Seller tip - spread it out

So, you have like 500 items to sell. Awesome!

The temptation: post them all NOW so that you can rest at ease. The better answer: go in chunks. Post a few items a day.

Why? Well, chances are that you'll learn a lot about pricing, descriptions, and pictures while posting, gauging the response (or lack thereof) of the NYS users. You'll want to adapt rather than later going back and editing each item. And with new people coming to NYS each day, you won't want to miss the new crowd with your front page items.

So, avoid reposting, and spread things out a bit....

450 miles of yard sale

Down south, they have a live yard sale stretching for 450 miles. I suppose that's a true test of your yard sale addiction....

Another threshold for NYS

We recently crossed (and are holding steadily above) 1500 active items on NYS. It seems that just as we'd cross it, people would sell a bunch of stuff, items would disappear, and we'd drop below. But activitiy has picked up a bit and we're back above, at least for the last several days. And with over 700 registered members, NYS is growing very, very quickly.

For our friends in Joliet

I should have mentioned this - we launched Joliet Yard Sales last week. How could we forget?!?!? :)

In reality, this has been in the works for awhile, so it's a bit anticlimactic I suppose. Already there are a few hundred items showing up from various and sundry locations in the greater Joliet metro area. Spreading the yard sale love....

Yard sales are great for halloween costumes

Seller tip - keep your items updated

If you've sold an item, please mark it "sold" or delete it. Pretty please?

Seller tip - in home visit?

Twice, my wife has bought stuff from sellers who have come to our house. Wonderful in so many ways, at least two:

1) Makes it more convenient for the buyer (happy buyer = happy spender!)
2) No worry about a "no-show" not appearing at your house.

Nice, eh? I can tell you that both the sellers that appeared on our doorstep were handsomely rewarded with a multiplicity of purchases....

Seller tip - spell correctly

It may sound mundane, but it makes a difference in at least 2 ways:

1) People searching for "stroller" won't find your "stroler"
2) Poor spelling leaves an unprofessional feel with people. Nigerian scammers are notoriously bad at spelling. Differentiate yourself from them. :)

So, maybe you're spelling impaired, but we don't hold it against you (heck - this is a yard sale site where anything goes!). Need help? Type it into Word (or another word processor of your choice) and use their spell checker before posting. Slickeroonie.

Miss us?

I know, enough with my excuses, but I've been in Nigeria. Be glad that I was able to come back alive. :)

Some exciting blog posts coming your way this week. Stay tuned.

First come, first served? Or commit and hold?

We actually get this question fairly frequently:

Dear NYS Admin,

When I get multiple people responding to an item that are interested in it, should I just give them my address and say "first come, first served" or should I commit to the first person that responded?

Love,
NYS Fanatic

Dear NYS Fanatic,

Great question! We're glad you have that problem. :) Ultimately, it's up to you. With that said, here's what we recommend: assuming the first responder can get to your place in a reasonable amount of time, wait for them. Some people have to work (actually most people, eh?), others have kids that take naps, others have lazy husbands who don't fix the transmissions on their cars so they're stuck at home. Cut them some slack, and they'll likely be a better buyer. And you never know when you might be in their shoes, and might appreciate them holding something for you until you are discharged from the hospital "recovering" from your NYS addiction (good thing they have Wi-fi in the patient rooms!).

Love,
The NYS Team

Buyer tip

Buyer tip: Pay with cash.

Like Yogi Berra said: "And they give you cash, which is just as good as money."

NYS is all about trust, and you help build that trust. The seller is giving you a break on price, and you can give them a break by paying with something easily transferrable.

Don't accuse me of being a hypocrite, but for me, personally, I'll take money in whatever form it is. I trust you...:)

Seller Tip

Price it right.

If it isn't selling, one of the reasons may be a price higher than people are willing to pay. Remember, this is an online yard sale (objective: clear junk out!), not a resale shop.

Why we've been neglecting you

Missed a regular update here? Our apologies. What we've been up to:

1) Finishing up the final touches on Naperville Underground

2) Cleaning out our garage. Thanks to NYS, we can now park a vehicle in the garage. *A* vehicle, not both. Still working on that...but getting closer!

