Ideas for Yard Sale Signs | Making Garage Sale Signs.

When the yard sale cruisers are out looking for sales, they have your ad on their list and now they are looking for you. This is where good signs come in. You need to post good directions throughout the neighborhood so the shoppers can find you. You need good signs and they need to be posted in the right places.

Some basic rules for yard sale signs: They should attract attention, be easy to read at a glance, follow good etiquette for placement, and be removed after the sale.

Making your own Yard Sale Signs

Garage sale signs need to be large and brightly colored. Your signs should be at least 11" x 17", the bigger the better. Preferably, use poster stock paper. If you use plain paper, mount it on cardboard. The bright neon colored background paper is ideal. Be sure to use a dark color for the writing and use big block letters. Remember, what you can see at two feet away (when you make your sign) is not necessarily visible from 100 feet away (which is how most people will see it when theyre driving). You want your signs to jump out and grab the shoppers' attention as they pass by.

Also consider the weather. If its going to be raining at all, be sure to use a permanent ink type of marker pens. They won't run if they get wet.

Sign stability is very important too. People can only read your sign if its flat! Consider that your sign may droop, fold-over, sag, or bend as the day goes on. You might want to get some cheap wood to brace the back of the sign to keep it flat. Cheap yard sticks (or similar) might work well and can be found at most hardware stores.

Its also not a bad idea to check on your signs in the middle of your yard sale to make sure they are still in place.

Pre-made Signs

You can buy ready-made garage sale signs that only need to have you add the address information. They are generally made of plastic or heavy poster stock. These signs are available at many hardware stores and stores like Walmart. Some classified ad publications have free yard sale signs available when you place your ad with them. Check local newspapers and community publications.

Signs are available online! A Google search for "yard sale signs" will produce a long list of sites. Most of them are print-yourself signs. One such site is www.pullsign.com/yard.html. Some sites provide software or templates for creating larger signs. There are sites that will custom print your signs. Just remember that if you are printing your own signs, they may not be big enough.

Visibility

You should not put a lot of detailed information on the sign. Shoppers driving by at 35 miles per hour may not have much time to take in much detail on the sign. Perhaps ideally, all that's needed on your sign are the words "Yard Sale" and a large arrow pointing in the direction of your location and your house number. Remember, think BIG when lettering your sign. It has to be read from a distance. Keep it simple.

Following Rules

Contact your municipal government to find out if there are restrictions or if you need a permit to even have your yard sale and ask about any ordinances regarding signs. The first thing you should NOT do is tape, tie, staple or nail your sign to any utility poles or traffic signs. You could get a ticket with a fine and the police won't have any problem finding you. Don't post signs on private property without owner's permission. Ideally your signs should be self supporting. A-frame supports, like the ones used in real estate sales are perfect. You can tape your signs to large boxes. Place large bricks or sandbags in the boxes so they won't blow away or into traffic. Placement is tricky. Try to put them in places where they are legal, just off the road, out of the way of traffic, but plainly visible. Place them everywhere shoppers have to make a turn and have a choice of which way to go. The large arrows pointing in the appropriate direction are just the thing.

Balloons!

It may be a good idea for a garage sale exposure to use balloons. You may only need to make one really good sign by the main road with your balloons and then just use balloons at corners to guide the customers in. Customers will associate your balloons with your yard sale immediately and if the balloons are filled with helium to make them float, they might even be easier to spot than a sign anyways.

After your yard sale