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A garage sale is an exciting way to clean out and pare down while also finding a new life and a fresh purpose for your beloved items. At the same time, it can be a major headache from start to finish.

To help you navigate the dos and don’ts of hosting your own garage sale, Bob Lang, president of Blue Moon Estate Sales, shares the pitfalls to avoid.

1. Skipping promotion

Getting the proper foot traffic at your garage sale is paramount to a successful event. Lang suggests a mix of both sharing information about the sale online and placing signage in high-traffic areas near its location. One benefit of using a professional team for this is that they already have an existing following.

“Blue Moon Estate Sales listings are on their own website but are also added to Estatesales.net, where the majority of avid, repeat buyers search,” says Lang.

2. Not committing to the clean out

“The most common goal of an estate sale or garage sale is to clear items because more space is needed or inherited goods have no place to go,” Lang says. It’s important to find comfort in the process, especially when considering that your items will be going to a home where they’ll be loved (rather than winding up collecting dust).

“When DIYing a sale, it is easy to assume something worn won’t sell, but knowing the item’s story and overall value may prove otherwise,” Lang says. This is especially true when it comes to estate sales: Place items that you’re unsure of in a special location so you can easily run them by an expert for feedback on value prior to the sale.

3. Not doing your research when pricing

“Trusting instincts will often lead to underpricing, leading to loss of return on valuable items or overpricing, leading to fewer overall sales,” Lang says.

While hiring a professional to handle the sale can make the job quicker and efficient, there are still options if you want to go it alone. Lang suggests reviewing sold listings for similar items on eBay, online auctions, or social media marketplaces.

4. Underthinking organization

How you set up your garage sale matters: You want traffic to flow easily and your most-prized possessions displayed front and center, Lang says. Keep similar items together (for instance, have all your serving pieces in one area, clothing in another, etc.) and ensure everything is visible.

5. Scheduling errors

Busy weekends are no friend of a garage sale. Whether it’s a holiday, fundraiser, or even a big game, any kind of popular local event can mean diminished foot traffic at your sale. Ensure there are no competing local events or holidays. Lang says it’s always a good idea to schedule your sale for weekends when many of your potential visitors won’t be drawn elsewhere.

6. Avoiding negotiations

While there are many aspects of a garage sale that might come as a surprise, the fact that people will negotiate shouldn’t be one of them. Expect to be asked questions and have customers looking to haggle. If this makes you uncomfortable just thinking about it, you might want to enlist help from the pros.

(Better Homes and Gardens is a magazine and website devoted to ideas and improvement projects for your home and garden, plus recipes and entertaining ideas. Online at www.bhg.com.)

©2025 Dotdash Meredith. All rights reserved. Used with permission. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.