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©VOGenesis.com

[From Clutter To Cash - DESIGN]

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©VOGenesis.com

Copyright © 2015 Success Vantage Group Pte Ltd

All rights reserved.

Published by Jenny Lewis.

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and timeliness of the information contained herein, the author and publisher assume no liability

with respect to losses or damages caused, or alleged to be caused, by any reliance on any

information contained herein and disclaim any and all warranties, expressed or implied, as to the

accuracy or reliability of said information.

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

Introduction ....................................................................................................... 4

The Problem About The Clutter ......................................................................... 5

What Clutter Does Inside ................................................................................... 8

Solutions To Clutter ......................................................................................... 11

Do We Still Do Garage Sales? ........................................................................... 13

Garage Selling For Success! .............................................................................. 16

Are you ready to do a garage sale? .................................................................. 18

A Unique Garage Sale? ..................................................................................... 19

Lessons Learned To Optimize Garage Selling ................................................... 21

Money And Your Garage Sale .......................................................................... 23

Promoting Your Garage Sale ............................................................................ 24

More Garage Selling Details ............................................................................. 26

Garage Sales, As A Buyer.................................................................................. 27

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Introduction

Hello! Do you know what you want from life? Do you know why you are here?

You probably started reading this series of reports having great expectations. Expectations

of making money. Money is, after all, the tool we use to fund our many experiences of joy

and happiness. Money is also good for paying those nagging bills, too!

But, what did you have in your mind when you began reading? Many people have their

minds filled with lots of things. Life today is full of activity. And, if we have obligations such

as work, school, and family members these activities can mount quickly!

Most of life becomes one of habit. Sooner or later we create a false form of stability. Our

form of stability develops specific patterns unique to our personality. We create our

"perfect world" where these patterns remain embedded, protected and nurtured. It’s not

comfortable to have surprises! So, to protect against new things we try to maintain a

smooth flow, a steady course, an even keel.

Then, something happens!

It unsettles us, and we become stressed. We restore stability as quickly as possible using

whatever coping mechanisms we have grown comfortable. Safety is key. And, safety is

usually creating some form of foundation or nest.

So, what is a nest? A nest is a personal space. Many people have a den, a desk, a nook or

even a corner by the bed where personal things are stored. Your nest creates a warm, fuzzy

place of comfort.

You know those pictures from years ago that now have five to ten years of dust behind

them? That’s them! Or, maybe the mementos from high school or college; those awards or

pins or yearbooks? Quite possibly you have that biology textbook still sitting under the

lamp, collecting dust with a copyright date that you are too embarrassed to admit to! Still,

just having that book still there creates comfort.

90% of selling is conviction, and 10% is persuasion.

- Shiv Khera

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Then, again, it could be pictures of childhood with curled corners pinned to the wooden

borders of your desk or maybe your nook’s bulletin board. Perhaps some ribbons are

hanging there, too. Overhead, you have some bookshelves with collected stacks of

textbooks from years gone by. You studied from them, but then you never used them again

or sold them to the bookstore to make money.

So, there they sit. Clutter. Dust. Disorganization. They are there when you leave to go about

your day. They are there when you return. In your subconscious, you think this is

comforting. But also it disturbs you, too. And, you don’t know why.

The Problem About The Clutter

Thinking about all this clutter, you clutch your tablet or smartphone and open Facebook to

complain to your best friend or two. Maybe you sound off in a Facebook group, send out

WhatsApp texts, and tweet from emotional exhaustion on Twitter.

In the meantime, you fire off a round

of emails, so they are waiting for

those who are not part of your

Facebook or chat-messenger circle.

Then, the commiserating crew

responds to reaffirm your feelings.

They, too, have the same problem.

This problem of feeling disorganized

from seeing clutter in your personal,

private place is not unique. It is

universal. Each person shares in the

same situation.

Still, clutter is not only specific to that personal, private place where dust collects. Clutter is

part of your entire day. Think about it.

When you wake up, what do you do?

Do you listen to the birds chirping outside the window, wait for the automatic coffee maker

to drip that preset blend, and then slowly coax yourself out of bed after hitting the snooze

alarm at least four times? NO!

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In today’s world, as soon as your alarm sounds, you grab your tablet or smartphone and

review the collected set of chat messages, scan your emails, and upload the current news

and weather. You must be able to fluently regurgitate information to chat with the next

person!

Who knows who is going to mention the sound bite the Prime Minister said in London the

night before about the issues in the Persian Gulf?! It’s quite possible you may have missed

the details of the latest celebrity court case that will most assuredly be the talk of the office

team. There is always a weather phenomenon somewhere in the world people will chat

about, and you must be aware when people begin to talk!

These fill your head before that first sip of coffee or tea. Quite possibly before you have left

the bed or entered the shower. Then, you turn on the television… from whatever source…

and glance at the video pictures while listening to the information as you prepare for the

day.