3) Playing in the snow and in the house. Isn't this what it's all about? :)

Don't hate me because I was first

Fortunately, I snagged the popular white bookshelves before everyone else did. My apologies if you missed out, but I don't feel too bad. Hey, given the growth rate of our children's book collection we'll need far more than these within a couple of months...

And did you know we already have 6 other bookcases full of children's books? I blame our book problem on two factors: books for 25 cents at yard sales + a 2 year-old daughter who thinks she knows how to read and spends hours paging through stories = huge need for book storage space. Nutso...

Support the ADOPT sale this weekend

From Sandy:

GIGANTIC GARAGE SALE!!! GREAT STUFF for a GREAT CAUSE!!!

After last year’s success, ADOPT plans to undertake a garage sale once again this year!! So get ready to shop!!

DATES:
Friday October 13th 9:00 am – 4:00 pm
Saturday October 14th 9:00 am – 3:00 pm
Sunday October 15th 10:00 am – 3:00 pm

PLACE: ADOPT Animal Shelter 420 Industrial Drive, Naperville

Please mark your calendar, come out and pick up some great “finds”!!

In conjunction with the garage sale we will have lots of homemade baked goods and snacks available for sale!!

We are expecting a great turnout, so be sure to shop early---shop often!!

With questions please contact Sandy at 847-458-6366 or sandyhollyboston@yahoo.com

Are you part of the "in" club?

Mike is now, thanks to the car decal.... :)

A tip for buyers

Okay avid buyers, a tip for you, too.

Sellers don't nail you with hefty shipping fees. And they wait at their house for the appointed time you promise to be there.

So here's the tip: be there when you say you will.

I know, it sounds simple, but it makes all the difference to the seller. Keep your word, and they'll keep selling their stuff to you for cheap. It's all about trust, which is why NYS is so successful for all of us. Feel the love?

Naperville Underground - Update

Okay, so we're still testing some things, tweaking some things, making modifications here and there. We're still in that "beta" -like mode (not the fish, the software, silly).

What do we hope NU will become? Well, there are are times you wish you knew more about something or you can't find an answer you're looking for or the search engines just aren't helping you out much. So, you pop online, ask, and someone will know something about it. And then you respond to someone else in the same boat. Nice, eh?

Once the content builds a bit more, we'll open it to the world, er, the NYS community. Just the blogwatching faithful that get a sneak preview.

Weekend Roundup - Live Naperville Yard Sales

The chillier air seems to reduce the number of stalwarts throwing them. Perhaps the enthusiasm of attendees will overcome. So, is this a seller's market? ;-)

10 Today
28 on Friday
29 on Saturday

Of course, this doesn't include the neighborhood sale in Ashbury (between 95th-104th and between Book and Naper-Plainfield). 50+ homes. Caaaan't.....resist......

Upcoming Fundraisers

Hey, check out two upcoming events we're helping support. The first is the Animal Rescue Network having a sale this weekend in Channahon. The second is the ADOPT sale next weekend. Hope to see you there, supporting them in their worthy causes!

Non-trashy treasures

Our latest steal? So my wife is at the YMCA (like she is just about every day) and sees the folks in the children's area throwing books away. Huh? Well, she asks if she can take a perusal through them. She walks away with 47. Forty-seven books! And given the fact that we have hundreds, probably thousands of children's books already, she's pickier now and only brings home the best.

Thank goodness for the yard saler in each of us that keeps the landfills just a bit smaller....:)

You want it? You got it!

Some of NYS addicts have requested a place to be a little bit more vocal, sharing thoughts, ideas, recommendations, odd chit-chat, etc. So, we've created a new site for you:

Naperville Underground

Of course it's free. :) We hope this will become a valuable resource for all of us - a sounding board we can use in the spare moments we have each day. And a live source important information (news, events, and the like). So, join up and jump into the foray....

oh, and since it's new, let us know if you encounter bugs along the way. Thanks!

