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BUSINESS Tuesday 24 May 2022
How to make more green at your next yard sale

By LIZ WESTON of NerdWal- found no takers for their to advertise your sale for
let VCR tapes or Princess tele- free, but it shouldn’t be
A successful yard sale in- phone . But vinyl records the only site. That’s the mis-
volves hours of preparation can be hot sellers. take I made with the yard
and plenty of hard work. So Expect to spend several sale that flopped a few
does an unsuccessful sale. hours collecting, sorting years ago, with few at-
I’ve had both kinds and and pricing your items. Pric- tendees and even fewer
can confidently say the ing is essential many peo- sales. One of those attend-
version that makes money ple won’t ask what some- ees explained that vet-
is better. thing costs, so you’ll be los- eran shoppers check the
If you’re ready to take ad- ing sales if there’s no stick- sites devoted to yard and
vantage of warmer weath- er, Heiska says. You can garage sales. (Search for
er and the opportunity to find lists of suggested yard “yard sales near me” to see
declutter, consider these sale prices online or check which ones pop up and of-
tips culled from experts other sales in your area. fer free listings.)
(and bitter experience) for When in doubt, Heiska sug- This time, we advertised
having a good sale. gests pricing something at on a few of those sites plus
DETERMINE YOUR GOALS one-quarter to one-third of Craigslist, Nextdoor and
First, consider whether a what the item costs new. In Facebook Marketplace.
yard sale is the right meth- some areas, 10% to 20% of We also used some of our
od for your goals. Yard the original cost is often the social media accounts to
sales and their cousins ga- norm. let local friends know about
rage, estate, moving and “You have to think of your our sale. We employed old-
tag sales can help you get shoppers,” says profession- school signage as well:
rid of stuff and raise some al organizer Cyndi Seidler bright yellow yard sale
cash. But you can’t expect of Los Angeles, who man- signs, scored from a dollar
to get top dollar. ages estate and moving store and duct-taped at
If making money is your pri- sales for clients. “They don’t several local intersections
ority and you have time to go to these things to pay with the address, date and
wait for buyers, consider of- retail prices.” time drawn large enough
fering your more valuable Pro tip: Price as you go, so for passing drivers to easily
items elsewhere. Check you’re not trying to do it all see.
out auction sites such as This undated file photo provided by NerdWallet shows Liz Weston, right before the crowds ar- We also made our sale “a
eBay ; apps including Let- a columnist for personal finance website NerdWallet.com. rive. You can use masking shopping experience,” in
go and OfferUp; platforms Associated Press tape and a Sharpie, but I in- Seidler’s words. That meant
like Craigslist, Nextdoor or vested $8 in a big package borrowing tables and
Facebook Marketplace; space and more money, and the whole experience of pre-marked pricing stick- clothes racks from friends to
and consignment stores or for several hours’ worth of is a lot more fun with friends. ers ordered online. Each of keep things off the ground,
even pawnshops. work a yard sale may be Tools, kitchen gadgets, the three sellers used a dif- grouping like items togeth-
If you just want to get stuff the best option. sporting goods and camp- ferent color, which made it er and, toward the end,
out of your house, donat- GO BIG ing gear are often the best easy to keep track on the creating bundles of items
ing your unwanted goods Consider enlisting at least draws, says Chris Heiska, day of the sale. We also and slashing prices. For ex-
is usually the fastest and one other household that who has operated the procured some change: ample, we scooped all the
easiest option. (You’ll get a can contribute helpers and yardsalequeen.com site quarters, singles and a few leftover craft items into a
tax break for your donation stuff for your sale. Shoppers since 1996. What usually larger bills. How much we box and sold the lot for $5.
only if you’re one of the few want to see a wide variety doesn’t sell: anything bro- started with is a matter of (By this point in the day, I no
who itemize deductions.) of goods there’s a reason ken or badly stained. Out- dispute; I’ll get to that later. longer cared whose items
If your goals are relatively many yard sale ads use the dated technology can GET THE WORD OUT were whose; I just wanted it

balanced you want more headline “Multifamily sale!” be hit or miss. Our friends Craigslist is a good place all off my driveway.)q
Video game workers create first union

at big U.S. game maker

MILWAUKEE (AP) — Video The unionization campaign alleged “frat boy” culture
game workers at a division by employees at Raven’s that discriminated against
of game publisher Activi- office in Middleton, Wiscon- women. It recently settled
sion Blizzard have voted to sin, was part of a broader a separate federal civil
unionize, creating the first internal shakeup at Ac- rights lawsuit over allega-
labor union at a large U.S. tivision Blizzard, a Santa tions that management
video game company. Monica, California-based ignored sexual harassment
A count of ballots on Mon- gaming giant with roughly and workplace discrimina-
day revealed the results 10,000 employees world- tion against female em- The Activision Blizzard Booth is shown on June 13, 2013, during
of the election affecting a wide. ployees. the Electronic Entertainment Expo in Los Angeles.
small group of Wisconsin- The game publisher which Microsoft has said it Associated Press
based quality assurance Microsoft is in the process of wouldn’t interfere in any

testers at Activision Bliz- buying for nearly $69 billion unionization efforts. ternoon via video confer- sion’s push to have it en-
zard’s Raven Software, has been under intense The Milwaukee office of the ence. compass a wider category
which develops the popu- public scrutiny since Cali- National Labor Relations A regional NLRB director of Raven workers, which
lar Call of Duty game fran- fornia’s civil rights agency Board counted the mailed- had ordered a May elec- could have diluted the
chise. The tally was 19-3. sued it last year over an in ballots on Monday af- tion after rejecting Activi- unionizing group’s vote.q