Yard Sale Tips & Tricks 6 – Money Matters

A key component in planning and preparing for your yard sale is putting together your bank. Before the day of your sale, gather some cash to have on hand and make change with at your sale.  A good place to start would be to have $20-40 in ten dollar bills, $20-40 in five dollar bills, $20 in one dollar bills, one roll quarters ($10), one roll of dimes ($5), and one roll of nickels ($2).  This starting amount should be fine for your sale unless you have several higher priced items or an overabundance of items to sell.  Look at your inventory with a critical eye and be sure to adjust your bank accordingly.

Once you have your bank ready and your sale set up, you’re ready to greet your customers.  On the day of your sale, keep a close eye on your cash. While most of your customers will be honest people, all it takes is one thief to ruin the day.  You can either keep the cash on you with an apron or you can work with a friend so that there is always someone watching the cash box.  Additionally, do not accept checks unless you are willing to take the risk that the check might not clear.  If you are only taking cash, consider adding that information into your advertisements.

Something to keep in mind is that it is now fairly easy to setup accounts with Square for Mobile  (https://squareup.com/) or Paypal for Mobile (https://www.paypal.com/webapps/mpp/credit-card-reader) so that you can easily take credit/debit cards for payment. This is a big help to move some of your larger and more expensive yard sale items.

Check our Crash Course in Hosting a Yard Sale Post
The Prowers Journal Crash Course in Hosting a Yard Sale

Yard Sale Tips & Tricks 1 – Pricing Your Items
Yard Sale Tips & Tricks 2 – Making Your Signs County
Yard Sale Tips & Tricks 3 – All About Advertising
Yard Sale Tips & Tricks 4 – Miscellaneous Prep Tips
Yard Sale Tips & Tricks 5 – Displaying Clothing