Local Sponsorships

Since we get so much NYS love from the community, we're all about giving back. Recently, stomp approached us about sponsoring the NCHS band program. Well, we're suckers for a good deal, so we bit. Look for our ad in the upcoming concerts (and of course we'll tell you the details).

Looking for a local sponsor? We might be able to help. It may not always be in the form of money, but we'll help where we can....

People like this need NYS

Do you park your nice car in the driveway while filling your garage with junk? People mentioned in this article do.

Well, we don't have nice cars, but we *do* park them in the driveway (for the time being). But why store all that junk when there are thousands of potential buyers on Naperville Yard Sales? We're working on it....

Another wild and CRAAAAAAZY weekend!

As of this post, there are:

7 yard sales today
45 yard sales on Friday
47 yard sales on Saturday

Last week, my wife hauled home a huge bag of those ball pen balls. A HUGE bag. It cost her 25 cents. The kiddos love it. They can take up the entire floor of a whole room when dumped out (which they are quite frequently). We're just trying to find a place for them now....

Have a cool story with warm fuzzies about and experience on NapervilleYardSales.com? We'd love to hear about it.

We'll feature the neatest ones on this blog, and give you some free publicity as well. Contact us today!

Why we do what we do

A bit off-topic, but it's good to get grounded every once in awhile with what's really important.

Where have we been???

Okay, I know we've been lax in posting. We've been having waaaaaay too much fun playing, enjoying the beautiful weather before it gets increasingly colder.

One heads up - we're partnering with a few fundraisers with various organizations this fall to help give them some additional exposure and help them raise funds for the worthy causes they support. If you know of an event such as this, let us know and we'll do our best to help them out.

Another seller tip

(start drumroll) (end drumroll) Post lots of items

You see, the more stuff you post for sale, the greater the likelihood that people will find something they're interested in and if they find something they're interested in, they'll come to your house and likely see something else they are interested in as well that maybe they missed online and they'll want that too.

We weren't planning on selling the quilt rack, but when they came to look at our headboard (and buy it), they spied it sitting unused in a corner.

"Is that quilt rack for sale?"

"Uh, uh, uh....for the right price, anything's for sale!"

"How about $15?"

"Sold!"

Worked like magic. And now we have one less thing in our house.

What I'm coveting today

I wish I had a current excuse, er, use for this piece of work, but, alas, I already have enough other stuff rusting away....unused....says my wife....

The random lady in the street

She wasn't really "in the street," but her car was. My wife was driving down the road yesterday with the windows wide open, enjoying the beautiful weather (which is steadily getting colder!) and at a stop light a lady starting chatting with her, something like this:

Random Lady: "Is your van the one on the website?"
My beautiful wife: "You mean Naperville Yard Sales? It is..."
Random Lady: "Yes! Do you know the people who run it?"
My beautiful wife: "Yes! I'm married to him!"
Random Lady: "Really?!?! Cool! I love the site! I posted something there last night!"

And then the light turned green and the conversation ended. But, if you are the alleged "Random Lady" who likes to converse with people at stop lights, let us know who you are so we can give you a free Premiere account. We love bumping randomly into people in the community with a common connection.....

So, how's it growin'?

A few stats on NYS, as we approach our two-month birthday:

• Almost 500 people have signed up as sellers
• Over 3000 people came to Naperville Yard Sales last month
• Your items have already been viewed hundreds of thousands of times
  
• NYS traffic is growing at about 10% per week

So, all this bodes well for the future. I can't quite park in my garage yet, but I'm hopeful!

And the first two lucky suckers are....

...angelafax took away a nice end table while Paula ended up with the hydraulic car jack (sniff!).

Interesting to note that 2 women called me, but 2 men showed up. I guess men are good for something after all....:)

13 more sweeeeeeeeeeeeet items to go!

McCarty & Owen School Fall/Winter Resale

Be sure to check out a Children's Resale Fundraiser in Naperville this weekend.

Item #1 has now been posted....

Here's a link. It's a nice little addition to whatever you need. We used it in our last house for our guest room, but just can't find a place for it here. Don't you hate it when your old furniture doesn't conform to your new house??

Cheapskates, rejoice!

