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Garage Sales Galore

With markers and tape in hand, Mark Larson and a team of helpers are preparing for two busy days of traffic up and down Wachter Avenue.

"Expecting of course, a big crowd this weekend, it`s the number one weekend for rummage sales," he said.

The group is holding a garage sale to benefit their Relay for Life chapter.

"If you have everything organized and clean, it seems to go easier. What we tend to do is bring the bigger items out on the driveway. Then people see it and they stop," said Stacy Vietmeier from Bismarck.

That`s just one of more than 200 sales that will open up in the next few days in both Bismarck and Mandan. Neighbors all over town are setting up, hoping to capitalize on the influx of bargain hunters.

"It seems if one person opens up their garage door, they say `Oh, this is going to work for me,` so they also do it," said Bismarck resident Trish Jose.

"Usually cars are lined up and people are coming in even before you get stuff all the way set out," said Bismarck resident Dawn Schulz.

You might be offering the deal of a lifetime, but that won`t do you much good if nobody can find the place. That`s why any signs or arrows you can put out ahead of time will help point shoppers in the right direction. Although, you`ll want to double check that you`re following the city ordinance.

"Since Wachter Avenue is the busiest, we have signs over there as well. So we`re pretty prepared to try to draw people into this area," Jose said.

Sellers like Schulz say the sales are a great way to get rid of old children`s clothes, and you don`t need to be a wizard to have a successful weekend.

"Mark it for what we think would be reasonable. Usually on the quarter so we don`t have to deal with dimes and nickels and set it low enough so it goes and we don`t have to take it back inside."

The weekend is also good for the buyer. If you don`t mind buying used, you can find goods for pennies on the dollar.

"We even have some diving gear in here if there`s anybody out there into scuba diving," Jose said.

"We don`t want anything coming back. That`s what a rummage sale is for. Clean out the house," Schulz said.

A chance for families to net a tidy profit, without sellers cleaning out their wallets, leaving plenty of change in their pockets.

Some other ways you can sell more of your goods, offer customers discounts on multiple items or knock a percentage off the price after noon, when the crowd typically starts to thin out.