HOW TO HAVE A SUCCESSFUL GARAGE SALE! Kitty is having a successful garage sale! Golf clubs anyone?

Pick almost any subdivision or part of our Parish and you are likely to find a garage sale going on this weekend.

What's being sold at these garage sales? Is it "junk" people no longer use or want taking up space around their homes? Are they making money at these garage sales? You'd better believe they're making money! It's not uncommon to make $600 with a weekend garage sale. Is it hard to put on a successful garage sale? Well- it takes time and also requires an awareness of a few merchandising techniques, but problems are small in comparison to profits.

Who are the buyers and how do you get them to come to your garage sale? It's called just a little bit of advertising to get "everybody" to your garage sale.

Everyone accumulates the kind of garage sale items that other people are looking for, and eager to buy. These range from no longer wanted, outgrown items, to one of a kinds, to tools, furniture, books, pictures, knick knacks and anything else you can think of. Many garage sale items are things you bought on impulse and never or infrequently used. Many items may be gifts given to you which you could not use or were the wrong size.

The problem with most of us is the time to gather up all the items which are just taking space around our home and getting to the actual garage sale to get rid of them.

Step 1

Spend a few weeks visiting other garage sales, swap meets and the such in our area to see what's being offered for sale and what prices people are asking. How is merchandise being sold. If the item is tagged with a price, is the seller open to bargain? How is the merchandise displayed? How are the customers allowed to browse? Why is this sale successful?

Start your own garage sale by cleaning your house, and garage and closets. Talk to relatives and friends and tell them what you are doing. Ask them for donations of things they no longer need or want. Hopefully you'll get experience here in negotiating and finally, agreeing to how to display and sell other's merchandise for a percentage of the sales price.

Greet the people who come to your garage sale- show them around- engage them in conversation.

The advertising is simple. Run an ad in the local newspapers- Advertise in the classifieds ON_LINE in your neighborhood. Schedule the time, emphasize that you have something of interest to everyone- or specify the types of items you have. The bigger and better your sale, the bigger and better your ads should be. Have the widest selection of merchandise possible.

Put up a "sandwich board" or similar type sign in front of your house advertising your sale. Tell your neighbors about your sale.

Put signs anywhere you can in your neighborhood. Ask friends if you can use their yards. Use free bulletin boards in the area

Inside secrets:

Call attention to your sale.

Let everybody you know about it Ask for kits from the newspaper you are advertising with.

Give your house some flair before the sale. Decorate! Cover your tables with cloths or paper.

Don't dump items on a table and expect them to sell. Arrange them with interesting displays, action and color.

Try to have as wide a selection as possible. Clean items and have them sparkle.

Look for an interesting item to draw attention to your sale - something you can put in the front of your yard or home during the sale.

Be different and distinctive or you'll get lost in the hundreds of other garage sales around.

Use your imagination- get ideas from stores- display well- keep clean - have plenty of change on hand- work with another person if possible and above all BE FRIENDLY AND MAKE FRIENDS!

Good luck with your garage sale! We hope all your household extras become a neighbor or a friend's special treasure!