Garage Sale Marketing

Fighting the average day with a stapler gun

Today, I took a break from applications and dedicated time to selling unwanted items from my house. I'm going to see if I can apply things I've learned to help give this sale the best opportunity this weekend.

First, there are a few things that will make it difficult:
- Dates and Time set up spontaneously with only a 24 hour turn around
- Rainy weather
- Limited workers

Late night sign posts...

Of course, five years ago, this task may have been delayed until next weekend, but with technology I am able to expedite an awareness campaign and even have time to blog about it ;)

Building Awareness
First, I spent $10 on signs to help direct people to our garage sale. Our address is actually really long to spell out, so I just put the street name and an arrow pointing where it is. What helped the most is having a "garage sale" sign in front of the neighborhood, followed by a large sign on our yard.

Of course, the more effective advertisement for specific items was posting on Craigslist and utilizing Twitter & Facebook. There I can provide information to others and have it available for them. As opposed to direct advertising, this becomes more of an opt-in system.

Finally, to help generate local hype, I informed family members and friends to spread the news by word-of-mouth.

The turnaround being so tight, technology has really helped expedite much of the process. But it's still good to know that old conventional methods still work.

Setting the Price
Before setting the price, I reminded myself of my objectives: clear out inventory and gain money. Ultimately, I also have to understand that I'll be in a buyers market, which means my business thrives on their demand and there are many substitutes/competitors in the market.

First, I researched prices from retailers on similar items. Many of these prices can be found on Craigslist, Amazon, eBay, Google, and other online retailers. Setting a benchmark, I can give my products similar or lesser value to be competitive.

Cash is king. Because we don't work on a credit system, we have to understand cash and who holds it. Making sure the prices can be broken into denominations of whole cash to avoid change. This also provides them a psychological impulse to buy because the items are affordable with the cash they have on hand.

Operations
Having a garage sale, we have to understand the customers and when they will be coming. There will be the early-bird opportunists, customers of convenience, and coming back from work. Our hours peaked in the morning starting at 8am, slowed at 11am to 4pm, and picked up back again afterwards.

We had an initial layout along with easy to find pricing on the product itself (using masking tape). We made sure all products be seen, but the ones we want to push out faster will be on display in front. Of course, when we had breaks in traffic, we would rearrange and tidy up for the next wave of customers.

Organized Chaos is what a garage sale is 

Books are not exactly on everyone's list...

Sales
Honestly, though I have never done retail, I know I could be a floor salesman.

Being warm and friendly is key to having customers open up about what they want. Being personable helps continue the conversation and engage them through their experience. Then while all that is going on, you have to be attentive to what they may possibly be interested in.

Once they express interest in an item, I usually bring up past experiences with it and say how good it still is. Then I ask why they might be wanting that particular item. Understanding that information helps me give reason to their "want" and offer the item to them.

Now, some people haggle, some plead, and others just buy upfront. Case-by-case, I want to make sure they "feel what they got was worth what they paid". Again, it's a buyer's market and my main objective is clearing out inventory while making a decent return. If I lower the price a little, I will be providing value to something that is of no worth being stored in my house.

Salesman of the year

Results
So far, I have earned $325 off of sales in items ranging from $0.10 to $250 (no I haven't sold that item yet.)

Breaking down the numbers:
I had about 50 customers in 7 hours of operation
- Each transaction was about $6.50
- My hourly earnings were approximately $46.50
- The largest transaction was $75
- In the 48 hour turnaround and about 14 hours in actual work time, my adjusted hourly earnings are $23

Insights of the Day:
- Books are the slowest to turnaround and incite interest from
- Bundled up pencils were one of the best ideas, very fast turnaround
- Children are the best impulse buyers
- I have to learn Spanish
- Anything will sell... like wires

Who knew you guys would be so popular...

Next Day Expectations
Being a Friday, I expected it to be slow and it was pleasantly busy even with impending rain in the skies. Saturdays are great days because everyone's schedules free up, which should increase traffic.