Maybe you are helping your children get to school. So, you probably spend time frantically

filling book bags with lunches. This includes checking the online school sites to see that

homework and school materials are properly loaded. If it’s snowing, the school opening

times or delayed opening announcements must be checked. Then, it’s out to the school bus

stop or into the family vehicle to drive to school before heading to the worksite.

Of course, if you are a commuting worker and not employed on a work-from-home

assignment, traveling is always an adventure.

Then, once at the office, the real information gathering mode begins! Time has taught us to

worship the multi-tasking talent. Information, data collection, and storage are now endless

and at our fingertips! Similarly, we expect to have some idea of the many bits and pieces of

information that flow past our workstation, desk, or work tablet.

And, news of novel gadgets, devices, peripherals and applications that can make that

information available faster captures first-priority attention. What?! Apple came out with an

"X" version of their device? Must have it now! The Microsoft software is out-of-date, again,

and the hardware that was just purchased is no longer supported.

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This excludes the real events of the workday. The mission of your business. The core reason

you are making money.

But it has been an hour, now, and it is time to check those emails you checked when you

first woke up in the morning. Also, the chats from Facebook, tweets from Twitter, and texts

from Whatsapp and Skype have mounted and certainly must be checked again.

According to Facebook, the single most common time for workers to check their chats is one

hour after arriving to work. Then, lunchtime is the second most common chat-checking

time! The third time? You guessed it… the end of the workday is the third most common

time to check Facebook messages.

Without repeating the same events of the return home commute, the time at home is

fraught with information collection. There are the online travel flow updates to ensure you

get home quickly. But, before you arrive you have checked your dashboard monitor for the

children’s after school schedule.

Some have soccer, and some have basketball. Others have field hockey or tennis. Some have

art, chess, or fashion projects. A few have community assignments. Each must arrive at

their destination on time!

Even if you don’t have children, the same information gathering ritual applies for your own

after work meetings.

The evening sets in. You review the news. More Facebook messages. Twitter tweets are

scanned. Email is updated. You are exhausted! Not from the day’s work, but from all the

information clutter collection. Maybe in bed, you cannot sleep because you must recheck

your phone for possible chat updates through the night!

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What Clutter Does Inside

Clutter is thus not just the dusty mementos and books collected about your personal,

private space.

It is also the never ending artificial intelligence information that streams at you from

computers, tablets, phones, and automobile dashboards. You get the information screaming

at you from interactive signs in the shopping centers, in the elevators, even the public

bathroom!

The clutter tires you out.

Attacks of information keep you sensitized and vigilant. Anxiety and its many forms are

some of the most common diagnoses these days. Still, you contribute to it by feeding more

stimulation every few minutes like visual and auditory caffeine.

Then, when you get home, the disorganization of collected clutter from dusty pictures,

books, and mementos leaves an unconscious, grating sensation. You probably don’t notice

it. Still, scientists have documented many negative outcomes as a result of the perpetual

anxiety from information clutter to personal space clutter.

You have become dependent on artificial intelligence like your external brain. The age of

information has not made you smarter. It has made you lazier.

Scientists tested this theory recently with a game where some participants were permitted

to write the answers to each of the clues on scrap paper. Others were forced to memorize

the clues. Then, when the game began the scrap paper was surprisingly taken from the first

group! The result? The first group scored much poorer on the memory test because they

depended on their cheat sheets rather than forced memory!

Some effects of clutter researchers have observed are quite typical of anxiety. These include

increased sensitivities to allergies such as mold, dust mites, spores and animal and food

allergies.

Think about it.

Allergies were a rare thing when our parents or grandparents did not have computers or

feverish cravings to check their chat messages. In fact, some recent studies have found that

inner-city children who had increased contact with irritants and allergens were like our

grandparents; and these children had no access to chat messaging, either!

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Researchers have also observed that clutter

contributes to a mindset of procrastination. This is

not surprising since the purpose of clutter is to

increase an artificial sense of stability. Creating a

false sense that life must be controlled is what

clutter is all about! Dust is our symbolism that life

should never change!

Still, life goes on. It is dynamic and ever changing. That creates the disconnect between

reality and the false world of clutter. Decisions are postponed. Stress is worshiped rather

than endorsed as fodder for a new beginning. As a result, you "like" clutter, in a weird,

uncomfortable way as if it’s everyone’s favorite, Facebook page.

So, off you go to the discount store to purchase still more of those plastic totes or

containers. You get orange ones for Halloween, red ones for the winter holidays, white ones

for New Years, and green ones for Saint Patrick’s day (if you are Irish and celebrate that

day). Then, there are more totes for special occasions.

But retailers have gotten smart. So, the totes continually upgrade with features like new

locks or handles each year! Clutter has become a marketing industry!

