[ Back | Home | Email Rainbow.org's owner | Complete Site Map ]
The Newbie's Guide to Organizing a Profitable Garage Sale
Yard Sale and Rummage Sale, too! - with plenty of details and advice
A Garage Sale is a great fundraiser to have. However, unless your Assembly has a tradition of having an "Annual" garage sale, it can be hard to get everything planned out and coordinated. Here are some helpful notes and ideas.First off: Plan your sale EARLY; well before you are installed Worthy Advisor. Many households will just donate their old items and clothes to Goodwill (or a similar organization) towards the end of the year, to use the receipts for a tax writeoff.
Timeline: (assuming you are having a garage sale in July; adjust as you see fit to accommodate your sale)
December/January
Send home a note with each member, informing their families how much it would be appreciated if they would please set aside their donations of old clothes, books, toys, and other items for the Assembly's garage sale in July, and that further details will follow after your Installation. If your Assembly has a newsletter and/or a website, submit the information there as well.
late March/early AprilPost an eye-catching notice on the bulletin board at the Masonic Hall (or wherever you meet) asking the adults (Masons, Star, Amaranth) to please set aside old clothes, books, etc. for your garage sale in the summer. Mention that your Assembly will provide a pick-up service for the items approximately a week before the garage sale, and to contact you or the Mother Advisor for more details. Provide phone numbers. See about submitting this info to the Lodge's Trestle board, or the Star or Amaranth newsletter as well.
Before a meeting, ask the current Worthy Advisor if you can have a bit of time during New Business to bring up the garage sale. When it's your turn to speak, inform the girls and adults that you are planning on a garage sale for one of your fundraisers, and that you hope they can save up their old and used items for the sale. Also, ask if anyone lives in an area (block, community, neighborhood, etc.) that has an Annual Garage Sale that any home in the area can be a part of, or if anyone lives in an area that is on a large street, or right off one, that might be willing to "host" the sale, which would consist of a Friday evening set-up, and Saturday sale. Write down any offers from girls or adults, and follow up on them (sometimes a girl will say yes, but Mom or Dad will say NO).
If you're going to have it at the Masonic Hall vs. a private home, find out who you have to talk to for permission, what any costs/rules would be, would you be able to use the tables, etc.
Start looking in the classified section of the newspaper, and perhaps the Pennysaver, for Garage Sale ads. See how they're listed, and which items come first (example: some papers list "AAAAA" first, others list "A Sale" first). See what prices are for a basic ad, and what adding on an icon (like a starburst, arrow, or "L@@k!") would cost. Find out who will pay for this ad; your family, the Board, the Parents/Boosters Club, or the Assembly.
early- to mid-JuneChoose the date for your sale. Make sure it isn't on a holiday weekend, when people are likely to be out of town. Also, if your city has an annual festival (Bean Festival, Chocolate Festival, etc.), that probably isn't a good time to have a sale. (Unless your sale happens to be located right near the festival grounds.)
Finalize a location for the garage sale. This can be done during Unfinished Business (ask the Worthy Advisor for permission to speak before the meeting), or by talking on the phone to the people who offered back in Winter. It is probably best to phone them yourself, as a discussion during the meeting could go on for quite a while. Ask the "host" what kinds of tables they have to set things out on, and if the "pick-up" groups can drop stuff off to be stored in their garage the week before the sale. Decide on a time for set-up the day before (example: 7 pm till 8:30 pm). Also ask them if, for the day of the sale, girls can put their lunches and drinks in their fridge. Finally, ask them what hours for the sale are okay with them (some garage sales start at 6:30 am - others at 9). Consider asking if it's possible to have a few girls to stay the night to deal with any "early birds" that may show up.
Remind the girls about asking their families to continue to set aside items (as now is the traditional "Spring Cleaning" time). Update for newsletter and website. Also, update your bulletin board notice, and resubmit the request to set aside donations for the garage sale to the adult groups' newsletters. State the date & location of the garage sale, and to call you or the MA at least ten days before the sale to schedule a time for pick-up of their donations. Provide phone numbers.
Tell your MA (or whoever the other contact person is for the pick-ups) to take down the person's name, phone number, address, if they have anything large or heavy like furniture (or just smaller bags of clothing, boxes of books & other things), and what times/days they will be at home. Remind your parents to do the same if someone calls when you are not home.
