The layout and display of your items at your sale event can increase your sales and speed up your garage, yard, and estate sale. The better a potential buyer can view your items the more likelihood that they’ll purchase something and a greater chance that they’ll buy more than one item.
Elevate Your Garage Sale Experience: 6 Essential Tips for Displaying Items to Attract Buyers
- Retail Layout
- Supplies for Layout
- Clean Items
- Constant Reorganization
- Comfortable Environment
- Everything in the Box is Free
Retail Layout 
Retail stores do a great job of putting the items they really want to sell in the right spot to get the most eyes on them. You can take a few cues from retail stores on how to layout your sale event.
Big Items at the Front
Put your largest items (that you aren’t afraid will walk off) at the front entrance of your event. Think furniture, lawn mower, large vases, kids playhouse, etc. By doing this, you are giving potential buyers a snapshot of what you have to offer and it doesn’t overwhelm them like a table of unfolded baby clothes.
Hang Clothes
Speaking of unfolded baby clothes, hang your clothes. You may think that folding clothes works for retail stores like Walmart and Target. However, they have the luxury of having multiple items of the same thing they are trying to sale. Boutique stores are more aligned with a garage, yard, or estate sale. They usually have one size of a particular item. And they hang them so buyers can see it easier.
If you can’t hang clothes and must fold them, you should cluster them together based on size. For example, if you have newborn clothes and 2T clothes then group the newborn items together and the 2T clothes together. Again, if you have a person looking for 2T outfits then you are making it easier for them to find more items they want to buy.
Use Visual Levels
Create some dynamic flow with putting items high and low in your sale. Hanging clothes means those items are going to display higher than items on a table. It gives people the opportunity to see how the outfit hangs and keeps their head/eyes up.
Place items on tables so people don’t have to bend over as much to inspect something they are interested in buying. This may be items like dishes, pottery, books, and jewelry. Take items out of boxes if you have them on a table. The box “hides” the item from the view of shoppers.
Put toys you are trying to sell on the ground. You want children to “try before you buy”. The more a child plays with a toy the harder it is for the parent to not purchase it for them. Make sure all of the toys are clean before your sale.
Put shoes on the ground. Again, cluster them based on size. Put a chair next to the shoes so people can try them on. If you are selling a mirror, putting that mirror near your shoes and clothing will help people decide if they need to purchase that item.
Supplies for Layout
Have your supplies on hand to create a fluid layout for your event. Some recommended items to have are:
You are likely selling something that plugs in. A potential buyer wants to test the item before they buy. For example, if you are selling a lamp make sure you have a light bulb in it so you can show it really works. You don’t have to sell the bulb with the lamp if you don’t want to.
Have enough hangers to display all of your clothes on a rack (or clothes line). As you sell items, remove the hangers so you don’t have loose/random hangers messing up your display.
Have a dedicated area where you can display your clothes. A clothes rack is ideal to efficiently show off your items as well as keep the items organized in a specific spot of your event. You also do not need to spend money if you don’t have a clothes rack. You can also use a clothesline to hang your clothes. Be sure to secure it well.
If you can borrow tables from friends, your church, others in the community … do it! You definitely want enough tables to show off your wares. Again, make sure your tables are secured and structurally sound. You do not want to have to deal with a broken table leg in the middle of your sale event.
If you have a lot of jewelry you may want to consider a jewelry display for buyers to really explore their options. The display does not take up a lot of table space but it does help give your buyers the sense that the items are worthy of the prices you have associated with them.
Keep your hands sanitized throughout the event. You will be exchanging money, shaking hands, and moving things that have been touched by other people. Having hand sanitizer as part of your layout helps keep germs at bay.
Have disinfectant wipes, paper towels, and/or clean rags on hand for your event. Spills may happen and items get knocked over. Having these items in close reach means you don’t have to run around on the day of your event to find cleaning supplies in a pinch.
Clean Items
Make sure all of your items are clean and ready for their new home. Remove dust, wipe down items, launder clothes, etc. because you want your potential buyers to trust that what they are buying has been taken care of.
Constant Reorganization
As your garage, yard, or estate sale progresses, you will have made sales and items get shifted around. This is the part that keeps you busy throughout the day. Make sure you are displaying your items in the most optimal way (use levels, hang clothes, put items back into their designated area) so the next visitor has a great experience of shopping at your event.
If you recruit family and friends to help you at your event this is a task that you can delegate to them. It is easy to do and will also improve the outcome of your event.
Comfortable Environment
A comfortable environment is good for you and your shoppers. If your sale is comfortable for the foot traffic coming by then they’ll stay longer and potentially purchase more. Imagine, you host a yard sale on a hot and sweltering summer day. If you have no shade and no moving air then your chances of getting people to browse for longer is likely not going to happen. However, if you have a yard covering and a simple fan to move some air along then people are more likely to spend a few extra minutes at your event.
A couple of items that you may want to set up for your sale are:
This may seem like a no-brainer but it needs to be said … WEAR COMFORTABLE SHOES! You are going to be on your feet all day and you need to protect your feet, joints, and back. Your garage sale is not the time to break in new shoes or flex your high heel game. Treat your feet well at your sale.
Another comfortable environment aspect to consider is shopping music. Did you know there are certain music tempos that encourage people to shop and buy? Music helps put people into a good mood and, again, may get them to stick around a little longer if their favorite song comes on while they are browsing your sale.
An easy way to find shopping music for your event is on Spotify. The playlist below is a good example of upbeat music that will cause people to put a little hop in their shopping steps.
You may say to yourself “I don’t like that kind of music! I’m more into thrash metal.” Unfortunately, you need to appeal to the masses for your sale event in order to get the most bang for your hours of prep. The music volume does not need to be shaking the neighbor’s windows. It should be just loud enough for people to kind of hear the music but not so loud that they can’t hear the person next to them.
Everything in the box is free
Finally, think about reciprocity. Put a box that is labeled “EVERYTHING IN THIS BOX IS FREE” and put it by the entrance to your garage sale, yard sale, or estate sale. These items could be a toy that is missing an arm, a pair of fuzzy socks, or a coffee pot that is missing the carafe. These are items that are not of great value but you also don’t want to lug back into your home after the event ends.
This box of freebies entices people to stop and look for hidden treasures. Most of the time (90%) if people have stopped to look in the free box then they come into the sale to purchase larger items. The reciprocity factor is that you essentially gave them something for free and they feel obligated to purchase something from you to repay your kindness.
Thinking through how you set up your sale will create a successful event and get buyers to engage with your sale. Putting in a little more effort to make it an organized and comfortable event will make it stand out from other sale events in your area.