If you're coveting a free Premiere account and are too much of a tightwad to pay the $7.95/month for one, you can invite your friends. If you don't have any more friends or you're tired of entering fake email addresses (no, they don't count), we're trying to make it easier on you.

So, here's how you can get it: contact us and claim your car decal. Put it on your car. Get a free Premiere account for as long as it remains on your rear window....

Share the NYS love.....

The official promo scoop

Now that we've smashed the 1000 barrier, it's promo time! Here's the scoop:

Short version: "15 over 15 not for 15 in 15 to 15" promotion. Also known as "dollar days."

Longer: 15 items worth over $15 each, for $1 (not 15) in 15 days to 15 sellers.

Longest: Beginning on Friday, September 15, we will be offering 1 free item per day at some unappointed, random, and changing time of day. We have 15 items, each worth over $15 (some much more). If you're the first to respond you get the item for $1. This madness will continue for 15 whopping days.

Why are we giving stuff away for almost free? Because we love you. Seriously. Okay, maybe we don't know you personally yet, but we love our users. We've bought a lot of cool stuff off of you, and you've helped us clean out our garage (it's getting there, but still needs some work!). So, we thought we'd show our appreciation with some nice stuff that we've accumulated and, despite our best attempts, have yet to find a use for. What kind of stuff? The full range from baby stuff to tools to small furniture to --- wait, we won't ruin it. You'll just have to check in to see what's in store, er, online. Just don't wear out the refresh button on your screen.

Important small print: To be eligible, you must have posted at least one item on NYS prior to claiming the item. Only one item per person. You must pick up the item within one day or it will be offered to the next person. If, after getting the item, you decide you don't like it or don't need it or your spouse gives you that funny look, TOUGH. You only paid a buck for it, so you're not out much - buck up! (hardy-har-har). Why don't we just give it away for free? Well, my papa always said "there is no free lunch" - so we'd hate for you to think otherwise.

Preview for NYS Blog Readers

I know you're all dying in anticipation for the "special 1000 reward" thing. And for the gazillions of faithful NYS blog readers, you'll get a special preview tomorrow, one day ahead of everyone else.

Feel special? You should. The "special 1000 reward" thing isn't like winning the lottery or getting married, but it *is* similar. In some ways, and on a fraction of the scale. Kind of. Maybe.

What my wife is coveting today

My wife loves scrapbooking. The problem is, with our two munchkins we don't get as much time as we'd like to canonize our lives on acid-free paper. This book on doing a 25 page book in a weekend sounds enticing....

Now, what someone really should do is offer super-cheap scrapbooking services. You take my pictures and deliver a finished product. Even *I* would be interested in something like that....

What the future holds

NYS is approaching 1000 items rather quickly. A special surprise awaits (as another token of my undying gratitude) all y'all once we cross that psychological 4-digit barrier. At least *I* think it's a nice surprise. Stay tuned!

As a sign of my gratitude....

....for two people from NYS that have bought stuff from me and thus helped clear out space in my basement (not enough space, however, for the sweet pool table that was snatched up by Sandi), I will exhibit my undying thanks for these two people via a shameless plug for their items. Really nice people, by the way.

Help Nat get some children's books. And if you or someone you love is looking to move more downtown, they're selling a condo. (Thanks for buying my trimmer!)

And help stump get rid of the antique painted table. (Thanks for buying my golf clubs!). But for a person who has "lots of unused stuff" only posting two items seems minimal. :)

There, now I don't mean to be setting any sort of precedent for future buyers of my stuff. The great deal you're getting should be reward enough. But you never know what might happen....

Update: apparently I have real and living issues with confusing words and names. It is STOMP, not STUMP as previously indicated. (sigh)

The Naperville We Know And Love - Is Back!

Holy guacamole, Batman! After a slow Labor Day weekend for yard sale junkies, the fervor has returned with a vengeance. As of writing this, there are:

16 Yard Sales today, ramping up to 43 yard sales on Friday, and 38 yard sales on Saturday. Yes, there are some overlaps with multi-day sales, but wowsers! Yard sale heaven....

Another seller tip - free of charge!