Why do you have the compulsion to clutter?

Yes, you know you must create a false sense of security. Yes, you must find control out of

the chaos that has become the Information Age.

Clutter gives a sense of value if you live in a culture where possessions and material items

are sought-after goals. Clutter serves as markers of the past. Absent clutter, it is felt the past

will disappear as well. Clutter also gives a false sense of hope from failed dreams started

but never fulfilled.

Well, researchers have studied that, too.

The conscious mind seeks control from the instability of uncertain changes. One of the most

prevalent anxiety disorders made worse by the information age is the Obsessive Compulsive

Disorder. Individuals with Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) are known to hoard or

clutter without control. Many more people have just a lifestyle pattern or an OCD

personality where the behavior is under control, but the brain uses the same pathways.

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OCD is a combination of anxieties that include both obsessions and compulsions. These are

learned behaviors driven by the conscious mind in the decision-making and planning section

known as the orbit frontal cortex. This forward-facing section is wholly controlled by

conscious thought and thus is influenced by the day’s constant stimulation from electronics

and analysis of impending risk.

OCD also affects parts of the subconscious brain.

The subconscious mind is the seat of emotion and memory. The amygdala, located just

behind and at the top of the brainstem, is the heart of all negative emotion. The amygdala,

in individuals with OCD, has been found to be unusually large. The large size is thought to be

due to the over-activity of negative emotional anxiety people with OCD continually feed to

themselves.

Not all clutter disorders are anxiety disorders such as OCD or hoarding disorder. Some are

from reduced will to move forward in life.

Robin Williams brought depression to the forefront as a prime example of reduced energy.

Obviously, anyone with a chronic pain illness has a physical limitation similar to those with

depression. Others with disorganization disorders such as schizophrenia or focus and

attention issues such as Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) also struggle with

cluttering. Each of these individuals requires oversight by a physician as part of their lifestyle

plan.

It also seems the subconscious brain has a special section that is the “clutter mind”.

Subconscious thought occurs below the level of conscious thought, yet is influenced by our

conscious willpower.

The people at Yale University isolated the Anterior Cingulate Cortex or ACC, which is

normally considered the emotional "shock absorber" against emotional impulses from the

amygdala where all our negative emotional memories are stored. It is also the pain memory

center for touching the hot stove or getting that fingernail accidently pulled back. Then,

they found the ACC also responds negatively to loss of commitments of emotion or finances.

What this means is that the ACC senses pain when you lose attachments of emotion or

attachments of financial importance. Thus, scientists have discovered a subconscious

center, a "clutter mind" center, which seeks to go about subconsciously creating clutter. Is

this a good thing?

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Well, major marketers in most electronics stores today seem to have already studied the

Yale research. Cell phone, computer, and major name brand dealers such as Apple and

Samsung have now mimicked the children’s "touch me" museum layout.

Customers are intentionally forced to lay hands on the merchandise before they can reach

the help or service desks. Then, the latest product is given an emotional sense of ownership

before leaving the store!

Solutions To Clutter

So, what should a person do who is struggling with clutter? After all, removing the clutter

permits new thoughts and new ideas. Anxiety is reduced. And, in reality, control becomes

yours, again!

The first solution to clutter is to attack the information sources.

That’s right. Seek out the very places that

create the hum of anxiety and time manage

them. Do you want control? Then, control!

Think about the number of times you grab that

tablet or smartphone to check messages,

emails, and Internet data. If you are honest,

you will say something like five, six, or maybe

twelve times a day. Indeed! Do you need to rob

yourself privacy and peace chained to that

electronic device in the morning, noon,

evening, night, and maybe overnight?

So, set aside one time. That’s right. One time. You get your messages once at the office

when things settle down or after you have managed to get your coffee and shower. Once.

No more. Make sure your friends, family, and office people know they will hear from you

again the next day. Your time is valuable. You are in control.

If it is an emergency that person needs to pick up the old-fashioned phone and call you.

Should you find your needs require entertaining your attention to checking messages,

emails, and Internet data a second time in one day, that must be the limit. Twice. No more.

That’s freedom from information clutter.

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The second solution to clutter is to take the same information restriction to the chat sites.

Facebook friends are supposed to be social. That means they will slow you down from

success and progress when you invest time chatting about what you are doing. Instead,

excuse social chats for the weekends or times you are not working.

Similarly, reduce the number of accounts you follow on Twitter.

The more you follow, the more you must read. The same applies to tablet and smartphone

applications. If you don’t need it or use it, don’t get it. Even your screen’s desktop; make a

practice to clean off your files regularly, so you have nothing there. Again, it’s all clutter!

The third solution is to remove the totes of clutter.

Yes, this was mentioned earlier as the worshiped envy of all things material. Those seasonal

totes that have years and years of collected memories? If you don’t use it this year, then

remove it. If you are honest, this will apply to most things stored about the house or

apartment!

