How to hold an estate sale.

Here are the basic steps to having tag sale, estate sale, yard sale.

First and foremost, make sure you have plenty to sell. No one likes a skimpy sale.

Get up before dawn to prepare. We don't know if this is really necessary, but it's a time honored a ritual for this event, and generally perceived as being bad luck if you don't. And the buyers usually do come knocking early.

.

Make sure you have plenty of cash on hand to make change. I don't bother starting out with coins, if they can't find something worth a dollar, offer to wash their car for the rest of the buck. Decent people will get the hint and begrudgingly fork over the remaining change to pay you a dollar for the item. Antiques dealers will pull out some old rags and tell you not to miss the whitewalls.

Print up plenty of easy to read road signs. These don't have my direction arrows on them yet, but don't forget to put yours. Be careful not to clog them up with too much information, most people will be reading them as they are driving.

Make sure you plenty of younger help available, their abundant energy will be much needed.

Make sure to have enough experienced help that can guide the younger age group, then the multitude of tasks are carried out in a well organized way.

Have a good responsible person to do your clerking, it's an important job and you don't want it to get messed up. We got Fran for this one, she's my auction cashier and the best in the business. She also has an eagle eye for deadbeat buyers and people who try to pull the "box lot shuffle." We couldn't run without her. Unfortunately for Fran she spent all her pay at this sale on new accessories.

Make sure every customer goes home happy with at least one purchase.

Work until sundown and if it's Saturday, get right to bed, because tomorrow is the second half of this two day event!

Thanks for reading, check back for reports on auctions and other events.