We had a problem.
A pile of stuff was growing in our garage.
We didn’t have quite enough to host our own garage sale because we got rid of so much stuff during our move and my simplify purge last year. We also donated a ton to two Young Life garage sales over the past two years.
But, the pile of stuff still grew.
After talking with a few of our friends we discovered that all of us shared this same problem and we decided to do something about it. The Berres volunteered to host because their garage is large and they live in a high traffic area. Perfect. Everyone had an assigned tag color and we all prepped our own stuff. We brought it over on a Friday night and held our sale on a Saturday morning from 7-12. It was a blast. Everyone worked hard, the kids played, and then we all went home for lunch and a nap with less wasted stuff in our homes and more money in our pockets. The Bear had possible the best day of his entire life and then took a 3 hour nap. Hallelujah. Everybody wins.
I asked my lovely co-hosts to share their best tips for throwing a multi-family sale. They came through with some fabulous suggestions. Gather a few friends or a few other families and throw a sale of your own.
Ten Tips for a Group Garage Sale
1) Designate people for each part of the sale. (adding up purchases, making change, bagging purchases, tracking tags, organizing, watching for shoplifters, etc)
2) Assign each family or person a different colored sticker to tag their stuff.
3) Take the time to price all of your stuff. You will make more money in the end.
4) Bring plastic grocery bags to help people carry their purchases home. This is a great way to get rid of all those unwanted Walmart bags.
5) Have a sheet with each families name at the top. Place the tags from their sold items on their page to track their sales. This makes it a cinch to add up at the end.
6) Bring a calculator. Trust me on this. You are not as good at math as you think you are.
7) Set up the night before and start early, but don’t put your signs out until you are ready to go. If you advertise online and in the paper, be ready a half hour before you said the sale started. People are crazy and will show up at the crack of dawn for a deal.
8) Price reasonably. No one cares about your emotional attachment to that old blender. They just want a deal.
9) Merchandising is key. Display your stuff so it is easy to sort through. Bring as much stuff out in to your driveway and yard do that people aren’t crowded and can easily see things. Display like things together.
10) Remember the point of your garage sale is to empty your home of stuff you don’t need or want without sending it to the landfill. Making money is secondary and an added perk.
Bonus: Pass out your old wedding favors as freebies to customers. (See below.)
If you have enough folks, sell water and soft drinks to your shoppers. They will appreciate it and you can make a few extra dollars. Good luck!
Have you ever thrown a group garage sale? Share your tips in the comment section below.
