Hi everyone!
I'm thinking of having a Garage Sale to get rid of unwanted stuff and at the same time make some cash to go towards savings etc.
Is it really worth all the time and effort or am I better off selling these items on Gumtree?
Are Garage sales usually held on both Sat & Sun..or what is the best day and times to run it?
Would also love some advice on how to set one up. Do I need tables, clothing rack etc.
Appreciate any advice and thanks for your help :)
Don't put the house number in the ad.
because some (profanity) will knock on your door at 4:30am to see if you are open already.
Yep, I made that mistake for my first garage sale, second time, no house number so they gathered at the end of the cul de sac waiting for someones garage door to go up.
I wonder if the neighbours trolled them by opening their garage doors, then driving out with their BMW's….?
Do you have worthwhile things to sell or just crap?
Price your stuff for a garage sale and not ebay. You will move your items quickly and you will be surprised just how quickly it starts adding up.
Start early, finish early eg 7-12 (unless you want to sit there all day, but the traffic slows down heaps after 11) and finish setting up before the starting time.
Either price your stuff with labels or know what you want for everything you put out for sale.
I have only held one garage sale, but it was a great success, in saying that i just wanted to get rid of everything so priced it all low. Held over 2 days, saturday and whatever didnt sell i put it ridiculously cheap the next day (like everything $1 or $2). We were going to donate it if it didnt sell.
I have been to alot of garage sales as a buyer though so they would be my tips
What do you earn per hour at your normal job? How much stuff do you have to sell and how much are you likely to make? I decided against a garage sale because when I worked out how many hours times how many people would be manning the sale, it didn't seem to make sense for me,
except must people are capped at 38hour working per week, this is extra coin - tax free too!
Technically you have paid tax already when you purchased the stuff with post tax income. It's more like a cash back.
The difference between a garage sale and a garbage sale is the letter b.
Be quick.
Be smart.
Be safe.
And most importantly be Safe.
So many garage sales turn up into garage sales.
You want lots of balloons.
I agree, this is a great tip I've used before. It shows people there is something happening and fresh blown up balloons show it is happening today (unlike some garage sale signs on poles which not very considerate people leave up there for weeks are the event).
My local free newspaper had many garage sale ads each week. Many advertisers didn't pay, so understandably the newspaper started insisting on pre-payment. Garage sale adverts reduced by 80% and signs like you describe now proliferate. Balloons indeed make a difference.
Create a big sign with
FREE*
*parking
Don't just dump all your sale items in a heap on a tarpaulin on the ground.
Put a price sticker on everything.
Put on a free sausage sizzle and I'll be there.
what size is the garage you are selling?
Whatever the size, I'll buy it for $3.50.
Yeah but they'll get you with the shipping charges…
Watch out for the gypsys as they have been in our local area going to garage sales and stealing iems by either outright stealing them or intimidating people for extremely-low lowballing and just throwing the money and leaving, that way it is almost impossible to prosecute.
Cross promote on local fb buy sell swap groups with a few photos of items for sale, but clearly state that there will be no holds - ppl much turn up on the day etc (unless you want to arrange pre sale with some ppl).
Recently helped with a family member's garage sale and they placed ads in the local papers and had ppl contacting them ahead of time wanting to come and see things and purchase. Buying at garage sales is a sport like hobby for a lot of people so it's amazing how into it they are!
In saying that, a lot of these ppl are after specific things - old vinyl, retro furniture that's worth $ etc.
When we last moved house, we had a garage sale. It was worth it for us, because we were able to get rid of the smaller stuff (e.g. kitchen utensils and crockery, kid's books and toys) that was just not worth listing on ebay/gumtree. We only needed one day to get rid of everything (Saturday, starting at 8am-4pm)
Tips:
-Set up everything the night before, because you will get rushed by early callers as soon as you open your garage doors in the morning!
-Use your dining table, coffee table to display stuff on (put a 'Not For Sale' sticker on it), and everything else can just go on the ground
-Instead of a clothes rack, you can secure a broomstick between two chairs
-Put price stickers on everything
-Have lots of change ready (or buy a Square reader to take EFTPOS payments)
-Advertise it on Facebook Marketplace, Gumtree (but as advised above, DO NOT put your house number in the ad)
-Make a big cardboard sign and put it up at the end of your street
-Price everything low, better to get rid of it than to pack it all away at the end of the day
-Check the forecast, and hold the garage sale on a sunny day
Yes, it is worthwhile, you make money, get rid of crap and don't even have to leave home.
Saturday morning only, no one shows in the afternoon or Sunday because all the good stuff is gone by then.
Gumtree buyers are known to be the weirdest out there but nothing wrong with cross promotion. Ie Men's pushibke with all details, pots and pans and when buyers contact you pick up is Saturday morning.
Signs! Must have legible signs including one in front of the house. It's amazing how many people don't have a sign at the house. Best option for the house one is stick on the wheely bin at the bottom of the driveway.
Make sure everything is clean and priced.
You guys are all awesome thanks sooo much for these great tips!
Garage sales - Having one next weekend and interested in some ideas.
Anyone got any good tips for running a garage sale?
Post it on Gumtree…
Pros will turn up long before the stated time. Long before. Like 7am when it says 9:30.
Be prepared to lose you faith in humanity as they haggle over a 50c vase, painting etc.
I think the best head space to be in is 'I was going to throw this stuff out, so you are saving me a trip'.
An ad on Gumtree listing heaps of items is useful, as, for example, I will bother to go to one that lists the tools on offer so I can tell it is someone clearing out grandad's shed or something, but if it just says 'clothes, tools, homewares' I assume it is just somebody clearing out junk.
If you can get a neighbour or two to join in, you will have a better turn up for a 'combined 3 houses sale'.
Look for local community garage sales where more traffc?