As the summer begins, so does the season for garage sales, yard sales, rummage sales and moving sales in Federal Way.
Whatever you call these sales, they help the budget-conscious consumer find quality secondhand stuff.
The best bargain hunters arrive early to get first pick. Hardcore shoppers sometimes pounce for prized items — TVs, furniture, movies — as soon as the seller opens the garage.
Publications like The Mirror and Little Nickel, along with websites such as Craigslist, are reliable sources for locating garage sales in South King County.
In a classified ad June 1 in The Mirror, one Federal Way sale declared “IT ALL GOES!” Among items offered: a boat, horse trailer and 2001 Ford Mustang. The Mirror publishes these classified ads every Friday.
A page on Craiglist.org shows sales specific to this area. The list grows daily. One Federal Way residence is hosting a garage sale all day Friday and Saturday (June 8-9) with a promise of “furniture, teen clothing, household items, toys, tools.”
Some links lure shoppers with hooks like “All clothes $1.” In one ad, a childcare facility in Auburn is selling baby equipment along with a Maytag washer and dryer, a treadmill and a small garage freezer.
Helpful hints
Here are a few tips for hosting a successful garage sale.
• Advertise. Posting an ad, either online or in print, is a no-brainer. About.com recommends placing signs around the neighborhood either the night before or the day of the sale. Remember to take down those signs when the sale ends.
• Organize. Get all merchandise ready to go the night before.
• Coffee. Offer free coffee in styrofoam cups to shoppers.
• Color-coded stickers. About.com recommends displaying a legend on a poster that shows what each colored sticker costs. Example: red stickers are 25 cents, blue stickers are $5, etc.
• Wrapping. Have some newspapers or bubble wrap on hand for customers who buy breakables. Those plastic bags from the grocery store might be handy too.
• Prices. Be realistic with your prices. Maybe offer a deal for the second half of your sale, such as “everything is half-price after 3 p.m.” Prepare for hagglers and don’t accept a price you think is unfair. Just remind yourself if the sale is intended to make a lot of money, or rid your home of unwanted stuff.
