How to Organize a Garage Sale Fundraiser

Garage/Yard/Rummage sales are a great fundraiser for your group. Not only can you earn a significant amount of money for your group but it also represents a fun event where members can get acquainted and make a difference.

Though more difficult than a walk in the park, organizing a multi-family garage sale need not be brain surgery with the following tips.

Difficulty: Moderate

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Gently-used donations that are of value (i.e., NO JUNK)
• Truck (rental or group members)
• Big sign
• paper/packing tape/scissors (for day of signage)
• colored circle stickers (for pricing)
• cash box with small change ($1,$5,quarters)
• Folding tables, standing clothing hangars, blankets for displaying goods
• Tax deduction forms (for members donations if applicable)
• Qlubb.com or other online sign-up, collaboration site

1. 
   Qlubb - Real World Groups...Only Easier

   SETUP UP A GROUP SITE
   
   Setup up a Qlubb (www.qlubb.com) or an area on any other group collaboration site (e.g., backpackit). You are going to need this to coordinate the efforts of many members. You will need online sign-up sheets, automatic reminders. Otherwise, good luck with the paper sign-up sheets, phone calls and email triangulation!

2. CHOOSE A DATE
   
   * Saturdays are the best days, as bargain hunters and families often make a weekend event out of it.
   * Holiday weekends are NOT good as people are often out of town or have special plans.
   * Spring is the best time to have garage sales. Fewer chances of rain and frequently free weekends.
   * Summer is not a good time as families usually have weekend and/or vacation plans.

3. CHOOSE A TIME
   
   * Early mornings are prime time for garage sales as buyers are flush with cash and energy.
   * An 8 or 9am start is good and a 1 or 2pm end is good. There are several reasons for this 5-6 hour sale.
   * Most garage sale shoppers like to go in the morning and keep their afternoons free for other things
   * Most garage sale volunteers get tired after 1pm (usually hungry).
   * The remaining unsold items need to be donated to Goodwill or Salvation army which often close at 4pm on Saturdays – so leave sometime to clean-up and transport to these places.

4. CHOOSE A LOCATION
   
   The location is very critical to the success of the event. Ask around your group to see if anyone is willing to sacrifice their Saturday weekend for complete strangers to come traipsing onto their property.
   
   Some useful location criteria:
   * Choose an upper-middle class area/city – Garage sale bargain hunters believe that better goods are to be had in better neighborhoods.
   * Make sure that the location you pick has adequate street parking. Most garage sale hunters are not going to be your neighbors and will likely find your garage sale online and drive to the sale.
   * Choose a location that has a Salvation Army/Goodwill that is open on the day of sale. It will be easier to get unsold items before they close.

5. ACCEPT DONATIONS
   
   Donations are obviously the key to a successful garage.
   * Gently used household appliances, household goods, baby/children, and hardware/tools are always high in demand by garage sale hunters and, as a result, can fetch higher prices.
   * Though books and clothing are often the most plentiful types of donations, they often are considered commodities and are not big revenue drivers. (However, the exceptions are rare books, author-signed books, designer clothing, and wedding dresses!)
   * NO Computer or monitors or old, old tvs (unless they are antiques). They are usually of no value and can not be donated nor discarded.
   
   What I have found to be the most effective and convenient way for group members to donate goods is to have a lock able moving truck (10-ft or so depending on the volume of donations) parked in front of the school/playgroup 1-2 days prior to the sale. The advantages of this approach are:
   * Parents can drop off and store the donations at any time without needing to confirm/arrange with the host family.
   * All the items are located in one area with one loading/unloading.
   * The host family doesn’t have to clear out any additional space in their home.
   * The truck is useful for delivering the unsold items to Goodwill/Salvation Army.
   
   Ideally, someone in your group will have a truck otherwise the cost for truck rental is anywhere from $50-$100, depending on the number of days rented (usually 2 days is more than enough).
   
   For example, if you rent the truck on Thursday at 3pm, parents can start donating after school Thursday through after school Friday. On Saturday morning, the truck is driven to the garage sale home and unloaded. At the garage sale’s end at 1pm, all the remaining unsold items can be loaded back into the truck and delivered to Salvation Army. This should allow for the truck to be returned by 3pm Saturday afternoon. (2 days of rental)

6. MARKET THE EVENT
   
   The best place to market garage sales is Craigslist-which is free. The keys to making an effective post are the following:
   
   * Make the event title catchy – talk up the number of families, list the marquee items, describe the location (e.g. “10-family Rummage sale in Scarsdale – Maclaren strollers, designer handbags, kitchen appliances)
   * Include both marquee items and categories in the garage sale description.
   * Include pictures in the description
   * Obviously, include the time and address in the description. But if possible also, upload a map of the location.
   * Post it on Craigslist twice, once on Thursday for the planners and once on Friday night for the last minute bargain hunters.
   
   Also take advantage of the group’s network.
   * Encourage the group to notify their friends about the sale through email.
   * Put up posters on the streets. Get posters made up for posting on major intersections to lead casual passersby to the sale. Keep the posters simple, as commuters don’t have time to read the fine print.
   * Place the posters up the night before the event.

7. MANAGING THE DAY OF THE GARAGE SALE
   
   Like a wedding, the day of the garage sale will go by in flash, with unplanned surprises, missing supplies, missing volunteers, etc. The only thing you can do is to expect the chaos and just go with it – the garage sale should be fun not a source of anxiety.
   
   * Put all the tasks and shift up on Qlubb and ease your mind! Put all the hour-long shifts and responsibilities up on the shared to-do list on Qlubb and have members assign themselves - plus Qlubb will send them reminders the night before.
   * With 3 or 4 volunteers, expect an hour to an hour and a half for setup. Be warned that hungry, bargain hunters will know this and searching for gems the moment you open the truck door to unload Ask them to wait until everything has been unloaded.
   * For each hour-long selling shift, make sure that you have at least 2 volunteers with one person ALWAYS primarily responsible for the cash box (I don’t know HOW many horror stories I have heard about cash boxes being stolen).
   * At clean up, have three or four volunteers available to clean up the site and load the truck up for the trip to the Goodwill/Salvation Army.

Tips & Warnings

• Though it may seem intimidating at first, it really doesn’t have to be. With Internet resources like Craigslist for advertising the event and Qlubb to organize/communicate the event, organizing a multi-family garage sale isn’t as overwhelming as you may think.
• Don't sweat it... Like a wedding, let it run its course. It will turn out fun and fruitful for your organization
• Again, always have one person always responsible for the cash box!

Resources

• Qlubb-Real World Groups...Only Easier

[tanyabracco]

on 10/23/2008 very detailed and organized, thanks