GET PERMIT
First, you should check to see if your city requires you to take out a garage sale permit to hold the event. There is usually a fee and the permits are good for two or three days.Get the permit and display it openly in your garage. This looks impressive to your customers, too.
ADVERTISE
All the major daily newspapers and the local community weekly publications have spaces set aside for classified advertising. There is even a section separately for garage sales. This is the first and best place to advertise. Since many garage sales start on Friday or Saturday, you will find the local garage sale experts up early and buying the paper to check out where the sales are being held.
Your advertisement should be short, to the point and give enough details to spark some interest. Begin with an intriguing heading. Rather than simply say Garage Sale, why not print Incredible Garage Sale or some similar positive, enthusiastic description of your sale.
BE SPECIFIC
Give a specific time that you’ll be holding the sale. Leaving out the time will have people knocking at your door at 7:00 AM (those 6:00 AM planners, remember?). If you intend to open at 8:00 AM, you might want to put 9:00 AM as your advertised time. Otherwise, if you open up at 7:45 AM to put items out, you’ll be greeted by the early-risers who want to be there before everyone and you’ll find yourself somewhat disorganized and dealing with customers before you’re ready.
PROMOTE CERTAIN ITEMS
You have to promote certain items that you believe might get someone’s attention. If you have a lot of antiques, say so. If you have a marvelous book collection that you are unloading let them know in your ad. It gives people a general idea of what you have without being too wordy. Words are money in an advertisement.
GIVE THEM A SIGN
The classified advertisement will bring most of the traffic. But there are ways to pull in others who may not have read or missed the ad you placed. These hand-planted signs can do the job in helping people find your garage sale -- those that were already coming and those who spot your sign and spontaneously decide to come by.
Use colorful, eye-appealing paper. Write Incredible Garage Sale on top with the time, date(s) and address to follow. Make the lettering large and easy to read. Staple the cardboard sign to a piece of wood and nail it into the ground or put it up on a telephone pole or street sign.