So, I piggybacked on a friend's garage sale earlier this summer, spent a day and a half and only made $15.  So today I found out a friend was having a sale, dropped off 4 boxes of clothes at her house, hoping to sell a little for money for a bill, or money for tp and shampoo! She said, fine, I'll mark them for you.  I also gave her a used computer for her school this fall, I hope she can use it.  She is a single mom, a friend of mine.

So, just curious, for those who have sales and let your friends sell, is it a huge favor, or just more stuff to help fill your garage up and not a big deal?   

latenightleader:

is it a huge favor, or just more stuff to help fill your garage up and not a big deal?   

My neighbor across the street has a garage sale once a year. I don't have a garage and weather is tricky. I've taken stuff over a couple of times, never sold anything and hauled it back home and then donated it. I do all my own pricing and bring over money for change. I am expected to sit with her through the busy time since she's had stuff stolen. For me, garage sales are not worth the bother.

I have had it go both ways.

I have had someone drop stuff off and had it be a real pain with having to tag and put things out without their help. They did have more than a couple of bags or boxes though. Half the stuff was theirs.

I have gone in with my in-laws where I was on my own with the sale and that was not difficult even though again, half was theirs. They had their things organised and tagged for me. For most things, I was able to leave it in boxes like shirts in one box which were all one price.

I would think it shouldn't be too big a hassle to deal with a few items or even a couple of bags or boxes.

 

 I've quit having garage sales and take everything to the consignment store. Keeps me from storing all that stuff for a year!

My personal opinion is that it wouldn't bother me if someone "piggybacked" on my garage sale, as long as they labeled things themselves or, better yet, came and set up AND worked their own table. My uncle used to have lots of garage sales and so, one time, I set up a table at his. I labeled my own things and stayed the whole time so that he didn't have to worry about separating all his money from mine.

I do like the idea of a few familes or people getting togehter to have one big garage sale. They do that a lot in my area. 

God bless,

Julie

Cinnamonhuskies:

 I've quit having garage sales and take everything to the consignment store. Keeps me from storing all that stuff for a year!

I do the same. I like the idea of keeping things and having one sale a year (perhaps use it for some extra Christmas money or something) but have never really had the room to store things. I just bring myself to donate. But it's kind of a shame because the one time I had my own garage sale and the other time that I just set up a table at someone else's sale, I really made some nice extra cash.

God bless,

Julie

I've piggybacked and let others piggyback with my sales.  Never a problem, but buyers these days don't want to pay anything.  I donate to Salvation Army.

-thyme2save

I think I last piggybacked on a sale that my neighbor was doing to get rid of some personal items.  Didn't make all that much money, but did get rid of things that needed to go. 

Two years ago some friends and I did the community garage sale to benefit rescue.  We had lots of new items, I mean sweatshirts that normally sell for $65 and it was insulting to have someone spend 20 minutes looking something like that all over and offering only $1 for it.  (The new items were hung on hangers on a garment rack with a large sign labelled NEW MERCHANDISE!)  I really need to have another one but with a schedule of work, walking the rescue dogs, rain earlier in the summer, putting in the garden, canning, and being sick earlier this month, I just haven't gotten around to working on it. 

A friend of mine has a garage sale each year.  He and his wife will put things out, everything clean, grouping like items together.  They will also put ice in a cooler and have bottled water and sodas, coffee, some packaged snacks.  (They mark up slightly on these items to cover the gas.)  But, they mark the items for the garage sale at prices where the stuff will move, since that is the objective.  If things don't sell, they will box up the newest items that have only been out this sale and those will go in the garage for the next sale.  Other items will go to local thrift stores.  They have other people piggyback with them, everyone marks their own items and those that are able will stay throughout the sale.  He and his wife do their sale on vacation time, it's kind of a party atmostphere with lots of talking to shoppers.  Their sales are always very successful, and you never know what you will find there:  collectibles, old pots and pans, furniture, always that "something for everyone" type of sale.  Then, they have a box in the basement, and as they clean throughout the year, items get added to the new garage sale box.  When they get that appropriate mix again, then it's time for the next sale.  I should probably add that both are adults and, although they do not have children, some of their friends do.  But it seems to me they don't put out much in the way of clothes at their sales, rather donate or consign them. 

There is usually someone in my family glad to have hand-me-downs, especially when I was buying nice things for the office.  I am now closer to retirement and more frugal in my choices, although when I bought new items, they were always on sale. 

I think it's a toss-up.  People have less money, have a set price in mind that they will pay for something, and will haggle. 

 It's been a year or more since I had a garage sale...done very well with them..my kids brought some things that I sold for them too at that time....I have always used the money made at my sales to stock my pantry with loss leaders, a BIG help for us....The sales I've went to this year don't seem to have as much useful things...mostly gadgets and nick nacks that you really don't need, so I haven't bought very much.....All though there is allot of little kids things, which I don't need... One thing that works real well is neighborhood sales...people in the same area have their own sale...people around here do that rather than take everything to one house...

juju_mommy:

I do like the idea of a few familes or people getting togehter to have one big garage sale.

One of the supervisors at my job comes a very nice, upper middle- to upper-class neighborhood and they do a big community yard sale every spring.  I've never been but other co-workers have and they say it is *the* place to go for good stuff.  I like church yard sales that are like this, too.  Just a lot people in one place; makes it easier than bouncing from sale to sale.