National Grage Sale Day - August 10

You've almost finished sifting through those long-abandoned knickknacks — er, treasures — in the basement, right? Are the signs all ready to go? How about the price tags?

Surely, you haven’t forgotten that National Garage Sale Day is less than two weeks away.

Yep, on Aug. 10 — National Garage Sale Day is always the second Saturday in August — we celebrate the coming together of those with belongings they no longer want and those with a want for belongings they don’t have.

Make no mistake: Garage sales are big business — even if the average selling price of goods at such events is a mere 85 cents.

Take 85 cents here and 85 cents there, and, pretty soon, you have $4,222,375. That’s the total revenue that U.S. garage sales generate each week, according to the website StatisticBrain.com.

“Running a yard sale is not rocket science,” J.D. Roth notes on his tip-filled website GetRichSlowly.org. “But if you put a little effort into creating an environment where it is pleasant to browse and easy to find treasures, you’ll make a lot more money.”

Preparation is critical, Roth maintains. And being prepared, he adds, means a whole lot more than simply making sure the merchandise is neatly arranged and the cash box is filled with coins and small-denomination bills. (No one, after all, wants to lose a sale just because of an inability to break a $5 bill.)

Roth suggests that proper preparation starts with figuring out why the sale is being held in the first place.

“Are you selling things to make money or to get rid of them? This question affects everything you do, from how you price things to how willing you are to negotiate. Surprisingly, you can often make more money (and get rid of more junk) by pricing things low.”

No. 2 on Roth’s recommended to-do list: advertise. Ads should be placed in local newspapers and on websites five or six days before the sale. Neighborhood signs should be eye-catching, simple and, above all, readable.

“It’s best to use big, bold text like ‘HUGE SALE’ with an arrow pointing the right direction.”

Consumer Reports offers these tips:

• Schedule your garage sale to coincide with a local event that’s likely to generate extra traffic near your home.

• Place the items with the broadest appeal close to the street to grab attention and lure potential buyers up the driveway.

• Sort clothing into categories — by gender, season and age group, for example — and display those items, if possible, on hangers.

• Keep a mirror handy if you’re selling accessories.

• Place fresh batteries in items that require them and keep a power source handy so shoppers can try out electronics and other plug-in appliances.

Finally, don’t forget what follows National Garage Sale Day by just six days: National Thrift Shop Day.