Anyone can have a garage sale. But can you have a successful garage sale? Can you make it worth your effort and time sitting out in the summer heat? I’m here to tell you, you can! But it takes planning. Gone are the days of throwing a few tables up the morning of your sale day. You gotta sell it, girl! Here is an ultimate list of free garage sale printables, checklists and worksheets so you can start making some serious cash on those outgrown kids clothes and unused workout gear.
In This Article
How Much Money Can I Make at a Garage Sale?
In truth, how much money you can make depends on a lot of factors, but they might not be the factors you would think of. Having held annual multi-family garage sales for over 10 years, I make an average of $1,500. The total profits for everyone participating in the 3 day profitable garage sale averages $3,500 – $5,100.
What we’re selling is not high dollar or rare. We sell our kids’ outgrown clothes and toys, household items we don’t use anymore and items we’ve upgraded from. I do sell some antiques that have not sold in my vintage Etsy shop, but everyone else just does household and clothing items.
What makes a difference in our successful multi family yard sales are the primary factors below.
Primary Money Making Factors
- Advertising
- Cleanliness
- Using all these garage sale free printables, checklists and worksheets below to prepare and organize
Secondary Money Making Factors
These do matter, but I’ve seen customers drive a long way for a well advertised garage sale or buy what seems like junk when it’s priced right. Also, garage sale shoppers will often shop in bad weather…they’re a crazy lot!
- Location
- Type of Items Sold
- Weather
Garage Sale To Do Checklist
Running the ultimate garage sale that makes you actual money takes a lot of effort and time. No one said garage sales were free money. But if you plan out your time and manage your to-do list well, it doesn’t have to turn into a frantic headache.
Print out this free garage sale checklist to make sure you don’t forget anything. This will make your garage sale preparation seamless and make you excited about getting rid of your junk treasures!
Read more how to have a successful yard sale HERE!
Garage Sale Toolkit Checklist
The whole point of having a garage sale is to MAKE money, so it stands to reason that you wouldn’t buy ANY supplies, right? Wrong. While I don’t want to waste a bunch of hard earned dollars on garage sale tools and supplies, there are certain items that are an absolute must for the most successful garage sale.
Also, there are items that you could skip, but shouldn’t. Spending a little extra cash on these supplies will make your next sale stand out as high value and make customers flock to you. (Trust me, these garage sale supplies and tools have helped me make thousands of dollars over the years!)
Read more about creating a garage sale “toolbox” HERE.
Worker Schedule Sign Up Worksheet
If you’re having a multi-family garage sale with a lot of stuff, I’m a firm believer that it is very important to have a schedule of who is working what days and hours. It takes a ton of work and is not something that should be left open ended or left to one person. Once you have asked participants for their best time to work, fill in the time slots for bringing their items, setting up and tearing down each day, running the sale and packing up unsold stuff. There’s even time slots for people who can babysit all the kids inside so the moms can run a successful sale!
Read in depth of how to schedule participants to run a successful multi-family garage sale HERE.
Garage Sale Printable Price Tags
These are hands down the best sticking and easiest to customize garage sale pricing labels you will use. You can put your initials onto price stickers with the click of one button. Each participant prints the sticker labels on different brightly colored paper (I use orange; my co-garage sale friend uses pink) for an additional way to easily tell whose item is whose.
I use Scotch tape (name brand here, don’t skimp on the cheap stuff) to attach each sticker to the item. These will stay put on everything including clothing, not tear pieces off of books and even stay when wet. Not like the cheap circle garage sale stickers that fall off everywhere!
Read more in depth garage sale tips for pricing items HERE.
- Download document to computer
- Open Excel document
- Click on any “Initials” box and type in your initials (This will automatically update all price tags in document)
- Click each tab on the bottom for different prices
- Print price sheets onto bright paper
- Cut apart and price things by attaching with Scotch tape
We Accept Venmo Payment Sign
This is currently the most popular form of online payment. Use this printable garage sale sign saying you accept Venmo payment, put it in an 8 x 10 frame and set it on your payment table. You can also hang in various locations so people can see when shopping. We added Venmo to our last garage sale and made an additional $750 from people who didn’t have cash!
Read more about how to accept Venmo payment on my blog post HERE.
We Accept Paypal Sign
You can choose to accept both Paypal or Venmo or just go with Paypal. This is the long time, tried and true online form of payment, and many people have a Paypal account. Print this sign to frame and put on your payment table to inform customers they can still purchase items even if they don’t have enough cash. This free printable yard sale sign prompts many people to buy more or bigger items than they initially planned on.
Read more about accepting Paypal payment at garage sales HERE.
We Accept Credit Card Sign
Some people may not have Venmo or Paypal, but almost everyone has a credit card. There are times when people randomly see your garage sale sign and stop. But many people aren’t prepared with enough cash nowadays. Print on card stock and hang these free garage sale signs around your garage sale to inform buyers they can still easily make purchases. We have made a lot of money this way from people who have forgotten actual cash.
Read more about how to actually accept credit cards at your garage sale HERE.
Multi-Family Sales Log Worksheet
Use this worksheet as a great way to track individual’s sales at a multi-family garage sale. It is meant to be used on a laptop and automatically adds the running total for each person. Because it’s important that each person gets the money they made at the big yard sale!
Read more about how to keep track of sales HERE.
Kids Lemonade and Food Stand Menu and Sign
It’s always great to get kids involved in the garage sale experience. My kids treat garage sale week like a holiday, they get so excited and have a great time. It is a good way to teach entrepreneurship and keep them occupied while they have so much fun. Download this editable kids’ food stand menu and printable signs to show customers exactly what your kids are selling and the prices.
Read more about top items for kids to sell at a lemonade or food stand HERE.
I am happy that I could share this ultimate list of free garage sale printables, checklists and worksheets with you. These free templates will take your sale from blah to a huge success! If you spend all this effort selling your unused items, you need to make decent money. And if you prepare and have a garage sale that appears organized and high end, customers will come ready to buy! Good luck!
Read more about holding successful garage sales below.
1st Part: Ultimate Guide to a Successful Multi-Family Garage Sale
2nd Part: Ultimate Guide to a Successful Multi-Family Garage Sale
3rd Part: Ultimate Guide to a Successful Multi-Family Garage Sale
Beginner’s Guide for a Successful Garage Sale
30 Top Items to Sell at a Garage Sale
Pin for Later Ultimate List of Free Garage Sale Printables, Checklists and Worksheets
