During several weeks in late April, I morph into “Yard Sale Jesse.” This means that entertainment such as television is curtailed; exercise is suspended; there are no late nights at work.

Why take a casual garage sale so seriously? In short, preparation matters. I began doing yard sales with my former father-in-law in 1999. He took the job very seriously, and had learned techniques over the years to squeeze more money out of the short time that the yard sale lives. Some of his advice, which may help you with your yard sale:

– Have plenty of change. People will drop 100s on you first thing in the morning. I usually have at least $100 in change, $40 in ones, a roll of quarters, and some fives.

– Watch your cash box. This seems like an obvious rule but I can’t tell you how many times we accidentally walked away from our cash box when doing the family yard sale with them. When I started doing yard sales at my own house in 2005, I decided to wear a fanny pack — a style faux paus but I never lose my cash.

– Price everything. If it ain’t priced, it won’t sell. I have found this to be true. People will sooner ignore something than ask for the price of it.

– Beware bargains, unless it’s bulk. People are always looking for a deal. Price everything a little higher than what you really want for it. You may be negotiated down. Try not to give into bargains, especially on the first morning of a two-day sale. I tell people Friday morning, “not until Saturday afternoon.” That said, my father-in-law was a big fan of doing bargains for bulk items. I usually shave off 20% if people buy more than a couple things, or just round down. If the bill is $10.75, make it $10.

– Watch for shoplifters. We’d like to think that people won’t steal from a yard sale, but they do. At least once my father-in-law had to chase somebody down. Some people just wander off without paying by accident, so it’s good to watch for them too.

– Bag it. Always have shopping bags, even if it’s just a plastic grocery bag. People really appreciate this when buying several items.

[This blog was never finished]