Tips for Writting Your Ad

The text you write describing your sale is one of the most important parts of your ad, where you can highlight the top items you have in your sale. It's important to take a little extra time to fill this part out as thoroughly as possible.

Think of it this way, would you have a garage sale where everything was behind the house and you couldn't see it from the road? Of course not! You want your sale items in front of your house because you want people driving by to see your stuff.

Your ad is a virtual garage sale and visitors to this web site represent the traffic driving by. So don't hide your stuff with a short, meaningless blurb. Instead, put your items on display as if your were a department store.

Below are two samples of the same ad. The first is written like you would see it in a newspaper and the second is written with a lot more detail. Which ad do you think will get more attention?

Sample of short ad:

Game table, bikes, books, sporting equipment, patio items and more...

Same ad, but written with more info:

6' pool table. Red felt with dark wood trim. Slate surface in excellent condition. Accessories included.

Bikes - men's 18 speed Trek road bike. 10 years old but still in good shape. Boys BMX type bike for 8-10 year old.

Books - 100+, most paperbacks, but some hard covers. Fiction. Mostly techno-thriller or sci-fi.

Sporting equipment - basketball, 2 baseballs, dozen+ golf balls (well used), beginners set of golf clubs (men), fishing equipment (small tackle box, lures, three fishing poles, vest, waders).

Patio items - 4 piece table set, dark green metal frame with glass top. Gas grill showing a little rust but works well. Grilling utensils.

Grab bags of misc stuff - buy a bag and be surprised!

Lots more for sale - see our list for everything!

Other tips for writing your ad:

  • Catalog your items before writing your ad.
  • Don't just list your things, describe them. Think about describing the item's age, color, size, condition, or anything else that a buyer will find helpful.
  • Be truthful, Part I. Buyers are going to see your stuff, so stretching the truth isn't going to help.
  • Be truthful, Part II - Disclose your flaws. Let potential buyers know when an item is broken or does not work as expected. This is particularly important with larger, more expensive items.
  • Update your ad as you add and/or catalog new items.

Copyright 2010 by ColumbusGarageSale.com. All rights reserved. No parts of this web site may be copied or reproduced by any means without written permission of the publisher.