Cheap DIY Garage Sale Signs That People Won't Ignore (+ How To Make Them)

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Effective DIY Alternative Garage Sale Sign

Effective DIY Alternatives to Costly Garage Sale Signs

Garage Sale signs can make or break your sale, but you don't have to spend a lot of money on them. Free printable garage sale signs and homemade garage sale signs done well, can be just as effective as the retail variety — without eating a big chunk of your profits.

If you don't relish the idea of spending $25 - $50 or more on signs, take a look at these DIY alternatives. You probably have some of these materials sitting around your house ready and waiting to be repurposed into money-making, DIY garage sale signs.

Don't get me wrong.

It's not a mistake to buy good quality signs. In fact, if you routinely host a sale every Spring and Fall, a sturdy, reusable, weather-proof garage sale sign or two would be a smart investment.

Reusing the same signs year after year will not only save you some cash in the long run, but also a lot of time. (And everyone knows, time is money ;-)

On the other hand, it's hard to beat free. DIY Garage Sale signs reduce expenses AND your carbon footprint.

There's no right or wrong choice. But if you decide to make your own signs, keep this in mind:

People will judge your sale by your signs.

According to research, 79% of consumers believe that a sign's quality directly correlates to the quality of the goods or services offered.

It's just human nature.

When most shoppers roll up on a bad garage sale sign, their initial reaction is often, "Well, crap. This sale won't have anything but junk" (and not the good kind.) Or, "Do I really want to buy cast offs from a person who's that careless?" After all, Yard Sale finds don't come with a warranty.

Sloppy homemade signs undermine credibility which can hurt attendance and sales.

Of course, no one makes a bad sign, deliberately. Different people have different opinions about what looks good (or good enough.) But here's the thing:

It's not as subjective as you may think.

The advertising industry has invested billions on research determining exactly what works and what doesn't for every type of advertising imaginable, including yard signs. From the best sizes and colors to the ideal number of words, there are industry standards you can follow to create good DIY garage sale signs every time.

I put those standards to good use for years as an advertising consultant in my previous life. So before I show you alternative signs, I'll share some best practices with you.

—Skip the tips and take me straight to the signs—

TIP: Make your signs first. Don't wait until you've finished all of your other prep. Your DIY garage sale signs will turn out much better if you do them when you're fresh and not in a rush.

TIPS FOR MAKING GARAGE SALE SIGNS

LARGE AND IN CHARGE

Just like conventional signs, DIY garage sale signs must be large enough to be seen and read from the road. If they're too small, people either won't notice the sign, or won't be able read it.

Make your signs at least 9" x 12" or larger (18" x 24" is the most popular size.)

Text should be a minimum of 3" - 4" inches tall. (The industry standard is one inch of letter height for every 10 feet of distance between the sign and intended reader.)

Your sign doesn't need to be this large. But isn't it cool!?

LEGIBLE IS MORE CREDIBLE

The last thing you want to do is waste your time making signs people can't read.

Keep it Short and Sweet
Signs with crowded text are hard to read, so use the minimum number of words you need to get the point across and still leave around 30% empty space (a.k.a. white space.) The industry standard is 7 - 8 words, or less.
For most of your signs, the words "garage sale" and an arrow is all you need

TIP: Don't expect people driving through a busy intersection to remember your address. It's okay to include cross streets, but it's better to use the space on your sign for a great big arrow pointing the way to your sale.

TIP: If you add the days of your sale instead of specific dates (ie: "FRI & SAT" instead of "April 29th & 30th,") you can reuse your signs the following year.

Don't Wing It
A little planning can prevent your homemade garage sale signs from turning out crooked, bunched up on the right, or worse.
Pencil it Out
Use a straight edge and a pencil to lightly draw layout guide lines on your sign before you add your message.
First, measure the available space and subtract 2" margins on each side. Then, count your letters and divide accordingly.
The industry standard for spacing is half of the letter width in between letters in a word and the width of one letter in between words.
Be sure to draw lines that mark the top and bottom of your text to keep each line a uniform height all the way across.

Use an eraser to remove the lines when you're finished

TIP: Adding a border can increase how quickly people are able to read your sign by as much as 25%.