So, how can your removing the totes of clutter help?

Again, this gives control back to you. And, a lot more space! Reducing consumption

increases efficiency, which improves pride in performance.

Routinely look over your possessions, at least once each season or preferably monthly. The

goal is to trim to only those items that you use at least once a year. Again, if you have not

used it within a year, it’s time to let it go!

What do you do with all these possessions you are letting go?

The options are many. Your goal should be to liquidate the items back into some cash. This

plan leads to ideas like eBay or Craigslist.

The most useful way to get cash for your clutter is to hold a yard or garage sale!

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Do We Still Do Garage Sales?

Yes, believe it or not, yard or garage sales remain as popular today as they were decades

ago.

In fact, as our collection of material possessions and storage capacity has grown over the

years, so has the demand for garage sales!

Indeed, more people today have two and even three car garages. Most have attics and

basements to store lots of off-season items. Then, each bedroom has walk-in closets, now,

to accommodate more storage yet. Oh, the wondrous places to put more totes!

And, as society collects and collects more clutter, the demand for money creates a need to

sell what is on hand to buy still more things! It is a never ending cycle. We are a moving

society, too, and with moving, comes the need to hold garage sales to lighten the shipment.

Garage sales have become an institution in some cultures. In the USA, August appears to be

the most profitable time to hold yard or garage sales for many reasons:

First, people are statistically most likely to be on vacation and willing to participate in

the project.

Second, people use August as their major moving time to relocate before registering

children into new schools for September.

Thus, clutter must be jettisoned in time for the move. And, new clutter must be collected at

the next location to restock odd items before going to the retail stores and to meet the

neighbors and get acquainted!

August has become so institutionalized that the 9th of August is labeled National Garage

Sale Day.

In fact, during that entire four-day cycle of August 7 - 10th, select homeowners participate in

the "world’s longest yard sale". They call it that title because it stretches 680 miles along

U.S. Route 127 across six states from Addison, Michigan to Gadsden, Alabama!

The tradition is usually associated with sales accommodations such as the age-old lemonade

stand. Lemonade refreshments, especially homemade, get children to participate learning

the market trade at their level. Customers are enticed to continue shopping as a result with

the ready refreshment and hearty smiles!

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Rain or shine, yard sale shoppers gravitate to collect new batches of clutter seeking to find

new value that they did not have before. And, with the promotions from popular television

shows that feed the frenzy, it is not any wonder why the demand has skyrocketed in recent

years.

The demand for garage sales is not just for getting rid of clutter.

It’s to make money!

More specifically, people anticipate exchanging their clutter at garage sales to reduce many

unwanted, low-value items for just a few high-value items. These high-value items can, in

turn, bring about good resale value!

The principal of garage selling is not unlike the traditional marketplace. The only difference

is the supply is not new items, but rather used items. This makes identifying true value from

useless clutter challenging!

It started with Antique Road Show, which provided high-quality appraisals of seemingly

uninteresting clutter and identified what truly mattered most. Then, shows like Pawn Stars

came along following a similar theme. Many "me too" shows have discovered the not-so-

hidden fever of clutter trading through yard sales, garage sales and its variations like

commercial storage compartments.

It seems items that are trapped in time "trap" the most value for people. That is the key to

yard or garage selling. Identifying value. Both as a seller and as a buyer.

Sentimental value is just that; emotion.

Emotion does not translate into money. Translating an item of clutter into money requires

value to the other person, the person exchanging money for the item.

So, shows like Antique Road Show have taught the watching public just why those children’s

baseball cards are so important, especially the players who performed well during their era.

Comic books have the same characteristics. They are trapped in time, and they are rare.

Thus, some of the ugliest clutter items receive high marks by the appraisers. Ugly items are

rarely collected and saved and thus are odd and valuable.

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Items trapped in time include vinyl records, decorative metal tins, and old hand tools and

signs. And, despite that detail about people moving to different parts of the country

regional values make things rare in other sections of the nation. The higher demand

translates into higher value.

Higher value means just what you might have guessed, more money!

On the other hand, worthless electronics supplies such things as floppy and Zip drives, CD’s

(yes, CD’s!), and software for outdated Microsoft hardware translate into no money at all.

Still, if you find an original Apple computer and accidently sell it at a yard sale, you will

permanently learn the lesson of time "trapped" value!

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Garage Selling For Success!

Most successful yard or garage selling gurus grow up under the tutelage of their parents.

Stated earlier, the mantle of success starts with managing the lemonade stand to service the

shopping consumer, ensure their longer buying presence, and provide second-hand

entertainment as a result. Later, children assume responsibilities at the tables and also

exchange money. Still some young entrepreneurs get into the action very early having found

the secret to garage-selling marketing success.

One such garage sale guru is Aaron LaPedis.

