Tips for Utilizing Garage Sale Signs to Make Your Sale a Success

As May begins, so does garage sale season for the Chicagoland area. A lot of folks have cabin fever and garage sales are a great excuse to get out of their home and into the neighborhood. Garage sales are also a great way to get some of the clutter out of your own home and make a few bucks for summer at the same time. You may be tempted to take out an ad in the local paper or put the details of your sale on Craigslist and call it a day as far as advertising goes, but you will be doing your sale a huge disservice. Those are excellent ways to reach people and should not be overlooked, but physical garage sale signs are a great way to catch people's attention and direct them towards your sale. In this post, we will be looking at the ins-and-outs of designing and placing your garage sale signs as well as the benefits of using physical signs.

Signs are an essential promotional tool. While there are plenty of garage sale goers who get by on a GPS and online listings, there are also a huge amount who simply drive around looking for signs. For many potential customers, the signs will be your point of first contact. If there are other sales in the neighborhood, your signs can capitalize on your neighbor's customers and drive business to your sale. Signs are also a great way to give directions to people who may not be familiar with your neighborhood. With proper placement, a potential customer can navigate to your sale without even knowing your street address.

Two things that must be considered off the bat are what materials you want to use and what you want your sign to say. It can be alluring to go with paper signs that are cheap and easy to make, but they can also be undone by a strong gust of wind. Marker on poster board won't stand up to any inclement weather either. A sturdy sign that can be reused will save you money in the long run and make you money in the short run. As far as what information to include on your sign, the following are what could be considered essential: Garage Sale (fairly self explanatory), the address (so people who know the neighborhood can find your sale easily), an arrow pointing towards your next sign or home (so people who are unfamiliar with the area can find you easily) and the dates of the sale. One trick can be replacing the dates with "today.” This allows you to reuse the signs from year to year, but it does not allow you to advertise the sale ahead of time. Whether you want to use a combination of signs that can be reused or signs that are only applicable in a given year is your choice. Both have their advantages.

The best garage sale signs will blend noticeability and readability. If your sign is eye-catching but difficult to decipher, then you may lose sales. The same goes for a strictly utilitarian sign, which may be easy to read but is also easily overlooked. You don't want the color of the text to contrast with the background color too much. Consider a very bright sign with black block lettering. While script may help your sale appear elegant, if the sign can’t be read from a passing car, it ultimately won't bring you customers. Legibility is one advantage of having your signs printed over making them yourself. Another advantage is saving time. Setting up a garage sale can be very time-consuming and having professionals handle your signage means one less detail you have to worry about.

Placement is also paramount to a successful sign. A beautiful, noticeable and informative sign does you no good if it isn't likely to direct customers your way. The best places to start are high traffic roads near your residence. Place your first signs there and work inward. Place a new sign at every corner that requires the customer to make a turn. Busy intersections where people are likely to be stopped and have time to read your signs are also a good option. Wherever you decide to place your signs, please be courteous and remove them after your sale has concluded. Also, be sure to check if your town requires permission to post signs; nothing can derail a sale like having all of your signs uprooted because they were not cleared beforehand.

Digital and newspaper advertising can be a great way to drive business to your sale, but there is really no substitute for physical signage. It can attract new customers and help direct the audience you captured through other media.