As our family goes through the international adoption process we have had the opportunity to host two garage sale fundraisers. They have both been extremely successful, not just in raising funds to help us along the way but in also helping to encourage our hearts. If you or someone you know could benefit from a fundraiser read on: today I am going to share my tips to hold a successful garage sale fundraiser.
one. Create an event on Facebook. Invite your friends who live in the area, and encourage them to invite their friends. Make sure you add a description of the event stating the date and time, as well as how the money will be used. As you set up for the event post pictures of what you will have for the sale on the event page.
two. Ask for donations. Many people have stuff in their homes that they would get rid of but don't have the time to hold a sale of their own. Let people know you can come pick up the items they want to get ride of, and will take care of pricing. Also, offer to donate any items that do not sell to local groups so they don't have to hassle with taking anything back.
three. Advertise. Hang signs in local businesses advertising the sale, and its purpose, a week or so before the sale date. Make sure the sign tells date, time, address, purpose of the sale, and some of the items that they can find at the sale. You can also put the sale in your local newspaper.
four. Set up. Give your self a few hours to set up. If you have never priced items for a garage sale before a good rule of thumb is to price items at about 10-20% of the original price. Hang a sign with prices for clothing items & books so you don't have to price each one individually. You can also put toys in totes and hang a sign telling the price for the items in the box. To keep it easy I kept everything in 25 cent increments. And remember, if it isn't in good enough shape to give to a friend don't put it in a garage sale.
five. Right before you open.
- Place a couple of large, bright garage sale signs along the road showing that there is a sale. Many people stop just because there is a sign along the side of the road.
- Have some change on hand {I had quarters and dollar bills}.
- Post on Facebook that you are open and share pictures of your sale set up. Put a reminder on your event page, personal page, and most importantly put it on local Buy, Sell or Trade Facebook groups. The people in these groups love a good deal and advertising on these pages, with pictures of the sale, always brought me the most traffic.
bonus. Thank you cards. I had thank you pictures printed at a local print shop to hand out at the sale. When people purchased something at the sale I gave them a card that had a picture of our family and a note of thanks for supporting us.
If you have any questions about hosting a sale please feel free to ask in the comments or send me an email. I would love to hear about the results of your fundraiser sale!