What to do during the day

Stay motivated

Keep reminding yourself of why you're having the garage sale - to sell as much as you can to make as much money as you can. Keep a positive, enthusiastic & welcoming attitude.

Keep the customer in mind at all times

You won't sell anything without paying customers so remember to make them feel welcomed and comfortable so they spend time browsing and buying. Refer to Best customer service tips for more tips.

Keep the front of your garage sale full, neat and attractive

You will find people will drive by slowly and check if it's worth stopping or to keep going to the next garage sale on their list. Keep the front of your display full, neat and attractive to encourage them to stop and browse.

Fuss over your 'shop'

Tidy up your tables, re-arrange your items to fill any gaps.
Mark-down any prices.
If a table looks bare or empty, move the items onto another table and pack that empty table away. Well stocked tables look more interesting.

Keep you sale looking busy

In my experience, the more people there are at a garage sale, the better it must be. To help make your sale look 'busy', organize family or friends to spend some time with you. They don't have to do any selling, just stand around your sale looking like they are shoppers. They may also be able to help with re-arranging items, getting a great lunch ready, keeping you company, etc.

If you are on your own and there are currently no customers, get up and walk around your tables, re-arranging items, refolding clothes, etc so that if anyone drives past they will think that there is someone browsing and be more inclined to stop than if it was deserted except for you sitting on your own in a chair in the corner.

Check your signs during the day

They may have blown over or been removed or replaced by someone else's garage sale signs. I have heard of people writing or sticking the address of their garage sale on other people's signs! Checking signs during the day is a good job for anyone who doesn't want to be involved with the actual garage sale.

Sell your hard-to-sell items

If you notice some items are being looked over and will be hard to sell, think about combining them with other desirable items for two-for-the-price-of-one deals. You are effectively giving away the unsellable item but you are using it to help get a higher price for your other desirable item. People will think they are getting a bargain and are less likely to bargain you down to a rock bottom price as they may have with the single desirable item alone.