Rummage Sale - Glad it was a Success!

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We had our first EVER garage sale last weekend! And I was really glad it was a success! Woo-hoo!

The idea of doing this is to learn to let go, to make money and to donate some percentage of the proceeds to the chosen charity.

Last January when I started cleaning out my closet. Y'know, cleaning out your closet to make room for new things! :) It actually feels nice to be honest with what you will actually wear and what you won’t. No sense holding on to things that just take up the limited space in you're closet.

Indeed, having a rummage sale is a great way to get rid of things you no longer need and raise money for a cause. :)

If you're planning to do a garage/ yard/ rummage sale, here are some tips to help you.  Happy Selling! :)

Set the Date and Stick to it.
This is the first thing that you should do. By sticking to your date, you start planning other details such as "where" and "what" with greater confidence.

Choose and sort all the things you want to sell. A couple of weeks before your rummage sale, start thinking about what you want to sell. Just open your closet and you will surely find a lot of things that you can sell. Ask yourself, "What clothes do you no longer wear?" And instead of thinking “you might need that someday”, think about how great it will be to turn the item into cash! You would also be surprised at what people buy.

We ask the participants to make a list or a copy of their ledger of all the items that they want to sell

I did a major clean out and it feels soO good...

Clean
After you’ve gone through the motions of sorting and choosing, now you need to make sure everything is clean.

Wash, iron and neatly fold or hang all clothing.

Ask for a Permission
Check to see if your homeowners association or Brgy. Municipality has rules about conducting a sale.  Call them and inquire if there are permitting requirements.

Get ready with your "Letter of Authorization".

Consider finding a rummage buddy
This will also help to keep you motivated. Ask your friends, or neighbors if they are interested in having a sale of their own.  Remember, two heads are better than one. Two group - can get twice the traffic. And, just like in SEO, the more traffic, the more sale you have!

We invited friends via Facebook Event Page, where it becomes easy for us to communicate and share ideas.

From left to right: Me, Eden, Pinky, Joy (participants)

Pricing
Be certain to secure a tag to each item and record the costs on a sheet. This will assist you in keeping track of what you have sold and if for some reason the price tag should fall off.

If you are having a joint sale, be sure to mark your items with your own color/name tag.

I suggests that you start pricing your items a day before your rummage sale. Put initials on the price tag to credit who owned it. So you can still keep all like items together.

 

Advertising Use signs, balloons, flags and banners and get them high enough off the ground for the average motoring public to see. Use a map on your street signs to assist potential customers in finding your home.

On our case, we printed 2 tarps. The other one was placed in front of the village gate.
So people can easily locate our place.

It would also be best to create flyers that you can hang around the neighborhood or just anywhere that they’ll let you distribute it.

Layout
Create a layout that makes it easy for your customers to move around. Label everything clearly and group them together in a way that is visually appealing and easy to shop from (all clothes together, accessories, books together, etc).

Consider having some mellow background music to help with the “ambiance”. Keep the volume to a just-audible level though.

Lastly, smile as you greet your customers. A great smile and a likeable attitude will get you great sales and maybe even new friends!

Lesson learned: Just because you own something, it doesn’t mean that you have to keep it forever. :)

>> Check out the items that are still up for grabs