Ideas for Putting On an Neighborhood-wide Garage Sale

Planning and Coordination

1. Have a Primary Point of Contact
2. Form a Committee: Gather a group of neighbors to help plan and coordinate the event.
3. Set a Date: Choose a date that works for most residents and avoid major holidays or conflicting events.  Consider dates where people are likely to be staying close to home (not Spring Break).
4. Get Permits: Will you be closing a street? Contact the city.
5. Be a Good Neighbor –Let non-participating neighbors know that the even is going to be near them, especially if parking is an issue.  Nobody likes a blocked driveway.
6. Create a Map: Design a map of participating homes to distribute to shoppers.  Provide the participating homes with copies of the maps to distribute to shoppers. If you can, post the map online and provide QR codes.

Encourage Sellers and Items

1. Start Early: Let residents know this event is coming and to start collecting items they want to sell well in advance.
2. Encourage more items by:
   1. Consignment – Neighbors with just a few items to sell won’t bother to spend the day selling them so find neighbors who are willing to sell them for them. 
   2. Offering Help: Let people know that they can get help from volunteers to get their stuff ready for sale (i.e., unable to drag stuff out of basement or inability to work the sale all day). 
3. Get the Kids Involved – Opportunity for them to have a lemonade stand, sell cookies and treats.
4. Pricing: Suggest that sellers price their items reasonably and clearly mark prices.
5. Tables and Displays: Provide tables, racks, and other displays to showcase items effectively.

Promotion and Advertising

1. Flyers and Posters: Create and distribute flyers and posters around the neighborhood, central mailboxes, light posts, and nearby areas.  Community bulletin boards (i.e., co-op)
2. Social Media: Nextdoor, Facebook, neighborhood website and email list, Craigslist and OfferUp.  It can help to highlight a few items of high interest to draw shoppers in. Consider event websites like Eventbrite or Meetup
3. Word of Mouth – Have participants encourage friends, family, and colleagues to spread the word.
4. News outlets: The JOLT; Olympian event calendar
5. Signs: Place clear and visible signs on nearby busy streets a few days before the sale.
6. Donate a Portion of Proceeds: Suggest those participating donate a portion of their proceeds to be given for a community purpose. May encourage more shoppers, enhance the image of the neighborhood and the beneficiary may be willing to join in marketing the garage sale.
7. Reminders: Send out reminders as the event date approaches.
8. Promote Your Neighborhood Association – Don’t forget to brand your communications with information about how to get involved in your association.
9. Send a copy to the CNA: TheCNA can include it on their website and send to the other RNAs via email.

On the Day of the Sale

1. Early Setup: Start setting up early to be ready for early-bird shoppers.
2. Cash and Change: Ensure sellers have plenty of small bills and coins for making change.
3. Refreshments: Consider offering refreshments like coffee, lemonade, or snacks to attract more shoppers.
4. Safety: Ensure the area is safe for both sellers and shoppers.

Post-Sale

1. Donate Unsold Items: Find volunteers with trucks/vans to pickup unsold items and bring them to a charity (i.e., Habitat or Goodwill). This provides value to the community and makes neighbors participating in the sale more attractive.
2. Thank Participants: Send a thank-you message to all participants and volunteers.  Keep their emails and let them know more about the benefits of being involved in your neighborhood association.
3. Feedback: Gather feedback from residents to improve future garage sales.

If you have other ideas or tips about how to do this better, please contact CNA and we will add it to our list.

Download a PDF Printable Version