18 Ways to Make Money and Have a Successful Moving/Estate Sale
If you are downsizing to a smaller home, you will undoubtedly have tons of stuff you’re leaving behind. One proven way to earn extra money for your move is to host your own Moving Sale/Estate Sale. Now, I’m not talking about a simple garage sale. I’m talking about a huge Moving/Estate sale—people in your home, going through your closets. Yeah . . . that kind of sale.
At first, this may not seem the way you want to go. But just think . . . you may have to pay someone to haul away items you can’t take with you. Today, many charities won’t even enter a home to pick up furniture or goods. But having a house sale can turn your unmovable items into cash.
Pros and cons of moving sales. Do it alone or hire a professional?
You can hire an estate sale company to organize and run your sale. But this can be costly. When we were moving, at first I thought this was going to be our only option. But after lots of research, and speaking to several estate sale company owners, I realized we could do it on our own. And so we did!
What to do about large items?
My main concern regarding the sale was we couldn’t help buyers move large items such as couches or tables. So, how were customers going to get these items out of our house?
I soon learned that most estate sale companies won’t coordinate moving of items after the sale. They also won’t assist with moving items out during the sale, for fear of being sued.
If they weren’t helping with this, did I really need them?
No.
What’s the true cost?
Another concern was that some well-connected estate sale companies bring in their loyal followers to the sale. Would we miss out?
After I weighted the pros and cons, using a sale company didn’t make financial sense for us. They take upwards of 33% of profits and often have hefty minimums.
For example, if you sell $3,000 worth of stuff, but you have a $2,000 minimum fee, you may only make $800 — after their minimum fee of $2000 and 20% ($200) of the remaining $1,000. This can happen even if they are contracted to earn only 20% of sales — which would have been $600. In short, be sure you understand the contract terms.
Bottom line — If you know how to price items, and don’t mind the organizational work, you can do it yourself.
You can learn how to price items by first visiting a couple of sales yourself, or by checking out similar items on Ebay or Facebook’s online marketplace.
Should you decide to do it yourself, here are 18 tips for a safe and profitable sale.
- Check With Your Home Insurance Company. Make sure that your home insurance policy will cover any injury that occurs in your home during the moving sale. If it doesn’t, you simply may risk too much by having the sale. Having lots of strangers roaming through your home, up and down stairs, can be a risky and expensive proposition.
- Set A Clear Path for Buyers. Make sure that all indoor pathways are clear. Have lots of directional signs leading the way. Point out starts of stairs or steps. Good lighting is a must.
- Have Items in Their Expected-to-be-found Locations. Try to display sale items in the room in which you would normally find them. Dishes on the kitchen table. Clothing in the bedroom. Coats in the downstairs closet. Formal china in the dining room.
- Make Some Rooms Off-Limits. Seal off rooms that you simply don’t want strangers in. We sealed off our main bedroom, our bathrooms, too. You can store items you are not selling in these rooms.
- Keep Important Items Safely Packed Away. Pack away all medicines, jewelry, and expensive, not-for-sale decorative items. You may even do well to move them to your new place, car trunk, or a friend’s home during the sale.
- How To Hold the Sale While Still Living In Your Home. Having the sale while you still live in the home can be tricky, but quite doable. And sometimes you simply have no choice. If this is the case, don’t let it stop you. Have the sale after you have packed up most of the items you are taking with you. Seal these bins and boxes. Take these sealed boxes and bins and put them in a sealed off room or in the corner of one or two designated rooms. Then put “Do Not Cross” tape in front of and around the bins so people will know to stay away and avoid that area of the room. Try to have these areas merged into just one or two rooms.
- Purchase Safety Tape and Use It! Purchase “Do Not Cross” tape at a hardware store. We purchased ours at Home Depot. You can use “Do Not Cross” tape to close off entire rooms. We also used it to close off some closets and cupboards in the kitchen. Tie tape around door handles as well, and secure to walls. Make it impossible to ignore. We had a cat in one room, so a chime went on that door as well, for extra security. We did find one woman rummaging through a sealed-off cabinet in the kitchen, so patrol these areas constantly. I do have to say that having your own moving sale is not for the faint of heart.
- Clearly Mark “Not for Sale” Items. If you have furniture or large items that you are taking with you, put bright “Not for Sale” stickers on each item — perhaps in several noticeable places. Don’t be surprised if people still make offers for these items.
- Hold a Garage Sale at the Same Time. You can put all inexpensive “garage sale” items in your garage. A great way to sell Halloween items and seasonal goods. However, close off the garage door entrance so people can only exit by going through your main entrance at your front door. Have the garage sale and house sale on the same day.
- Have One Checkout Area. Have always at least 2 checkout people at your main entrance. Collect all money here.
- Accept cash only. Offer to hold a piece for 30 minutes while your customer runs out to the nearest cash machine; offer directions.
- You Bought It, You Move It. Let potential buyers know that they move the item out of your home. You cannot help. If you are carrying an item with them, and it slips and breaks, buyers will blame you and want their money returned. And the last thing you need is an injury before your big move. If moving the item will disrupt others, ask them to remove the piece after the sale. Settle on a date and time before you make the sale.
- Have An After-Sale Large Merchandise PickUp Period That Is Convenient for You. Let buyers know they will have 3 (or so) days to come to your home with a mover to take away their large purchase. But insist all items are paid for at the time of sale. And have them arrange with you, before payment, a mutually convenient pick-up time.
- Enlist Several Friends or Relatives to Help Out. This is critical. Have several people constantly patrol your home; at least one on each floor, including the basement / garage. They can answer questions and give directions. Always have 2 people at the checkout, at the entrance to the sale. Have coffee, donuts, and lunch on hand for helpers. And give each helper an apron so customers can easily identify them as people who can answer their questions.
- Have Cash on Hand, but Not Too Much. Make sure you have plenty of cash on hand so that you can make change during the sale. However, do not keep all your cash in the checkout area. As the money you earn increases, put it in a very secure place, leaving out only enough money for change. A secure place can be your car trunk, a home safe in an “off-limits” room, or even with your trusted neighbor next door.
- Promote Your Moving/Estate Sale Extensively. Promote your sale with many directional neighborhood signs, community board notices, online estate sale and garage sale sites, online social media, and possibly in one or two newspapers.
- Have a Two or Three-Day Sale. Make your sale at least two days long. You put a lot of work into preparations, so give at least two days for buyers to visit. The evening before the last day – and not sooner — put out new bold signs and info on online advertising that you will be offering 50% off all items the last day. It will surprise you at the crowds that come! You’ll see repeat visitors too.
- Take Phone Numbers. If someone is interested in an item but can’t decide if they want it at the sale, offer to call them after the sale if the item is still available. After our sale, we contacted a couple who were interested in our baby grand piano. There was no way it was going to move with us, and both parties happily agreed to a fair sale price.
Remember— this is your moving sale.
You make the rules.
If you don’t want to make change for a $100 bill for a $5 item – don’t do it.
If you don’t want people using your bathroom, politely give directions to the nearest restaurant.
If you don’t want to accept less for an item – don’t.
I think you see where I’m going. It’s your sale, and your home.
Now that you know the pros and cons of estate sales, and how to have a moving sale, does it make good sense for you? Do you have any additional tips? If so, I hope you will leave them in the comments section below.
Other blogs of interest may include: How to Have a Safe and Profitable Garage Sale
