20 Tips for a Successful Yard Sale in Smithtown

This story was written by Kathleen F. Miller.

Make some cash by combining your spring cleaning with a successful garage or tag sale with these tips from garage sale experts.

1) Sell on Saturday

Author and host of former PBS show Collect This! Aaron LaPedis is known as the "Garage Sale Millionaire." LaPedis says after more than two decades of success he has learned that Saturday is the day to host a successful garage sale. “Some cities require a permit for sales held during the week and Sundays are reserved by many people for church services and family activities.” 

2) Get a team together

Good planning starts with getting a team of family and friends together to help the day of the sale. “You’ll need someone to go out early in the morning and put up all your signage and a couple of people to be ready to open and work the sale.”

3) Check restrictions

Check for any restrictions before planning your garage sale, says LaPedis. YThe Town of Smithtown does not require that you get permits to hold a sale.

4) Start early 

LaPedis says veteran garage sale buyers will be out early in the morning looking for signs so plan to start your sale “as soon as the sun is up.”

5)  Sell with your neighbors

Multifamily and neighborhood sales will draw more buyers.

6) Safety first

Take cash only and use a fanny pack for collecting money. Also, do not allow anyone in your home.

7.) Save your big ticket items for eBay or Craigslist

8) Lots of good signage is key to a successful sale

LaPedis makes up to 20 signs using large pieces of white foam board or cardboard which he puts out very early on the morning of the sale. He says to include your address and the cross street, and to specifiy if it is a multifamily sale and if you are offering popular sale items including children’s toys and clothes, furniture and collectibles. At the entrances to your neighborhood, add arrows for buyers to follow to the sale. You can purchase garage sale signs locally at Michael's or any one of Smithtown's pharmacies.  

9) Use Patch, Craigslist and social media to get the word out

List your sale for free on Craigslist, says LaPedis, and use your Facebook page to promote the sale and recruit friends to help you work the sale and sell their stuff as well. LaPedis says, “the more items you have to sell, the more people will stop to check out the sale.” You can also list your garage sale on Smithtown Patch's calendar or Boards section. 

10)  Price everything in advance & be willing to negotiate on everything

Barley says the most successful garage sales are those that price everything in advance. But remember that people will expect to bargain for less than the posted price.  LaPedis even says, “don’t bother pricing any item under $15. Ask the buyer what they are willing to pay and you’ll have more power and flexibility that way.”

11) Don’t sell anything unsafe or recalled

Don’t sell anything that is potentially unsafe, including “drop-down” style cribs, says LaPedis. You can check the recalls.gov site that provides recall information from six government agencies. 

12) Get them to stop and park

Put “big ticket” and popular items such as TVs at the front of the sale near the street says LaPedis to get buyers to “stop, park and shop.”


13) Keep off the grass

Use tarps and tables instead. You can purchase tarps at most Smithtown hardware stores.

14)  Limit “holds”

Don’t offer to hold items for a buyer “for more than 45 minutes, or have the buyer put enough money down that he or she is sure to come back,” LaPedis says.15)  Offer free coffee or lemonade to get shoppers to linger longer. Starbucks, Dunkin' Donuts and many local bagel shops offers a box of fresh brewed coffee to go with cups, cream and sugar included.

16)  Put out a power strip attached to an extension cord so you can demonstrate electronic items work to potential buyers.

You can purchase extension cords and power strips at Lowe's Home Improvement or any local hardware store.

17)  Negotiate like a pro

LaPedis says if you let the buyer speak first and indicate what he or she is willing to pay for an item, you are far more likely to get more for it.

18)  Display like a store

LaPedis says use your fence to hang clothes on if you don’t have racks and group items such as toys or electronics together to make it easier for buyers to shop.

19)  Use fanny packs with lots of change

Do not use cash boxes, says LaPedis. The people helping you at the sale should all have fanny packs with lots of change instead. “Assume every buyer will pay with a twenty dollar bill.” Get rolls of quarters and small bills from your local bank.

20) Stay firm before noon, then get generous to move items out

LaPedis says most buyers will arrive early so you can afford to be firmer with prices before noon but be more flexible in the afternoon so you have fewer items to haul away for donation at the end of the day. Unsold items can be donated locally at Goodwill, books can be dropped off at the library, and clothes can be dropped off at most drop-off boxes in town.