So hopefully we can match or outperform Friday's results and push some of my higher priced items.

-Mark

Adversity at a Young Age

Hey little guy... if you only knew what lies ahead

Yup, that's me with that fantastic grin ready to succeed in the world. But early in my life, I faced an unexpected adversity.

Children are Mean

First and foremost, I love children, maybe not having any in a long time, but I like them. They're happy, innocent, and small. Of course, it's a little different when you yourself are a child going to school.

Much of my childhood is a blur, but I do remember the awkward times of being "different". That self-awareness was a scary time. Much of my questions after coming home from elementary school were along the lines of, "Mom, why am I different?" or "What am I?".

Those are tough questions to explain to a child. But I do remember struggling fitting in because I was so different. In my town of Tyler, Texas, I was one of the only Asian Americans attending a predominantly White, Black, and Mexican elementary school.

A lot of looks I got were of curiosity. A lot of questions asked were, "What are you?" And many of the shouts I received were, "Ching-chong!" as they stretched their eyes to slits.

I knew I was different, but I was confused too. This self-awareness brought adversity, but it also help me grow as a person.

Behind every strong man is a strong group of women

Support is Coming

That picture is a little embarrassing, haha. When did I ever look so... starstruck? My grandmother was born in the Philippines and helped take care of me while my parents worked. As I became more self-aware, she was always provided answers.

Her answers were always so direct and simple. I think that really gave me confidence to not take all the comments from my peers so seriously. Instead, befriend them and show them who I am. From there, they can make their judgements, but I'll have at least put my say in there.

Also, she taught me never to go into conflict with guns a'blazing. Instead remain calm and cool, which to this day, I mostly do.

It was good to grow up knowing all my cousins

I don't know why I have my hand in my face...

Extensive Family Network
On my father's side, we are a total of thirteen cousins and through the years we've stayed pretty close. It was good that my parents wanted my brother's and I to know our families. Having a close nuclear family in today's society is a great advantage, but having an extended family closeness with cousins multiplies that effect.

Even today, I keep up with most of my cousins, sharing in their ups, downs, and all arounds. We still get along, mostly, and always enjoy each others company. They are our first chances to really communicate with others outside of our nuclear family, which in my opinion, helps speed up social skills while going to school.

Three bros and a guy...

Brothers fight and make up, they're also the first friends we make

Bros before...!

Your siblings are your first friends you make... usually. They are the ones most close to you and probably know you the best. You can confide in them, test stuff on them, beat them up, have them beat you up (Andrew broke my arm once...), and grow up.

I'm lucky to have two fantastic brothers who have kept me in check, challenged me throughout my life, and supported me during my ups and downs. When you're young, they are the ones who really help shape who you are towards others.

-Mark

Childhood "Dream Cars"

So back in my high school days, I dreamt about cars. I was very biased to Japanese cars at the time and really loved a few cars.

Culprit Influencers:
- My cousin, Michael, had a "soup'd" up Honda Civic LX with components I can't remember but fast enough for me.
- My other cousin, Jeff, had a Honda CRX with only a modified exhaust, but it was sporty.
- Before it met its demise, my cousin, Chris, had a Mitsubishi Eclipse.
- Gran Turismo on the Playstation was amazingly awesome, because you can buy cars and test them out on tracks. My cousins, brothers, and I would save up to buy used cars on the game, modify them, and race each other. Those were good times.

So before I got my own car and was still driving a Toyota Camry, I had five "dream" cars:

#5: 1999 Mitsubishi Eclipse

Where did Mitsubishi go wrong after this?

This car had an awesome face and a great soapbox body. Actually, I think this model looks way better than the current Eclipse.