Some may not know him, but to Donald Trump he is one of those who can see opportunity

where others miss it. Aaron LaPedis is better known as The Garage Sale Millionaire.

By LaPedis’ account, he was only about seven

years old when his mother decided to clear out

the toy clutter in their house by having a yard

sale. They were Aaron’s toys, so his mother

decided to give him control of the garage sale.

His mother mentioned that some other items in

the house would be included in the yard sale to

rid their home of clutter.

Then, his mother created "sales fever" in young LaPedis through an ingenious act. She did

that by mentioning the proceeds from the sale would be used to purchase Aaron’s new toys.

Eagerly, LaPedis sold the toys and the clutter items his mother contributed to the cause. By

the time his mother left to make lunch at noon most of the inventory was sold. Aaron did

not have anything left to sell.

Creatively he ventured into the house and selected some of his mother’s older furniture and

carted it out to the yard. These included lamps, smaller tables, and anything he could get his

hands on to sell. He sold those things as well.

Aaron LaPedis learned the value of the garage sale market.

It’s just like any other market with high and low-value inventory. The purpose of any

business is to exchange lower value items in return for higher value items that can be

liquidated or redeemed later.

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So, Aaron began to explore this newly found marketing energy. He looked for patterns.

LaPedis quickly observed the importance of identifying and finding high-value items so he

could convert them into good resale value!

He already knew his comic book and baseball cards were important. So, he kept an eye on

yard sales that included moving households simply discarding these items just to relocate.

The next target, then, was coins.

From this, he made an important discovery that few in the yard or garage selling business

understand.

The money from a garage sale is an investment, not a sunk cost. When his mother

purchased new toys, she was "sinking" the money into low-value clutter. Aaron realized he

would never get his money back!

Instead, the money had to be supercharged. It had to retain, and preferably increase, value

when it was spent. The only way to supercharge money is to invest it.

LaPedis decided to dedicate all garage sales to this marketing model, starting with coin

investments. Thus, when a yard sale was completed the remaining clutter to him was not to

be saved for resale. Instead, the inventory was donated to a charity-like outfit like the

Purple Heart Foundation or Salvation Army and written off as a business deduction.

Aaron took his proceeds, then, to estate sales and second-hand stores to find items of value.

There he purchased investments for resale. This practice he termed "flipping" to mimic the

same principle used with real estate and other markets that quickly exchange inventory.

Flipping introduces residual profits with time.

LaPedis also understood the concept of regional value.

He began to travel to get items in one location where they were considered common and

low value. He used a cell phone application from Tag Sell It and local Facebook groups to

quickly find in the area garage sales planned where he was destined. Using his cell phone

and the Internet he scanned for items at garage sales to get rapid feedback on their real

value. Then, he sold them at yard sales in regions where they were rare, hard-to-find items

that demanded much higher prices.

Most importantly, LaPedis understood he had to become an expert in specific market

categories to be a success.

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Chasing all the clutter on the yard sale market would be impossible for him to remain

vigilant. So, he dedicated his knowledge base to coins, and memorabilia in the sports and

presidential categories. He has learned that while autographed memorabilia increases its

value over half is forged with an autopen even if a certificate of authenticity is provided.

Thus, he uses PayPal for payment until the autograph authenticity can be confirmed since

refunds are usually easy to process.

Are you ready to do a garage sale?

You probably never viewed yard or garage sales quite like LaPedis. Having his wisdom,

though, should change how you view converting clutter into cash. Garage selling, to be a

success, is a real business. But, as you have just read, it is not necessarily very difficult. The

important step is just to reinvest rather than sink the money after each sale!

With that in mind, what should you do first? There are several suggestions. None is essential

for success. The key is that you are interacting with people, getting to know them, and

meeting their needs while making money in the process. If it is not fun to do then it should

not be done!

Next, take a moment to decide what your "specialties" or categories will be. It’s okay to not

know all the categories that you will develop expertise researching and following. Still, you

should have interests that are driven by personal background and regional culture where

the market makes certain things available to you. So, take note of these things such as old

hand tools or sports equipment or vinyl records.

Maybe you have become a niche antique furniture collector, and know to just dust off the

items found and then resell them! Begin, now, to notice patterns and research your findings

on the Internet.

With that marketing mindset, dedicate to invest your proceeds into high value, garage

selling inventory. Alternately, you might consider selling what you find during your

merchandising selling on eBay! Selling on eBay is essentially Internet garage selling!

The marketing mindset means no spending of your yard sale collections on more clutter

around the house. Or, worse, a vacation trip! Your garage sale profits must return into the

business of garage selling.

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Commit, also, to rid your yard of all the unsold clutter to charity. Your succeeding garage

sales will be carefully crafted business enterprises with higher value merchandise invested

from estate sales, second-hand shops, and select flea markets. There will certainly be a

multitude of clutter items at your disposal to fill in for each of your garage sales!

