Going out of business signs seems to be the Trend now. It is hard to see your favorite store close down due to the lack of sales. The idea of more people losing their job is heartbreaking. However, the last 2 weeks, I have been busy helping a friend of mine.
Tina had a small gift store in Las Vegas. Most of her sales came in from local residents.
Tina does not sell online. She had a very bad experience with a buyer online; which made her decide selling online was not for her.
I have been very busy and had not checked-in on Tina for some months. When I contacted her a few weeks ago, I was sad to know how much she was affected by the current economy.
The landlord for her retail space informed Tina, that he would serve her with the eviction papers, but would give her One Week to get her affairs in order before serving her. This of course is a kind action by the landlord.
Tina, had a lot of inventory in stock. She could not return the merchandise to her supplier as the grace period had expired.
With no money for advertisement or even money for the electrical bill for the month. It was hard to see the light at the end of tunnel.
So, we came up with a plan! We advertised on Craigslist for the last 10 days! Of course all her inventory was placed at rock bottom prices. This is what we did:
1) Mon-Wed we advertised on Craigslist for a Clearance SALE.
2) Thursday we cleaned up and sorted out what was left behind
3) Friday advertised on Craigslist for a FINAL Clearance SALE
4) Saturday had a garage sale at a friend’s house (due to Home Owners Association – we cannot hold garage Sales at our place of residence)
5) Sunday had a garage sale (same friends house)
6) Monday Final Sale at the Store
7) Tuesday cleaned out the store took inventory to her garage
Wednesday – Turned the keys over
9) Thursday she drove to Orange County to hold a Garage Sale at her Moms’ home
10) Friday – advertised on Craigslist and posted flyers
11) Sat – Sun Garage Sale

Of course I purchased some items to offer online. However, due to the urgency she had to get out of the retail location and make some money to make it through the holidays this was the best thing for her to do.
With all that she sold she can survive and focus on getting back up for at least 4 months. We factored in money for her kids, Misc, Holidays and for some new inventory.
I must say, Craigslist was the reason she was able to bring traffic to her store and the Garage Sales; both in Las Vegas and Orange County. Of course it helped that she drastically cut prices. The landlord allowed her some time to get out. This allowed her to hold a final sale and avoid being locked out and loosing it all.
Many of you may not have new inventory to hold such a sale. You may have items around your home. More and more people are holding garage sales at this time. Selling online is not for everyone. You can use the Free Classifieds such as Craigslist to announce your Sale or Garage Sale.
Craigslist was created for this very reason, to help the community. I must say that I am very grateful that we were able to get traffic the way we did.
You can visit Craigslist.org
Create User Account and start listing
Take images if possible of your items
Review other listings to get an idea on how to write your ad
Select a Category
Provide your contact info or location
Provide images
…….then wait for the calls or emails to come in

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