What was awesome about this car was it perfectly balanced looks and speed. It boasted 200 horsepower in a light body plus affordable (in japanese car terms). Also, this is what it looked like with body kits:

The reason why it #5 and not higher is because my cousin already owned one. I wanted to be original ;)

#4: 1999 Mitsubishi 3000GT

It wasn't the prettiest, but it was fast

The 3000GT or GTO was ridiculously powerful and fast! It was also expensive, but for good reason. This car had a V6 engine with twin turbos, something very rare in cars at this price range.

I remember talking to my friends about this car and they laughed at turbos because there's no "replacement for displacement". But this car fast in Gran Turismo, which was a great grounds for my debate on what is better, a Mustang or Camaro, haha.

It's ahead of the Eclipse because it was the top of the line Mitsubishi car at the time ;) I'll admit to this, it's not a pretty car, but I really liked the back. And I figure that's all my opponents were going to see when we "raced"!

#3: 1995 Mazda RX-7

Yeah! This car was exotic in its own sense, because it had a rotary engine, as opposed to a traditional piston and cylinder engine. Not only that, but it boasted twin turbos and awesome styling.

This car is probably the best looking car in my opinion and with a body kit, it could look even better! I didn't get to see many of these in Texas and now they don't make this model anymore.

#2: 1999 Nissan Silvia (S15)

In America, the Silvia was dubbed 240SX and had a different motor from the one in Japan. It also looked different (not as cool looking). The motor they used in Japan was a 2 Litre turbocharged engine and produced 240 horsepower!

Because it couldn't really be produced in America, I could only put it in 2nd Place. The Nissan Silvia also was a great looking car and again, good with a body kit.

#1: 1995 Toyota MR2

So this car is number one in my list. The Toyota MR2 was an amazing car because it was a mid-engine, turbocharged, rear-wheel driven car. The car itself was decent in looks, but because of its light weight and powerful engine, it also was very fast.

Actually, I looked into buying a used white 1993 non-turbocharged MR2, but the car didn't feel good while I was test driving it. Even now, I like the car, but too bad they screwed it up in the next model (performance-wise) and discontinued it later on.

What were your childhood dream cars?

-Mark

Exercising!

Actually, I wish I did have this surface to run on...

Running/Jogging
Honestly, I'm not a big fan of running. It hurts me sometimes, but I know it's a great workout. So my philosophy is "no pain. no gain." literally. But, it's the easiest exercise that you can do.

My running ranges from 3-5 miles (5-8 kilometers). I really only run further if something is bothering me and I need to force it out of my head.

And even if I run, I'm actually pretty slow. This morning, I hit three miles in 28 minutes (approx 9 minutes & 20 seconds per mile). I have changed my running style, but it really hasn't changed my pace too much.

Right now, I've been shifting my point of impact from my heel to the ball of my foot. I'm doing this for two reasons: 1) I'm flat-footed and this is more comfortable 2) running heel first will give me knee and joint troubles later in life.

Hopefully, I'm right about my reasoning. This has also led me to think about running barefoot or using Vibrams... any testimonies?

What!? This is exercise?

Cycling
Because my brother loves cycling and I have experience in cycling, this is a great activity and exercise. When I ride, I try to hit 10 minimum.

Mostly though, I like the tours (even though I've only gone on one!).

Cycling is good because it puts less pressure on your joints than running. You do get a great workout with your cardiovascular system and legs mostly.

Yay! Fun Plyometrics!

Plyometrics
So ever so often, I actually do a little home exercises using my own weight and gravity to workout.

This mostly includes pushups, sit-ups, burpies (ugh...), and a whole slew you can make up or look up.

Next to running, these are the easiest and most time efficient. They are also the most boring. Still, it helps and I like breaking them out into super-sets: pushups, squats, sit-ups, planks, air pedaling, and diamonds.

I don't think it'll make me cut, but it definitely works me out.

Another reason I don't want to lift...

Weights
I do these the least. Part because I have to go to the gym and part because I have mental stigma to weights.

When I think of weights, I think of getting "larger" and that's something I don't want to be. Getting larger is harder to maintain in the long run (like when you get older) and I'd rather not want to look "shrunken".