You are probably excited to get started. Or, maybe you still view this as income that is only

for certain social class or culture or ethnic group. Fortunately, garage sales know no

boundaries. Societies and many local governments view this as a business enterprise.

A Unique Garage Sale?

One family who saw garage selling of clutter to cash as a business venture was Tori Spelling

and her husband, Dean McDermott.

Like Aaron LaPedis, this couple recognized value in their home possessions. These two

recognized that cultural stigma and social hierarchy have long since endorsed the garage

sale as a universal money-making opportunity. So, in 2006 at a rental home in California,

Tori and Dean launched their "Tori Spelling Dazzling Studio City Estate Sale".

What was supposed to be a clearance sale of their possessions to convert into investment

capital many of their collected clutter became national news. On that day, their sale clearly

peaked anything that was considered news in the nearby town of Hollywood.

Helicopters and news crews quickly became free advertisement for the couple. Garage

customers lined up along the property and clogged neighbor’s driveways. Some consumers

saw it as an opportunity for publicity and traveled as far as the East Coast just to stand in

line for a purchase.

Tori Spelling became known through her famous father, Aaron Spelling, who produced

several television shows from the 1970’s through the early 90’s. These included Dynasty,

Melrose Place, and Charlie's Angels. Tori became known as a star in his last production,

90210. Her husband, Dean, was already an actor from Canada, but together, he and Tori

developed reality shows including Sonotorious and True Tori.

Dean managed the garage sale, personally. He permitted credit card sales, but many items

were not high priced despite their original, high ticket prices. As an example, vintage Louis

Vuitton luggage and a Gucci bag were sold at a discount as was memorabilia from the

television show, 90210.

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They learned many lessons from that garage sale. It was so successful they decided to have

another yard sale in 2015! So, for an entire weekend from Friday through Sunday, June 19 -

21st, Dean McDermott again managed their garage sale. This time, it was billed as the "Big

Family Yard/Estate/Moving Sale". Cardboard cutout, handwritten signs with "Huge Yard

Sale" and small, highly detailed announcement brochures were posted at street corners.

From 9 A.M. to 3 P.M. customers could purchase many of the finer clothes worn by Tori

Spelling. Of course. Meanwhile, many of the more familiar items seen at yard sales were

available for sale such as baby strollers, collectible board games, and sports equipment. The

goal was to reduce clutter and convert it to investment income.

Tori Spelling and Dean McDermott learned valuable lessons from these experiences. They

learned garage selling is good business. It is socially acceptable for everyone. They clear out

the clutter, not just in their lives but restore liquid capital to invest in more important things

in life.

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Lessons Learned To Optimize Garage Selling

There are many lessons learned from the experiences of Tori Spelling and her husband,

Dean McDermott.

First, it is quite obvious that no household is above, or below, using the market tool of

garage selling to their advantage.

Second, yard or garage selling is clearly a wonderful way to draw an audience and meet the

neighbors. Depending on the marketing, the audience changes. But, we will explore that

shortly.

Third, garage selling obviously works! If you use a few key ingredients for success to market

your clutter (inventory) you can realize a tidy profit. One of those ingredients is to give your

garage sale a name, which defines the sale to your customer, making it truly unique.

Tori and Dean recognized this and titled each of their garage sales, "Tori Spelling Dazzling

Studio City Estate Sale" and "Big Family Yard/ Estate / Moving Sale".

Expectations must be placed on value to the buying customer, not the emotional

attachment to the item! So, as Tori and Dean (and you, too, will) see what you get in return

for what you originally paid is much less.

Still, remember that each item is used, which means you already expended your enjoyment

from whatever you are selling. So, it is time for someone else to find value from it! A highly

successful garage sale is one that nets $500 to $1,500 dollars (€455 to €1,370 Euro),

according to Aaron LaPedis.

Fourth, Tori and her husband, Dean, appeared to have a lack of participation from their next

door neighbors. They did not plan their yard sale at the same time with their neighbors. So,

teamwork was missing. Neighbors were upset and uncooperative.

Also, without the other yards filled with merchandise, the neighborhood did not have the

shopping center attraction that shared magnetism brings. Instead, Tori and Dean created a

stand-alone garage sale, which has the equivalent effect of placing a store at a dead-end

location. As you would have expected, the shoppers were exposed to the effects of

secondary advertising from local news media. This was fortunate for Tori and Dean, or their

first yard sale would have been a disaster.

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Fifth, the couple chose the weekend to have their second yard sale. Friday and Saturday are

the best garage selling days for attracting consumers because they are most likely to be

prowling for merchandise. Many customers get Fridays off from work, and most have

Saturdays as their day off. Sundays are usually family days, statistically. So, Tori and Dean

invested well by timing their second garage sale when the market demand was the

hungriest.

