Preparing to sell your items for sale online or to put on display during your weekend event takes a little creativity and a steady hand. Here are some great tips for putting your items in the “best light” which may help them sell a bit faster for you:
Online Sales- Be sure to photograph your items with natural light. If you have a digital camera, make sure your settings are set accordingly. If the room you’re photographing is dimly lit, you should use a flash with the camera. Some objects such as glossy book covers or recently polished furniture, televisions, etc. won’t photograph well as a flash mark will appear in the picture or on the object your are selling. In natural daylight it’s not necessary to use the flash, most new cameras will adjust accordingly on the automatic setting. When photographing an item that may have a flash glare on it, you should take the picture from an angle. Another tip is to photograph a dark item in front of a light background. For example, if you have a brown couch and your wall is dark brown, try moving the couch to a room where the walls are white, it will photograph much easier. Lastly, if you have photo-editing tools on your computer where you can present the picture to show a better resolution or in a brighter picture, you should use them. People tend to skip over dark images they can’t see.
Sale Event Presentation- You won’t need to worry about taking pictures at your sale event, however, you should be creative in your display so your items are presented to “sell.” Make sure the tables you use are not cluttered and don’t keep objects that are subject to immediate fading or heat on tables outside in the sun. Examples of this would be candles or electronics. Keep these items on tables in the shade. Also, be sure you leave enough room in between items so prospective buyers can clearly see each item separately. This can be challenging when you have a lot of visitors at your sale and they’re handling the items constantly. It’s better to have more tables set up with less stuff on each table. It appears to the buyer that you have a lot of tables so you must have a lot of stuff! Be sure your stuff is dry and not slippery and wet. Plan to have tarps or a canopy ready in the event of rain. Lastly, for sales held indoors, be sure you have florescent lighting or natural lighting overhead. Regular incandescent bulbs don’t shed the best light when you’re presenting your items to sell.
Another helpful tip to help your buyers is to keep certain tools handy such as a measuring tape, flashlight to inspect items, and a magnifying glass to look closer at collectibles such as coins and stamps.
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