If most people are like me (an unlikely assumption, I know), the desire to purchase something is often based on not just the price, but the price it would otherwise cost me. Do I really need it? That's somewhat irrelevant. And if the price is right, it's completely irrelevant.

So, if you want me to buy your stuff, first tell me the price. Then tell me how much you paid for it or how much it is selling for elsewhere so I can feel like I'm a smart consumer. Then I'll probably make a dumb consumer decision and buy it. But I'll feel good about it.

That's why I have a hydraulic car jack in my garage that I have never used and will likely keep forever. They normally cost $20-$50. I got mine for $5. I love NYS. :)

What I'm coveting today

Pool table. For $200?!?!

Wish my basement was bigger. Or maybe this is my excuse to build an addition on the house.

Unique, you know?

You never know what people have in their basements. Certainly some things you'd never have in your basement, right? Er, well, maybe there are some things you need to get out in the open like this die-cast bank replica - fishing theme. I always used a piggy bank.

Or this: my breastfriend pillow. Maybe my gender excludes me from understanding.

Or these kawasaki air sticks. One by one, I have decided to remove the batteries from all my kids' toys. This gift ain't for me, but I'm sure it'd be nice for a first-time parent. :)

Ah, NYS is great entertainment. I don't want to reveal what I *am* interested for fear you'll snatch it up first. :)

Official Yard Sale Addict Recovery Day

A heads up to all: as of this Sunday (September 3), each Sunday will be the official yard sale addict recovery day. It's the day when we all take time away from our computers to enjoy the sunshine, life, friends, church, our families, and many other enjoyable and enriching things.

Life is too rich to spend all-day, everyday in front of the computer, so we're taking a rest. Come join us in the park on a walk, in the hospital visiting our friends, or snuggling on the couch reading a story with the kiddos.

And don't worry, we'll be back at 2 am Monday mornings! ;-)

Oh where, oh where have the yard sales gone?

From the looks of things, it appears to be a slow yard saling weekend, particularly if you use the NYS yard sale postings as prophetic of what the weekend will hold. Only 10-11 yard sales per day. :-(

How does this compare with past weeks?
Last week there were 27.
On August 29, there were 48. Wowsers!

Why the slowdown? Perhaps people are too busy with getting the kiddos back in school. Perhaps there is still some recovering from the Great American Yard Sale. Perhaps it's the Labor Day weekend where everyone vacations and takes a break from laborious yard saling. Given the above factors, it is more than likely (and my wife's greatest hope) that this is the calm before the storm....:)

She's....so pop-u-lar!

Who's the most popular person on NYS?

Judging by referrals, it's Patricia, who has invited over 200 people via NYS. I wish I had that many friends....

Judging by items, it's Debbie, with over 40 items currently listed. My wife has bought some items from her as well, so we know she's got some good stuff.

By dollar amount of stuff sold, it seems Patricia is in the lead, again. I won't tell you how much she's made, but I wish I'd made that much. :)

Communitize Me (or "The Angle Grinder Story")

One of the side benefits of NYS (besides offloading our surplus basement storage and filling it up again) is the helpful community that starts to enshroud otherwise mundane transactions. I posted "Wanted: Angle Grinder" so that I can sharpen my lawn mower blade that cuts like it is made out of bar stock (used on too many thick weeds, I suppose). And CK responded, "hey, Lowe's had some of these on clearance yesterday for $20." Now, maybe he's just a Lowe's employee trying to drum up more sales, but I give him the benefit of the doubt: he's just trying to help out a fellow community member, with no direct benefit to himself. *warm fuzzy*. I don't get that on eBay. :)

There is more of that "community" than is readily visible - another side benefit of NYS. And, of course, we'd love to hear if you have a story to share....

Media week - extended

Don't know if there is something like a "baker's week" where you get one extra day, but we're extending media week through today (an 8-day week) to include some props from the blogosphere via Rick Klau. His post here highlights Naperville Yard Sales while referring to an elusive yard sale junkie friend named Becky. Sounds like an inside joke. :)

Update: Apparently her name is Betsy since I can't remember her name for two minutes while switching between blogs...