Sixth, the Tori and Dean team observed the wise rule to post signs at street corners. Except

at street corner stops, normally fast-moving vehicles are traveling at speeds at least 25 miles

per hour (or 40 kilometers per hour) or more. At such speeds, drivers, and their passengers

cannot possibly read signs that are smaller than a large "stop" sign. Thus, placing signs with

large print at all the street corners entering your neighborhood are best.

Inexpensive, waterproof signs are usually easily available for this purpose and include a

section to write your major details. Better still, if you have neighbors who are also

participating in the yard sale, use their fences to hang old sheets.

Place large letters and numbers on the sheets with an arrow leading the customers towards

their destinations. Putting them out the night before the sale will make your event much

less stressful when you begin!

This leads us to the seventh lesson.

Tori and Dean, well-meaning and highly popular, performed their garage sales solo. Their

neighbors are left out of the act! Were the neighbors to participate in the yard sale, the

magnetic attraction of multiple homes selling at the same time would increase the sales

energy.

Also, the like-minded neighbors assist, not hinder the process since drawing customers to

the neighborhood only improves critical mass for everyone. And, following the concept of

Macy’s marketing, neighbors who garage sell together can point customers to each other

when they know what inventory is available! Goodwill becomes not just neighborly, but

good business!

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Money And Your Garage Sale

Dean McDermott chose to offer credit card purchases to his buying public. Still, the overall

guidance by all garage selling authorities is to accept only cash. Sales at a garage sale are

always final. So, you should place a clearly marked sign that reads "all sales final" just for

that legality.

There are always people who are

dishonest and approach garage

sales as an opportunity to collect

merchandise using bogus credit

and bad checks. So, unless you are

selling something that requires the

customer to validate such as an

autograph, insist on cash. PayPal is

an acceptable alternative for those

special transactions!

Money is the end product of your

project investment.

It is why you have your garage sale. You don’t want it stolen. For this reason, at your yard

sale, take all the money with you as you sell, less large bills that you ferry to the fully locked

house via a highly dependable person. And, plan to have plenty of small currency bills to

make change; your customers will have just gone to automatic teller machines and hand

you nothing but large bills and expect change! A portable calculator is required just as in a

real store.

Cash boxes are useless and only serve as theft targets by those same dishonest yard sale

bandits who employ distraction tactics to walk away with your investment. The box may

seem cute. But, it’s equivalent to standing in front of your customers and bragging about

the money you are making during the day. You certainly would not do that. Instead, use a

tool belt or utility apron, which is much safer and has pockets that can serve as safe and

handy bill dividers.

When pricing your clutter (inventory), think like a business.

Keep some items for free to attract your customers to the yard (and include a large sign).

You will be donating things to charity at the end of the event, so it makes good sense to

leverage your charitable merchandise at the beginning.

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This can also be a dynamic thing if you have families with children who gravitate to small

things. Donate these things free for the children in the interest of buying goodwill for the

adult person who intends to pay for something with real value. If they are in the military,

give automatic 50% discounts to show respect, which ensures you will have a loyal

customer. Again, you are treating this as a business.

Many garage selling enthusiasts will recommend that you invest hours and hours of

preparation labeling your merchandise with prices to reduce confusion. Since the price point

of most yard sale items is less than $20 this process is meaningless. And, the color-coding

and matching chart systems have been universally abandoned as customers despise them.

You can often get more money from a customer if you let them offer you a price or

negotiate a price, verbally, than if you waste time labeling prices. Your bonding with the

customer by getting to know them is much more important. Pricing should be reserved for

more valuable items $20 or above, so the negotiation is more clearly defined. You should

have a receipt booklet available or have some preprinted for these items.

Promoting Your Garage Sale

Another important feature of garage selling is promotion.

You understand the value big business places on advertising. The largest companies invest

as much as 50% of their operating budget on advertising. More recently, companies like

Amazon.com introduced the concept of affiliate marketing and used grassroots advertisers

with personal websites to advertise for a nominal fee. In return, advertising savings

translated into customer price savings.

Advertising remains important for garage sales, too.

Tori Spelling and Dean McDermott had the advantage of helicopters and news media for

free publicity to promote their yard sale. You can do the same thing using common sense.

Already mentioned, aligning your garage sale to when the market is hungry is best. That

means timing the sale on Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays.

Or, schedule the garage sale when your neighbors also have their yard sales!

Ensure you register your garage sale about two days ahead with the Facebook group or

groups that represent your local area. They are not hard to find after a simple search.

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Also register your garage sale on the smartphone application, Tag Sell It. Weekend Treasure

is another place to register your garage sale. YouTube video announcements are highly

successful. Don’t forget your local online newspaper!

Old-fashioned word-of-mouth advertising via personal

social media links is a huge advertising opportunity.

