room or banquet hall. Check with your local schools, churches, fire halls and businesses for the best opportunities. Since it’s a fundraiser, you might actually get space for free.
• Sell space: You certainly can give away space at your fundraising yard sale to a few vendors, but also consider selling spaces as well. Space fees should go to the charity and then allow those vendors to keep their own profits.
• Sell shopping time: An alternative (or addition) to selling spaces is to sell shopping time. Let shoppers know their entrance fee is going to charity, and they will be happy to pay.
• Advertise (Part 1): A month or two before your sale, start recruiting those paying vendors mentioned above, and the best way to do it is to advertise. Be sure to include all the appropriate contact information.
• Advertise (Part 2): Once you get your vendors recruited, let shoppers know about it. Aside from the usual classified advertising, send out a few e-mails to the local media. Invite shoppers with special posters at grocery stores, churches, schools, day-cares and other organizations.
• Advertise (Part 3): Make sure to include info on who’s benefiting and what percentage the charity is getting. Likewise, be prepared to fully explain the charity for those who aren’t exactly sure what it is.
• Get some props: Since you are doing a fundraiser for a charity, consider asking that charity to donate some signs, or even bring a few “props” to your event. Sure, maybe the Red Cross will send out its Bloodmobile, but more likely they’ll give you a couple of shirts for your staff to wear.
• Legal concerns: Be aware that there might be some legal issues concerning fundraisers. Check with your benefiting organization, or even the local United Way,  for some guidance in the matter before you get started.

Image by HAM Guy via Flickr.com

 

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YTI Career Institute here in York, Pa., recently held a special kind of yard sale, they created a “professional” yard sale.

By that, they meant shoppers could browse through a large selection of items for use in their professional development — namely business attire.

We love the idea of a themed yard sale, and even have a few tips on creating one:

• Why do a theme? A themed yard sale is interesting. It can generate publicity. It can pull people in from all over.
• Actually stick to your theme: Make sure you aren’t adding any oddball things into the sale. You don’t want your theme to be diluted, thereby making it less unique.  (In the YTI case, don’t allow the sale of a “Star Wars” DVD, but a DVD on business strategies is fine.)
• Make it worth the effort: Don’t advertise a themed yard sale and only have a card table worth of merchandise. You need to go all out and make it worth your customer’s time. This concept is the hardest to achieve since who knows if you have enough merchandise to hold up your end of the deal.  (YTI worked around this by having multiple people offer themed items to their sale.)
• Advertise: Go crazy with your advertising and make sure they know exactly what to expect. More importantly, start your advertising early — weeks in advance. Make sure your potential shoppers plan their day around your event.

 

Now of course, the idea of a themed yard sale isn’t anything new — but often times, they’re just something else in disguise.

We remember times when we were champing at the bit to get to a “scrapbookers yard sale” only to discover that it was just a going-out-of-business sale for a scrapbooking store. The same thing happened for the “tool sale,” which was just a garage emptying out its junk.

Another thing we’ve come across are “yard sales” that are really just a set-up for a Thirty-One saleswoman … or Avon … or Silpada … or whatever the current at-home marketing craze is.

It’s also not uncommon for a craftsperson to advertise in the yard sale section. You’ll find people who make birdhouses, paint pottery, arrange flowers or assemble custom dolls.

All this is perfectly fine, of course. We like the idea of a themed yard sale. We just want to know what to expect when we get there.

YTI however did it just right. They set up a sale that benefitted its students, and that’s exactly what they did.  Good job, YTI!

 

 

 

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