We used 15 tables of varying sizes, plus a door placed between two tables, PLUS boxes of books on folding chairs. And we needed every inch. We got rid of a LOT of stuff!
The garage sale went quite well. We made $537, although probably half of the items that brought in big money were from other people. The dialog went something like this:
ME: "My husband wants to have a garage sale, although I keep telling him we don't have enough stuff."
FRIEND/BOSS/RELATIVE: Oh, I have some stuff I was just going to drop off at the thrift store. Do you want it?
ME: Sure! Do you want half the profits?
FRIEND/BOSS/RELATIVE: Nah. Just keep it. I was just going to donate the stuff anyway, and garage sales are a lot of work.
So that's how we got the Wii, the steam mop, the party dresses, and the scooters. We did have some big things that were ours: the bodhran, the pull-up bars, and the small table. We probably priced things way too cheap, but, hey, they are out the door.
My biggest garage sale tips are:
1) Join a neighborhood garage sale if possible
2) "All unmarked items .25" - or .50, or whatever. Saves SO MUCH time!
3) Signs: "All plants $3" "All books _____" "All fabric = make an offer."
4) Start working on it a few months in advance. It's still way too much work for the $ you'll get, but you won't notice as much!
5) Try to have at least three people there for safety as well as convenience. Oh, and occasionally bring the profits into the house in case you do get robbed.
6) If someone does want their profits back (or part of their profits back) then they need to do their own pricing.
I actually rather enjoyed this garage sale. Most of the work was done in a leisurely fashion, and it felt good to get things out of the house. We made more than enough to pay for the freezer. People were quite pleasant despite the heat. I like sales. It was all good.
It's still my last one, just because there are other things I'd rather do more. But it wasn't a bad experience.
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