Announcing to your friends on Facebook,

Twitter, Instagram and other chat groups can

get the message started. It can also give you

the opportunity to announce some of the

expected items. Sometimes your municipality

lists your garage sale as part of your ordinance

obligation when filing for your sales permit, so

don’t forget your municipal permit.

Higher value items can be pre-billed on

Craigslist for people to attend your garage sale at

the announced times and location.

Still, you must be prepared to delete these announcements as the items are sold since you

risk complaints of false advertising. A smartphone or tablet can resolve this issue readily.

Tori and Dean learned in their second yard sale to use colorful flyers that included a Twitter

page address. You can do the same thing. Instead of placing them at street corners where

they cannot be read, place them on bulletin boards of apartment complexes, laundry mats,

and grocery stores.

Signs are critical. Make them simple. Make them large.

Make plenty of them and consider things that attract attention like two color-coded

balloons so the drivers can recognize their correct destination when they see the same two

color-coded balloons at your garage sale.

If you don’t like balloons, consider streamers or other colorful ribbons that flap in the wind.

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More Garage Selling Details

Placement of your merchandise is important.

You are converting your clutter into liquid investment capital. The "store" must be appealing

to your buyer. So, you need to place large, high-ticket or high-value items near the front of

your yard sale in addition to a few, eye-catching "free" things.

So, you must balance between attracting your hungry market with high value and free "loss

leaders". The "loss leaders", or items at the storefront you sacrifice to draw in customers for

the better value merchandise, will be sacrificed at the end of the sale.

Have enough help for your garage sale as this is crucial too.

Garage selling should be a family experience with someone selling lemonade, bottled water

and cola and maybe stocking some new, quick-purchase batteries for your used electronics

sales. If the family is not available to help you, enlist friends on the appointed days. Garage

sales are a business, and the store does not close for bathroom breaks. You will be expected

to open on time and close on time, just like a real store.

Make sure none of the "staff" or family has vehicles at the house or near the property. This

area is reserved for your buying public. They should help ensure your merchandise is kept

off the ground and stocked on sheet-covered tables, so they don’t look empty, just as

valuable salespeople do in real stores. And, sheets covering those things that are not for

sale make it easy to mark the true shopping area within a garage.

Proving to customers the electrical items do work is important, so most astute garage sellers

remember to have a power cord.

The power cord is also helpful to keep fans operating and background music playing. Most

garage sales are classically quite warm, and customers buy when they subconsciously hum

to recognized music. Sacrifice that clutter collection of wire hangers to get better sales!

Remember to scan eBay and WorthPoint to document the current value of your

merchandise before the garage sale.

The data will help you to be a knowledgeable negotiator. Knowledge of Internet selling

amount will not necessarily ensure you receive the same price because the purchase price is

dependent on the value perceived by the buyer. And, while knowledge can carry you

through the sale, you must remember your goal of garage selling is to create liquid

investment income. At the end of the yard sale, everything must be gone.

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That said when negotiating with the customers look at your clutter from the buyer’s point of

view.

The buyer does not want to be harassed by an oppressive salesperson, but rather

approached and greeted, so they know who is available to help them with a question later.

Now, remove your emotionally attached view of the clutter and consider the merchandise’s

value added to the consumer. This is not the time to discuss all the negative features of the

item since it is quite frankly, used.

Similarly, what you put out for sale may not be what you would buy.

Some things may have value to a college student or individual creating a unique project and

they just need that special "something".

If it is clutter for you, it may be as gold for someone else. In the end, it will be charity and

out of your life. Place it in its original box, if you can, to improve its value.

A good salesman always sells the benefits, not features. So, when the prospective buyer is

debating over the purchase, close the sale by suggesting how the item might benefit them.

Garage Sales, As A Buyer

Clearly, the business of garage sales is to invest your earnings in converting clutter into

higher value merchandise.

Yes, you are washing your life of unnecessary

clutter, but you are also making this a business. In

today’s world, multiple streams of income is a

popular concept, and this is an essential income

tool. Everyone accumulates material goods, and

the market is strong for garage sales.

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You may be tempted to explore the commercial storage compartments as glorified on

television shows. However, these carry special risks such as emptying requirements by the

end of the day. So, compartments with concealed containers or large furniture will tax your

time and equipment resources.

Attending estate sales, second-hand stores, and select flea markets will get you access to

your better quality merchandise.

Still, you must approach the supplier humbly:

Dress casually without jewelry.

Try to appear a little lower on the social spectrum as your seller to reduce price

negotiation difficulties.

Ensure you find a common ground in conversation before negotiating.

And, always ask the open ended question, "Can you give me a better deal?" You

never know what additional room the seller can give you using that polite gesture!

Arrive early to estate sales before the best items are sold. Then, return when the

sale is scheduled to close. By then you can buy the good items that are being sold at

desperation prices!