What Will You Be Reading?
Ok sorry. Wow. Parenting a baby & a preschooler then trying to organize an international move in 10 short weeks is ummm hard. Totally worth it. Not complaining. Just trying to find my groove.
So I went through my meager book collection to discover I have quite a few that I would like to share with you. Parting with books is something I find extremely difficult to do, however knowing these books are going to such good home eases the pain just a little. The deal is, when leaving a comment please put the number corresponding with the book you would like to win (more than one is fine too).
1. Wicked by Gregory Maguire - I so enjoyed reading the “rest of the story”.
2. Rain of Gold by Victor Villasenor - Book Club
3. Good kids, Bad Habits by Jennifer Trachtenberg - Great read
4. Eating Well When You’re Expecting by Heidi Murkoff - Ok Recipes, nice advise
5. The Complete Organic Pregnancy by Deirdre Dolan and Alexandra Zissu - Really Enjoyed!
6. The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants by Ann Brashares - I needed an easy read, good story.
7. Little Earthquakes by Jennifer Weiner - Not sure where I got this one, have not read it.
8. The Red Tent by Anita Diamant - Started it but it bored me to tears, many people raved about it though
9. The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls - OMG GREAT BOOK…Holly introduced me to this one, I have forced many to buy it 
10. Bridget Jones’s Diary by Helen Fielding - Spotted it while traveling in a second hand book store, perfect plane book.
In order to qualify your entry for the book(s) of you choosing please share with me your best garage sale tips by Thursday Midnight. Be it from a seller’s point of view, buyers or some random tip you Googled 
We are hosting a garage sale this Saturday to lighten our load back to Canada, so you input would be put to great use!
I will be choosing and posting winners by the weekend and sending out the books by the middle of next week grr the coding on the numbering of the books is not working out … there is ten books …. code hates me lately.
De-lurking to join in the contest fun!
My best garage sale tip is to price everything low. Even though it seems like you are ripping yourself off, you will likely sell more items and you will have less to haul away when the sale is done.
Another thing that has worked well for me is to create a FREE basket full of items you might have otherwise priced at $.10 or below. These are things you want to get rid of anyways and by the end of the day, they will be gone.
Books #2 and #9 for my entry please. Good luck with the garage sale!
My ONLY garage sale tip is to set prices by their physical value… not their emotional value. I once had a garage sale after a break up and I priced every piece at five cents. I just wanted the crap gone. Luckily, my mother knew I was nuts and re-priced everything so I actually walked away with more than five bucks.
Put me down for #10, please. I heart that movie and always wanted to read the book.
Sorry Betty but I have to laugh at that - like Waiting to Exhale when she burns all of his clothes - but like a step down from that. Too funny.
My tip is for larger items - price them what you would pay at another garage sale. I’ve made the mistake of pricing them a lot lower thinking others wouldn’t pay what I would - and then had people say “oh my gosh that’s it, here is money, give it to me before you change your mind!” or such. Sure it’s a garage sale but the item is still worth something!
I actually have most of those books already, I just had to comment.
Never had a yard sale but I do love shopping at them
Wear deoderant. You don’t want to sweat all over your customers.
I LOVE Wicked, Red Tent AND Glass Castle (girl - we were meant to know eacher other). As far as tips put up signs tomorrow (Thursday) everywhere you can and plan on folks showing up an hour earlier than you expected.
Good luck!!
sorry, I have no tips on either side as I’ve never had a garage sale & only been to maybe 4 myslef, lol.
Good luck to everyone with today’s contest!
Yay! I finally get to enter a contest instead of hosting it!
I’d like to enter for:
#9. The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls
Merci!
Wow - why the heck is that so big? I just copied the title from your post.
HAHA that is funny!
Great tips so far … I am putting a post it note on the mirror for JJ’s 
Good luck everyone
My tip is to have your sale organized. Most people do not like to dig even for a deal. We hang as many clothes as we can on racks, arranged by size (clearly marked). I also put clothes in size order on tables. Mark the size and price on the tag.
I’d love to win The SisterHood or The Glass Castle…so what’s that? #6 & 9.
I would love to win number one or number nine.
Advertise at Craig’s list if you have an active list in your area. I have gone to a ton of sales through there. Even if it is not very active in your area advertise in the newspaper. If you are selling off baby and kid stuff say so because those are a huge draw. When putting up signs don’t put up ones with a lot of small print. Stick to huge arrows on neon colored paper. People have to be able to see it clearly while driving.
I’m buried in books myself, so I feel for you. As for the garage sale, sadly, I am completely unqualified to offer any useful advice at all. Make sure you’ve got lot of change? Put very attractive things at the back high up to lure people in? Have lots of carrier bags handy.