A picture is worth a thousand words, part 2

Someone reported to us that they got suckered into buying something they never intended to: they were searching for a "table" and ended up buying some "wooden vegeTABLEs" for their kids to play with (how could you turn that down? Teach the kiddos good eating principles for cheap!). While we don't feel too bad about this unnessary purchase, this does bring up a good point for our sellers:

In the item description, be descriptive. (huh?) Okay, post similar words. If it's a couch, include "sofa" or "loveseat" or "sectional". Use synonyms and think of what other people might think when they search. Most people browse, but as the number of items increases, so do the searches. Don't be deceptive (i.e. if you're trying to sell a toilet seat, don't put the words "solid oak brand new bedroom set" in your description).

And, include a picture. It doesn't help with searching the description, but it sure is nice.

So, in summary, include pictures with your items, but also include a few more descriptive words - maybe not 1000, but a few.

A picture is worth a thousand words....part 1

Some people wonder what the difference is between items with pictures and those without. Here's the scoop (statistically speaking, and very rough):

*Items with pictures get ~5 times the number of views as those without pictures
*Items with pictures get ~2 times the number of messages from interested people

So, it's worth it to get your duff off the couch and learn how to use that digital camera. Maybe someday we'll write a cool code snippet to allow you to take a picture with your cell phone, send it to an address, and have it post automagically. But, until then, keep snapping those pictures.

If you're one of those rare breeds without a digital camera, you can find some very cheap, basic ones online. If you're one of those rare breeds that isn't comfortable finding some online, give us a shout and we'll find some for you....:)

Happy One Month Birthday - to NYS

Regardless of how you define a month, NYS turned 1 month old this week. In "celebration" (?) we sent an email to all our sellers. For whatever odd reason, I've decided to post that email here. Who knows? Maybe you'll find something useful inside....

=====================================================
Dearest NYS sellers,

Okay, so the infamous "test" email was broadcast to the world instead of just one person. Thanks to all of you who responded kindly (some with humorous sarcasm, you know who you are!) despite the unintentional blooper.

In any case, just wanted to drop a quick note to all of you to celebrate our one month birthday. Yes, NYS is now one month old, a tad big for its age I suppose. Though still in its infancy, NYS is growing quickly and will continue to do so as word spreads (did you see that sweet-looking furniture set on NYS?).

And a few selling tips to help you move your stuff into someone else's storage unit:
1) Include pictures (one is worth a thousand words!)
2) Price it right (i.e. consider reducing the price if it's not selling)
3) Tell a friend about NYS. Then maybe your friend's cousin's neighbor's aunt will be interested in that leftover burnt-orange wallpaper from your mother's house you just can't seem to sell for some odd reason.
4) If you don't have a friend, then we feel sorry for you. But we're sure you'll make one on NYS....:) (try buying something - that's a quick way into someone's heart!)

Anywho, that's enough blabbering for now. I need to go refresh the NYS home page to see what new treasures I might discover that I never knew I needed....

Happy selling!
Austin

p.s. If you didn't see us on TV, you can watch it online here (yes, I'm the goofy-looking one):
http://nctv17.com/businessconnection.htm#yard

This must be media week

First with NCTV 17 providing a 7-minute spot on Naperville Yard Sales (beginning on Monday and lasting 3 weeks), then with this article from the Naperville Sun, NYS has had a fair bit of local media attention. Droves of new folks have joined us (welcome!) and joined the forays into cyber yard sale addiction. We may need to launch a recovery program for true junkies (my wife will likely attend).

The only downside of the Sun article? Seems like Julie hasn't been able to sell anything (at least at the time of interview, like two weeks ago when NYS was a true baby). I fully endorse Julie's items for purchase so we can clear the record book. :)

Obligatory "Welcome to the Blog"

Okay, short and sweet: this is the official (accept no substitute) blog for the comin's and goin's of NapervilleYardSales.com. Things are moving quickly, so it's probably a necessity to keep a blog running to keep the community well-informed. A place that we can store all past and current news for the gee-whiz types as well as maintain a (hopefully) fun and amusing perspective on what is happening on NYS. May the fun begin!