4) The Day Of The Sale
Put signs out about an hour before the sale starts. If you put them out the day before they can get knocked down or stolen. Below is how I put my nine signs out.
Put them on the heavily traveled intersections near your house.
Make sure the signs can be seen by buyers driving in both directions on the road.
Use tape, I recommend 3M Transparent Duct Tape, to attach signs to a telephone pole, steel pole, or a tree. If you cannot attach to an existing pole, the yard signs with the two thin wire stakes work best and are easy to setup. You can also use a hammer and 2“ roofing nails to put signs on telephone poles. Do not use nails on trees. A stapler will not work on most old telephone poles. Old political signs work great or you can even use tomato cages to hold signs up.
Get permission if you are putting them on private property. No signs should be put on the Highland Parkway median, it is considered a public park and they may be taken down by the Parks Department.
Don’t block other seller’s signs or they may destroy or take yours down when they see what you did.
Put your signs up the morning of the sale after you have most of your items laid out and are ready to start selling.
Keep track of where you put signs, so you can pick them up after the sale.
For a multi-day sale I recommend putting and taking down the signs each day. Less chance the signs get destroyed or stolen.
Place larger interesting items like furniture so buyers can see them as they drive up to the sale. This creates interest so drivers stop to look.
Place a cordless phone or your cell phone near your checkout table in case you get a call during the sale or if a buyer needs to call someone.
Lock all the front and back doors and windows in your house so someone can’t break in during the sale. You will be too busy and distracted with the sale to keep track of people coming and going. Never leave a back door unlocked.
Place your pets inside the house so they don’t bother buyers. They may be cute, but they cause trouble with kids or other pets and are a distraction.
Move your cars so buyers will have a place to park and can easily see your sale as they drive up.
Draw additional attention to your sale with 60-100 ft of colorful pennants hung so they are visible from the road. They can be bought at Amazon "Banner String Flags" for about $20 or from a number of other stores.
Set up early. Plan to open your sale 30-60 minutes before the stated start time. Early birds will be waiting for you to open. I usually list my sale to officially start at 9 am and really open at 8 am.
