Sisterhood of Motherhood

Updated Seller Guidelines for SOM 2012 Yard Sale

April 30, 2012 Leave a Comment

With many very successful yard sales under our belt, we have learned a few things about what works to make the sale run smoothly and what we can do to try to improve it and make it easier. They are written here to help you and to standardize our process.

 

The “cost” to each participant is donation of 20% of her proceeds to SOM Moms. So if the sale of all of your items totals $100, you would receive a check for $80 and SOM would keep $20. This is used to supplement our budget. (So everyone is aware, as Lydia is hosting the event in her garage and supplying electricity for lighting and sometimes heaters or fans, she does not contribute 20% of her proceeds.)

 

Wal-Mart and Meijer bags are needed by the gross as well as the larger bags or even boxes for our “mega-shoppers”. Bring these anytime beginning the week before the sale and drop them in the barn on the north end (the side we use as work space not sale space).

 

Any boxes you bring over that you want back should be labeled with your name. Don’t forget to mark lids as well. That way we can get everyone’s containers back to them. If you bring cardboard ones and don’t mind losing them, we may use them for packing people’s purchases.

 

Plan to have your items at the sale the Wednesday before the sale for setup. Have them marked and ready before you bring them over. There isn’t sufficient space to work on your items here and it tends to get confusing with both labeled and unlabeled items in the same work area. PLEASE: If possible, have them pre-sorted in separate boxes (like girl clothes, toys, books, etc). We are trying to make setup go ever smoother each sale.

 

Everyone is requested to work two shifts if at all possible. It really helps if you make child care arrangements for your work hours (maybe swapping with another participant) so that you can work free of distraction and so we are less likely to lose items that get played with . There are other jobs to do if you can’t work during the sale: bringing morning snacks or lunch food for the workers, advertising, delivering and picking up tables, etc.

 

If you want to reach me during the days around the sale, please use my cell phone, 217-2171 or I may not get your message until 8 pm of the day you call.

 

Items

Have everything washed and in good repair as much as possible. It will make them easier to sell, easier to get the price you want, and helps our entire stock look better. Pin two-piece clothing items together. Have buttons buttoned and zippers zipped before packing the items up to bring them to the sale. Remember that they hang up facing a certain way on the rack (with the open hook of the hanger on the left and the item hung up so the price label on the upper right side is facing you) and all clothes need to face the same way with the price label showing. Toys with multiple parts should be secured or put in zipper bags. In general, appliances or any electrical items should be pre-tested and marked as to their condition (works like new, needs a new part, etc). I can’t make a statement about your items even though I may think they are in working condition when I don’t know. Help remove doubt by having them marked. We could really use some men’s items, too: clothes, shoes, sporting items, tools, things for the car. Check the basement and garage for some ‘big boy’ toys. Dust and polish wood, metal or plastic things. Vases look better after soaking in ammonia and very hot water. Please do not bring any dirty items.

 

Labels

Please use only white square-ish labels such as the Avery-type shipping label 5160 or 8160, cut in half. You can get 2 tags per label and they are a good visible size on our items and give space to put pertinent info besides just the price. I can print some on the computer with your letter codes on them and all you have to do is cut them in half. I bought 100 sheets of labels and have plenty! They cost 40 cents per sheet. Let me know in advance if you would like to buy some. Labels should be placed in the upper right corner of most items. That way whether on a hanger or stacked in a pile, the price is consistently in the same spot and easy to find. Put your code letter which you are assigned on your label in large black print on one side of the label. Put the price on the other side and add any additional info. This could be size, working condition, how often it has been used, whatever. Print this in black or blue ink. The contrast between the bold letter code and the pen written price makes the label really easy to read (especially when totaling monies). All clothes should be marked with size and who they are for (junior’s, boys, ladies, men’s, etc) as much as possible. Label things as soon as you have decided they are going to the sale. It will make it a faster process for yourself and you will be less likely to take something back once you already have it “sale-ready”.

 

Tags don’t stick well to stuffed animals and some other toys. Be creative to find a way to keep the stickers on.

 

Pricing

Price items in 25 cent increments only. If you have an item not worth that much then combine it with others in a zipper bag and price it a quarter. If you already know you are unwilling to negotiate on price on a particular item, write FIRM by the price. That will save me time and a phone call to ask you when someone wants to offer less.

 

Hope you find this helpful and let me know if you come up with anything else I can add to future editions of these guidelines.