Talk to the Mother Advisor and/or Board Chair about the cash box for the garage sale. Will money be taken from the Assembly's account (say, $25), and put in the box in small change, $1's and $5's? Will a Board Member or parent who will be there for the opening of the garage sale "loan" the money to the cash box, and be reimbursed at the next meeting?
JulyPhone Goodwill (or a similar organization) and find out about them coming to pick up any "leftovers" from the garage sale you may have. Do they come out that day? Sometime the next week? Do you have to bring the items in?
During a meeting, discuss the Garage Sale, and take signups (girls and adults) for both the set-up, and the sale itself. Break the schedule into shifts (example: 6:30 am setup till 9:30, 9:30 till 12:30, 12:30 till close & cleanup). If needed, ask if any of the girls and adults have folding tables (the long kind, preferably) or portable clothes racks (to hang up dresses, etc.) that can be "borrowed" for the sale. Remind them the items will need to be there for the set-up. Ask if anyone can bring some grocery bags (paper or plastic) to stick purchased items in, and cheap wire hangers to hang clothes from. Finally, ask girls (and adults) if their household has items they're willing to donate for the garage sale, and if they need any help moving a particularly large or heavy item. Take notes for everything.
Also take signups for "pick-up groups"... girls and adults who can go to houses of the Masons, Star, & Amaranth members who are donating items, load the donations up, and deliver them to the location of the garage sale a few days before the sale.
If needed, post another update on the Masonic Hall's bulletin board.
Write up an ad for the classified section of your newspaper (and perhaps the Pennysaver). Make sure you submit it in enough time, and that it will be run on the correct dates. (Some newspapers run the ads for two days, so you would want it run Friday and Saturday) Keep it short (less words=less cost), and try to get it listed first, alphabetically. Example: AA Garage Sale! July 21st, 7am-3pm. Clothes, toys, appliances, lots of great misc! 123 W. Maple, 1 block east of School St.
Ten days before the saleHave a sign-making party at your house. Black magic marker words on florescent posterboard is eye- catching, but stick with lighter colors like yellow and green, maybe pink. You can probably get two or three signs per piece of posterboard. Keep them simple, with easy-to-read print. "Garage Sale, Sat. 7/21 - 7AM-3PM, 123 W. Maple" and an arrow pointing the correct direction will work. Tip - don't put the arrowhead on until you're ready to hang the sign, so it can be used either direction.
Find out if there are any city ordinances about hanging signs for garage sales.
Get together with the Mother Advisor (or whoever your other "contact" person was for scheduling pick-ups) and get the entire list of who has items to be picked up, what their addresses are, the times/dates they're available, and what kinds of items there are. Figure out where each "pick-up" is located, and divide them into clusters for each "pick-up group". Phone each "pick-up group" and give them their list (who, where, when, what, and phone number, in case of problems). Let them know when it's okay to drop items off at the location for the sale.
Five days before the sale
Have your phone committee call the girls and adults, reminding them about a) the setup, what time it is, and to bring any donated items, tables, bags, etc.; and b) what time(s) they signed up to work Saturday. Remind them to bring their own lunch and drinks (unless you're lucky and the Parents/Boosters Club will provide lunch and drinks for the workers).
Day of set-upCheck with the newspaper to make sure the ad will be run on the appropriate dates.
Talk with the Mother Advisor to see if any late donations have been called in. Also call your "pick-up groups" to see how things are progressing.
Phone your "host" and remind them you'll be there for set-up on Friday at the time you decided upon.
Be there on time, preferably a few minutes early. Have the pre-made signs, big markers (to draw the arrowheads), thick/heavy-duty tape (packaging or duct tape) to hang the signs with, fine-tip markers and several rolls of masking tape (for price tags), pencils (for pricing on books and other paper items), thick white paper (for making signs for tables or other areas), and a few extra sheets of butcher paper or posterboard. Also bring your sign-up list, to remind the girls and adults when they are supposed to be there the next day.
Day of SaleSend a group of girls and an adult off to hang signs, with a marker (to draw arrowheads) and tape. Remind them not to put signs where they might obstruct vision (for drivers or pedestrians). Have them make a list of where they put the signs, for the clean-up crew the next day.
