March 17, 2014

Ugh, We're Going to Have a Garage Sale, Any Tips?

I have a love/hate thing about garage sales. I used to love going to them, and now it's hardly worth the gas. I've always hate having them. However, we have too much stuff and don't want to just give it away. I'm not sure a garage sale isn't just giving it away by the time you add up the time involved.

Hubby wanted to have a booth at a flea market but the local organized monthly trade day closed down. I was ready to donate some and try to sell the rest on craig's list and ebay when a neighbor called and said some of the neighbors had organized a neighborhood garage sale. There will be at least four families so maybe that will be enough to draw people out of town. That's another reason I don't like having garage sales. We are off the beaten path. About seven miles off the beaten path.

But now we're obligated, and we've been dragging stuff out of the closets, going through boxes, and getting ready. Tonight we have to get into the attic. I dread that. I'm the only one who can stand up in there and only at the peak. Walking around hunched over isn't as easy as it was when I was thirty. I'd do it this afternoon so we could start pricing tonight, but I have to take Deedee to the eye doctor for laser surgery.

Our plan is to set up everything on tables in the garage and tag them with different colored tape. Different color for each dollar amount, and write the amount on there as well. I'll price in even dollar amounts except for a 50 cent box and free box. I thought I'd also group the stuff by price so it's easier for me to tell people how much something is if the tape falls off or they can't find it.

Then, on the morning of garage sale day, we'll move the tables outside and close the garage doors. I don't want to have to find sheets to drape over everything that isn't for sale and still have people going over there to peek behind them.

My neighbor also has a couple of friends who want to come over the afternoon before the sale starts because they work. She suggested notifying all the neighbors to come to the presale also. Sounds good to me.

Hubby is going to take off work and we'll both wear a fanny pack to keep the money close. Since it's just our stuff this time, we hadn't planned on keeping a tally of stuff sold. But I wondered if it wouldn't be a good idea to have an inventory sheet of some kind.

One neighbor is putting an ad in the paper, another is making signs, and I am placing the craig's list ad. We'll all have signs in our yards pointing the way to the next sale.

Any tips from your last garage sale?

7 comments:

  1. Just - good luck. I hate the thought of having garage sales so much, I never have had one. But I like to go to them. I just don't like people getting close to my stuff that isn't for sale.

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    1. Me too. That's why we are having it on the driveway and not in the garage.

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  2. My mom says I don't price my stuff high enough, but I'd rather get rid of it. It's going to Goodwill afterward anyway. Depending on the weather, you may want to have a cooler full of canned drinks. They sell well- maybe especially well if people are driving seven miles off the beaten path :)

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    1. I thought I'd have water. We tried soft drinks at our last garage sale and sold a few but then I was stuck with a case of soft drinks that I couldn't resist. ;)

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  3. Make sure everything is marked unless you want to spend the day dickering about price. If you really want to get rid of things, mark them with the bottom dollar price. It sometimes helps to have the cardboard soda or beer flats handy for "shopping baskets". Have lots of newspaper available if you are selling glassware. I have had great luck bagging small things in sandwich bags so the items are not easily hidden or carried off. Be prepared to "lose" some items (yes, people actually steal at garage sales). If you have large items, it might be helpful to have some muscle (a teenager) to carry items for the buyers.

    Have fun

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    1. That's a good idea about the cardboard flats. I've got some plastic grocery bags and paper. We plan on putting up a sign that says everything is half price the 2nd day. I just hope we have a 2nd day. Now they are predicting rain.

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  4. Good luck with your plans. Thankfully, My Guy hates garage sales as much as I do. So most everything just gets donated.

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