How To Display Jewelry At A Garage Sale?

If you’re looking to sell some of your jewelry, a garage sale is a great option. However, you’ll want to make sure that it’s displayed in the most effective way possible to get the best return on your investment. Here are a few tips to help you out – here’s how to display jewelry at a garage sale.

What is the Best Way to Display Jewelry for Sale?

The ultimate goal of having a garage sale, for most people, is two-fold. They want to rid themselves of some clutter while also making some extra cash at the same time. 

To make the most cash, there are a few tips you’ll want to follow. Here’s what you need to know.

1. Choose the Right Type of Jewelry

We’ll go into more detail about this at the end of the post, but for now, it’s important to know this – not all jewelry will sell equally well at a yard sale, but not all jewelry should be sold at a yard sale.

You may be able to sell expensive items at a yard sale, like diamonds or gold, but the whole point of why most people shop yard sales is to come away with a bargain.

If you have these expensive items lying around your house, chances are that you don’t want to pawn them for $5. Bring them to a dealer and have them appraised instead.

Focus on selling less expensive jewelry at your yard sale. The following items tend to sell quite well:

• Costume jewelry
• Older trends
• Pandora charms
• Stretchy bracelets
• Older watches (that aren’t as valuable)
• Earring drops
• Turquoise
• Basic silver pieces

…and so on. Get rid of the items that aren’t quite as valuable but are just taking up space at the bottom of your jewelry box.

2. Clean Everything First

Sure, you can put all of your jewelry out as-is, tarnish and all. But it’s not the best way to get top dollar for what you have.

Instead, take the time to thoroughly clean your jewelry. Get rid of any debris or dirt that’s built up. It will look better and sell better. Use a polishing cloth or, if you’re feeling extra ambitious, some jewelry cleaner, too, and go to town! 

3. Try to Keep the Original Boxes

Sure, nobody wants to deal with having jewelry boxes cluttering up their homes. However, if you make it a point to do so, there’s a better chance that you’ll get fair prices for your jewelry.

If you’re selling a watch, sell it with the original box and instruction manual. THe same goes for if you have any extra links to sell with your watch. If it needs a new battery, put one in. 

Take the time to go the extra mile with your jewelry, and you likely won’t have it sitting on your sales table for long.

Display your jewelry in the boxes and you’ll have a much better chance of selling it! If you don’t have the original boxes, you may want to consider picking some up. Een white cotton cardboard boxes or jewelry pouches can make the items you have look a million times better. 

4. Have the Right Information on Hand

You don’t necessarily need to write a novel to go along with the jewelry that you are selling, but you should have some basic information at the ready when customers inquire.

For example, what is it made out of? Is it gold? 10k? 14k? Platinum? Silver? Do you know the carat weights? The ring size? Chain length?

Any information you have is going to be helpful – but don’t make it up. A truly savvy shopper will know when they’re being lied to, and that will not only wreck your sale, but make you look silly too.

Now, if you want to go the extra mile, you can display this information right alongside the jewelry. Print it out and laminate it, if you can, or even put it into a sheet protector. That way, you won’t have to fend off a million questions over the course of the yard sale day!

5. Clearly Price Everything

No matter how you choose to display your jewelry, make sure it’s easy to see the price. You can use inexpensive string tags so you don’t have to put stickers on the jewelry. This will make it easy for customers to find the details they’re looking for.

6. How to Display Earrings for Garage Sale 

There are a few different ways you can organize and display earrings for a garage sale. The key here should be displaying them so that they’re easy to look at and so that individual pairs don’t get separated. 

Here are a few options:

• Use a piece of styrofoam to stick the posts/hooks into, then set the styrofoam on the table
• Stretch fabric into an embroidery hoop and use it to display the earrings
• Cut a piece of lightweight cardboard and insert the earrings through it
• Cut individual pieces of colorful scrapbook paper for each set of earrings – then, customers can just take the individual pieces they need
• Insert earrings into a piece of canvas
• Poke earrings through an old screen door 
• Put earrings in plastic baggies
• Cut up an old egg carton and place a pair of earrings into each cup
• Put them in envelopes
• Use store-bought earring cards

7. Use Muffin Tins

A great way to display jewelry is to place each individual item inside a muffin tin. This is low-cost and helps to keep things organized.

8. Put a Mirror Nearby

Consider putting a mirror near your jewelry display area. This will give customers a spot to try on the jewelry and see if they like how it looks.

9. Buy a Jewelry Stand or Rack

If you’re willing to part with some of your cash, consider investing in a jewelry stand or jewelry rack. You can always use these to hold your own jewelry (the stuff you’re keeping) later on, too! 

10. Use a Corkboard

Pin your jewelry up to a corkboard or even a piece of dark fabric. This is especially helpful for necklaces so your customers can see what you have – and so the necklaces don’t get tangled.

11. Use a Lazy Susan or Turntable

This is perfect for smaller items, like rings and earrings, so customers can spin it around and see what you have to sell without having to touch each piece.

12. Make Sure There’s Light

Jewelry sells best when your customers can look at it in full light. Make sure you position your jewelry for display in a well-lit area. 

13. Lay it on the Table

This isn’t the most organized way to sell your jewelry, but in a pinch, it will work just fine. Set out each individual piece of jewelry on a table – and be prepared to answer any questions your shoppers have!

Other Tips for Selling Jewelry at a Garage Sale

The most important tip for selling jewelry at a garage sale is to find a way to keep everything together. You don’t want earrings getting separate or necklaces coming undone and scattering the charms everywhere. 

Remember that people will be pawing through these items all day, so you need a way to keep things contained. 

One more tip for selling jewelry at your garage sale? Keep a close eye on it, especially if it’s valuable.

These are the items you’ll probably want to keep up close to you, like near the cash register, so that you can keep an eye on them and make sure nobody walks off with them. Jewelry is so small that it’s easy to steal. 

Here are some more helpful tips on how to set up your garage sale for maximum sales and the most convenient shopping experience:

What Should Not Be at a Garage Sale?

When you’re preparing for your yard sale, remember that valuable or high-dollar items really shouldn’t be sold there.

Although you’re sure to get rid of them – they’ll likely sell quite well – you aren’t going to get nearly as much money for them as you could if you sold them elsewhere, like to a dealer.

Instead, get rid of your cheaper, less valuable items at your garage sale – and follow these tips to sell them easily!