Have the people who brought tables or clothing racks for holding items mark their items in an inconspicuous place with a masking tape "label". Remind them to pick them up the next day.
Have the rest of the girls and adults sort through the donations, putting clothes, books, music, videotapes, kitchen items, breakables, etc. in their own sections. Hang long clothes (like dresses) and things like jackets. Write prices on the tape and stick the tape on the hanging clothes. For the table, a sign saying (for example) "adult clothing, 75 cents each / children's clothing 50 cents each" will suffice. Put one on either side of the table, in plain sight. The books and magazines can have the prices written on the inside cover in pencil, and the box or table for the books can have a sign "Books/Magazines priced as marked". Sort similar items in like groups, and price as you see fit. If you have something that plugs in (like a hair dryer, or radio), have one of the adults test it to see that it works (point out that they can do it while sitting down, if you need to). If it does work, write "works fine" below the price.
Decide where the table with the cash box will be. Make sure you have plenty of bags nearby, and put a sign on the table that says "Cashier" or "Pay Here" on it. Have a calculator handy in case someone will need it to total things up.
Tables and other things used to hold merchandise for sale should be marked "Table itself not for sale", "clothing rack itself not for sale", "chair itself not for sale", "this boat is not for sale" etc. People do ask, and about the weirdest things (like hanging plants).
Assuming this is a garage sale, make sure all tables and merchandise are carried into the garage for the night, ready to be quickly brought out into the driveway and yard for tomorrow. Otherwise, make sure that the items are safe until tomorrow, according to where the sale is located.
Remind whoever is in charge of the cash box to be there first thing with the appropriate currency ($1's, $5's, $10's, quarters, dimes, nickels, etc.)
Get there early and set out the tables and merchandise. Check to make sure signs are all okay and items are all priced. Make sure there is plenty of room to walk between tables and other items (like furniture).
After it's all overMake sure the girls and adults have NOT parked just in front of the "host's" house. They need to park a little ways away, to leave room for the customers. See if one of the vehicle owners would be willing to have a nice big posterboard sign on their front and/or rear windows, advertising the garage sale, parked near a corner.
Tell the girls and adults to bring their purses, jackets, etc. into the house for safekeeping.
Have sticker name tags for the people working, with their first name and "Garage Sale Assistant" on it. This way girls can walk around the sale, answering questions, tidying up scattered clothing and other items, and keeping an eye on things. I hate to say it, but some people steal 10-cent items at garage sales, for no other reason than "because they can". You don't want to lose any potential profit to someone's five-finger discount.
Have two girls at the cash box at all times, trading places with other girls every 20 minutes or so. Have them fold clothes (shaking them out, in case someone's hidden something in it) and place the purchased items in plastic grocery bags.
If things get slow, you've got an over-abundance of clothing, or it's towards the end of the day, consider having a "Special". Put a big sign on the clothing table saying something like "Fill a paper bag with items from this table for only $2!" Or, if it's the last hour or so, have a big sign in plain view of the street that says "Fill a paper bag with items; only $2!" If you have large items still, like a desk or floor lamp, you can write underneath "furniture & other large items excluded".
You can also have creative "discount" signs, like "50% off anything RED", "50% off of any book printed before 1970" up for a short time.
Bag or box up the leftover items from the garage sale. Make sure the arrangements for the Goodwill pickup are clear.
At the next meeting:Assign one girl and one adult to count the cash box, and make sure the money is given to the correct person for immediate deposit in the bank.
Identify the owner of any tables, clothing racks, etc., and make sure they're on the way to pick them up.
Send two or three girls and an adult to go take down the signs posted yesterday. They will probably need a knife to cut the tape. Make sure the signs are disposed of properly.
Verify that there are no messes in or around the garage, or inside the house where lunches were eaten.
Suggest that this garage sale be made an annual event, if it isn't already!
And you never thought it would be so much fun to get rid of all your old, outgrown, boring items, did you!
Version 1.0 - 08/02/01
This text file is copyright © 2001-2002 by www.rainbow.org. Rights to reproduce this text online or in print are granted, provided you do so in its entirety, giving credit to the author, postmaster@rainbow.org, and providing the URL: http://www.rainbow.org/garagesale.html on any copies you make.
[ Back | Home | Email Rainbow.org's owner | Complete Site Map ] [EoF]