Pay Attention to Penmanship

When it comes to signs, poor penmanship is a deal breaker. If yours isn't so hot, you may want to:

Recruit/bribe a friend or family member to do your lettering for you
Use peel-and-stick letters, or a stencil
Or, create your sign text on your computer and attach the printed page(s) to your sign

FREE PRINTABLE!
Jumbo Size, 9 1/2 Inch Tall Garage and Yard Sale Letters

To make a large format sign, print each letter on a single 8 1/2 by 11" sheet and attach it to your sign via spray adhesive, Mod Podge, clear packing tape, nails or thumb tacks, depending on the material.
No Cutting Required
These jumbo size printable letters have transparent backgrounds so you can make them any color you wish. I print mine on colored paper that matches the color of my sign. That way I don't need to cut out the letters.
Grab the free printable Jumbo Size letters here.

Go Bold

DIY Garage Sale Signs with big, bold text have the most impact
Be sure to use a fat marker or wide paint strokes. Sharpie's Magnum Oversized Chisel Tip permanent markers have a 3/4 inch tip for creating extra-wide thick or thin marks.

If you make your sign on your computer, use a simple, bold, sans seraph font with lines (strokes) that are equally thick throughout. (Myriad Pro Bold and Bebas. are both free.)
Don't use more than two fonts
Save ALL CAPS for your headline.
Aim for a font size of at least 300 pixels (3") tall or taller
Never use a ballpoint pen to create a garage sale sign!

Choose Your Sign Colors Wisely

Some background and text color combinations are much harder to read than others. Steer clear of light text on a light background, dark text on a dark background and text and background colors that are very similar (ie: purple and blue or red and orange, for example.) They're especially hard to read from a distance. .

High Contrast Colors Work Best

If you want your sign to stand out and be read, choose high-contrast colors. Colors that are directly across from each other on the color wheel are attention-grabbing and easy-to-read. For example, yellow text on a blue background really pops. But the same yellow text on a white background is washed out.

According to a study by the Outdoor Advertising Association of America (OAAA,) the top three sign color combinations that are the most readable at a distance are: black text on a yellow background; black text on a white background; and yellow text on a black background.

If those colors aren't your style, don't worry. The O.A.A.A. recommends 13 additional color combinations for outdoor signage. Here they are ranked in order of readability:

4. white on blue

5. green on white

6. blue on yellow

7. white on green

8. white on brown

9. brown on yellow

10. brown on white

11. yellow on brown

12. red on white

13. yellow on red

14. red on yellow

15. white on red

The same study also found that high contrast colors can improve outdoor advertising recall by 38%

TEST YOUR SIGN

How do you know if you got it right?

Test Your Sign for Readability:

Step back 10 feet from your computer screen or 30 feet from your sign. Allow yourself just three seconds to take it in noting how much you're able to read and what, if anything, isn't readable.

Test Your Sign's Color Contrast:

Print a black and white copy of your garage sale sign or snap a pic of your sign with your smart phone and apply a black and white filter to it. You should be able to see where the colors separate. If you can't tell where one color ends and another begins, the color contrast isn't high enough.

TIPS FOR MAKING UNCONVENTIONAL SIGNS

You can turn just about anything into a garage sale sign -- furniture, appliances, scrap wood, old signs, textiles, sporting goods, bakeware, salvaged car parts and more -- but not everything should be a garage sale sign.

You definitely want to pass on using:

Anything potentially dangerous such as glass, sharp metal, large furniture or appliances at risk of tipping over and hurting someone...etc.

Anything you don't want to lose. (Someone may walk off with it.)

Things you can't quickly set up and take down by yourself.

Anything that's not rated "G for All Audiences"

Remember to:

Check city ordinances and HOA rules. Your non-conventional garage sale sign may not be allowed. (It may be too large, for example.)

Secure any part of your sign that may flap in the wind to keep it from obscuring your message

Ask the homeowner's permission to place a sign on a corner lot

Add matching balloons, pinwheels or streamers etc. to every sign so that shoppers are able to distinguish which signs are yours and follow them to your sale.

Place a sign about 15-30 feet back from the stop sign or traffic light on all 4 corners of major intersections near your home and a sign with an arrow at every turn from there to your house.

Take down your signs after your sale.

GET A LEG UP WITH FREE PRINTABLES

If you're not up to making garage sale signs from scratch, grab a free, high quality garage sale printable from my exclusive collection!

Signs 1 | Signs 2 | Signs 3 | Clip Art | Graphics

(New!) Be Fun! Be Different! Get Noticed. Use our fun, free Yard Sale flyers to stand out from the crowd.

Now, here they are without further ado...

ALTERNATIVE DIY GARAGE SALE SIGNS

Some of the signs in this roundup don't meet 100% of the recommended criteria, but they're good for brainstorming. If you decide to copy one, my advice is to make your version even better by following the design rules!