Craigslist Billings Garage Sales (2024)

FAQs

What is the best garage sale day? ›

Friday, Saturday and Sunday mornings are usually the best time to hold a successful garage sale. Consider scheduling your sale on the first weekend of the month—when people have just gotten paid and haven't spent all their fun money yet.

Post your garage sale flyers around the neighborhood a few days before the yard sale. Make sure to place them in high-traffic areas like marts, parks, office elevators, and churches so people will see them. You can also ask your friends and family to help out.

While you can certainly make money through a garage sale, it may be less than you expect. Garage sale shoppers are looking for bargains and will haggle over your prices, even if they were very low already. And if you have bad weather, you might get fewer shoppers and make much less money than expected.

Garage sales usually start early in the morning, around 7 a.m., and end mid-afternoon. The busiest hours of a garage sale are often between 7 a.m. and 11 a.m., before temperatures get too high. Depending on how many items you plan to sell, you may want to spread the sale out over multiple days.

Although not everyone puts price tags on their garage sale merchandise, pricing your merchandise in advance will make the day of the sale less hectic for you. Additionally, it may make customers more likely to buy.

How much cash should you start with for a garage sale? ›

Many experienced sellers recommend having $100 in cash for your garage sale. Not only is this a good amount to get your sale started, but it also makes it easy to calculate your profit quickly.

Post on Craigslist or other local community board a “Moving Sale” for $1 (you have to enter a price), but in that post the list major items for sale with individual prices, include general descriptions of the other stuff for sale (dishes and cooking sets, camping accessories, baby clothes, etc.)

Late spring to early fall is the ideal time of year, so aim for this timing if possible. As for the day of the week, you'll have better luck with foot traffic on days where people aren't at work, so it's best to stick to weekends. Both Saturdays and Sundays are good options.

Best to put everything on a table or hang it within reach. Dumping clothes on a sheet on the lawn, only looks like you haven't done laundry in a long time. Clean it, dust it or at least wipe it down. If it's clean and tidy it sells a LOT faster.

Winter Is Better for Sellers; Summer is for Buyers

Spring and summer are packed with garage and estate sales. Fortune favors the brave; if you have a sale during the winter you will surely see more people come through the sale. More people means more potential buyers.