I think Scribbit did a good one of these - might be worth checking out.
Cheers
Cool idea - although I have a MASSIVE backlog of reading so won’t enter.
LOADS of change. That’s my tip. And get up really early and put the coffee on …. it will be well worth it!
P.S. OMG Betty - your reply was too funny! I can just picture that happening.
No new ideas here really, all have been said. Be open to bartering, if you are purging toys maybe make some little $1-$2 grab bags for kids, definately hang what you can, here the big days seem to be Thurs/Fri/Sat and definately lots of visible signs maybe some ballons attached to them?
I would love to try my luck at Wicked/The Glass Castle or even Little Earthquakes. I’m game for anything.
P.S. I loved the Sisterhood books
I just need to read the last one.
#7 I heart Jennifer wiener.
Anyway something my mom taught me at our last garage sale was to just go buy colored stickers and put them on everything. then you knew a blue circle meant it was 2.00 a yellow one was 3.00 and so on. Then we hung up a sign where we drew out corrisponding circles and their prices so that people could clearly see what we were asking. It was sooo helpful not to have to write the number 2.00 each time, or having people come up and ask, plus it was extra easy when they were trying to pay.
a second tip is for stuff like mirrors or something you don’t want any kind of sticker stuck on, we would fold the sticker inside of a piece of clear tape and then stick the end of the tape on the item so it wouldn’t leave adhesive on it!
Also for bigger items like a TV I will write 100 then cross it out and write 75 to make it look like i’ve already reduced the price when I really haven’t. Then when people ask me to go lower, I can say, gosh I just lowered the price and I really don’t wan to go much lower then that and they neeeever know I’m being sneaky!
okay mine came out all giant too. hmmm
I have a few ideas…
I love “bargain bags”, ie have a table that is for goofy stuff of little worth, and a full bag is 2$ or 5$ or whatever.
Also, having boxes or bags available to help shoppers load up will encourae them to take more. Maybe old laundry baskets?
Prep is key. A 700 start means people are there at 630. BE READY. Also have out a sign that says “early shoppers pay double” unless that doesn’t irritate you like it does me.
Lastly, a snack or coffee table is a nice touch. Keeps people there and shopping if they are enjoying a muffin. Could be free, by donation, or cheap.
Good luck! And I would LOVE the Complete Organic pregnancy, are you surprised? Did I tell you I am doing my training to be a Doula?
I don’t need any of those books (read or own most), although I considered playing with your mind and asking for a pregnancy book :-).
Jamie’s advice: Don’t sell Becca’s stuff (true, I told him you were moving, again, and far, and he was quite concerned about how you were going to move Becca’s stuff).
Well I am glad you get to go back ‘home’!! Enjoy it.. The states will DEFINITELY miss you!
fun!
i’d love a chance at winning :
wicked
good kids, bad habits
or
the glass castle
thanks
amy
Garage tip? Do what supermarkets do. Place your best product nearer the garage, not the sidewalk. This way, potential customers would go through all your stuff before they get to the best stuff.
Of course, this is coming from someone who has never done a garage sale. Only read about it.
Mike
http://somethingaboutparenting.typepad.com/
http://www.mikeleonen.com/
Hmm, I’d love the third (for my precious little third currently sporting a swift 167 heart rate, and the second #2 because you make it sound incredible!
I have found that clothes don’t sell very well, but we all have a ton to sell. I took a page from retail 101 and hung them artfully, I was lucky enough to have a tree alongside our drive way and I hung the clothes from that. Another option would be rigging a ladder at an angle and hanging them from that.
Good luck!
I want Bridget Jones Diary. You can advertise your Yard Sale for FREE on this website to draw more customers: http://www.saleinfo.us/Advertise.aspx
Congrats on getting to go back to your homeland. :o) You’re a sweet, wonderful person and deserve to get what you wish for. I can honestly say I know how you feel about homesickness. We were up North for only a week, and while it was enjoyable, towards the end I started getting sooooo homesick. Again, congrats! BTW, love the new look!
Display some good merchandise towards the road. Items such as men’s things like tools, lawn equipment, weights, electronics etc are good to encourage the men to stop when the wife may want to stop as they are driving by. Also, add some good stuff visible from roadside. It needs to look worthy of stopping. I know when I drive by a sale and peek from the car, if it looks like a pile of clothes or junk from the road, I won’t even bother stopping.
I would love to win “Good kids, bad habits”. thanks!
The Glass Castle or Bridget Jones. Thanks for having a contest.
Oops! Screwed up with a huge comment and then forgot the tip! Mine is to pull out any manuals you’ve kept and put them with the items you’re selling. Esp. for electronics.
I would love to have Book 2 but sorry no experience in garage sales to help you out