I don't think that happens to everyone, but it's just something in the back of my mind.

How do you workout?

-Mark

Photography Explanation: f/stop

When I got into photography, I learned a lot by reading (this was before YouTube was so prevalent). Of course, I didn't really pay attention to the too technical side of photography. As I was reading on Gizmodo, they have an excellent article providing this video about f-stops.

At the end, he has a pretty cool way of remember the f-stops: 1, 1.4, 2, 2.8, 4, 5.6, 8, 11, 16, 22, 32... etc

This is important because each step doubles the amount of light that enters into your camera's sensor.

For example, keeping focal length, exposure, and ISO constant, if it takes 1/60 second shutter speed to take a picture at f/2.8, then at f/2 it can be taken at 1/120 shutter speed, as well as at f/4 it would be 1/30.

I liked the video so much, I looked found another from the author, Dylan Bennett.

Depth of field is something people also have a lot of questions about. Everyone loves great bokeh (circles!) and blurry background when taking focused subject photos.

Of course, it's not always the best to just put it on the lowest f/stop and take pictures. You need to learn how these f/stops affect your photos and avoid common mistakes such as unfocused subjects, over/under exposure, soft images, and even camera shake.

-Mark

Future of Gaming

These are the top gaming console makers in the world... minus the Personal Computer... also there is...

Yeah, Apple has changed the gaming landscape through the iTunes App Store. So what do game makers do next?

1. Solve piracy in a less complex and expensive method
2. Easier gaming development and licenses
3. Stop using traditional media: CDs, DVDs, Blu-ray (man, that sucks for Sony)
4. Games need to continue earning money after purchase: DLCs & Subscription
5. System online networks need to bring more value to gaming community
6. Develop more unique gaming mechanisms: Wii, Xbox Kinect, PS Move

It'll be interesting how the console gaming market will react with this increase in competition and change of the gaming landscape. We've seen so much advancement these past years and now it's starting to fire up even more.

-Mark

Tim's Present

The mysterious birthday gift!

My brother, Tim, turns the big quarter century on April 2nd, 2012. Of course, we're celebrating early on a weekend. It's just easier.

After some debate, my family bought a gift. I wrapped it and we'll see what his reaction is tonight when he gets back tonight.

Updated 2:00PM

Kids helping... by staying out of the way, hehe

The kids are better playing at Modern Warfare than helping, haha. But as long as it keeps them busy... I should ask them to play outside... maybe some real Modern Warfare.

Odd way of observations...

Cooking some pancit

The kitchen is readying the pancit, something I helped in after I took this pic.

Small blogger

Updated 3:07PM

She's helping me take pictures

 

This is how she sees the world

The Opening 7:45PM

And then Tim gets back and we start the opening

Chilling with the cousins

Finally, the opening

I don't think this is what he was expecting...

My Mom told him to wait... oh well

The best seat ever! Fuji Ultra Awesome Comfort Saddle

Talaga!?!?!?

No it wasn't a bike rack... instead, it was a great saddle!

This saddle is a John Cobb, to cyclists, the name speaks for itself

Yes Tim, that's where your man parts go

A little funny story that went along with this saddle. My Dad said, "So that little hole is were your man parts go?"
Tim responds, "Well, not exactly inside..."
"I see, so you tuck them in there for safe keeping!"
Then my Aunt interjects, "They thought of everything!"
With a quizzical look my Dad says, "How are you supposed to get them out?"
At this point Tim is just standing there, then responds, "I guess very carefully."
"Well you better, because you'll be strapped in with your clips and now with your balls!"

Eww, try doing that after a few long tours

And then comes the candle blowing!

Tim is very... animated

And that's how Timothy Manglicmot turned the big 2-5. Wish you could have been here Andong! Don't worry, we have another surprise ;)

Oh yeah, Tim will probably write a review about this saddle.

*Note to self... I need to figure out how to make a slide show, haha

-Mark