Urban apartment dweller needs tips on holding a "garage sale" in my apartment (how much, phone)
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Hello, all. I am an apartment dweller in New York City and need to sell a bunch of stuff - furniture, artwork, clothing, decorative items, household things, etc. I've used eBay and Craigslist to sell things one at a time before (and Freecycle for giveaways), but now I am considering holding a "garage sale" in my apartment.
In this area, we also call them tag sales or moving sales (though I am not moving). I guess having a tag sale/apartment sale in an apartment is like throwing an estate sale, because people have to come inside my home. I've never done this before and I've only been to one or two apartment sales before (years ago).
I created a thread in the NYC forum but didn't get any responses from people who've actually done this, which surprised me. It is fairly common to see ads on Craigslist and flyers around town for these taking place in the city. Sometimes they designate hours on a weekend for people to show up like any garage sale would. But just as often, if not more, sellers post a phone number for people to make appointments. So I'm bringing my questions here...
Have any of you ever done this in an apartment? Was it successful? How did you get the word out, manage it, protect items you're not selling, and feel safe with people coming into your apartment? Would especially love to hear from people in urban areas.
I've been sorting through stuff, cleaning things, tagging prices, etc. I posted furniture on Craigslist and sold a chair the other day, which was great. But my big question now is whether I should sell my stuff by appointment or designate a day or two with specific hours for it.
There are pros and cons of both: Trying to make appointments, people might not show up, so I'd hate to be waiting for someone. However, it's much more manageable to just have one person come over. Holding a sale and advertising it has the potential for a crowd to show up (hopefully), and sell a lot of stuff at once, but it could be overwhelming and I would need someone to help me as well as make me feel more safe to let people in. I would have to keep certain items off-limits. My apartment is very small, also.
I'm nervous about doing this but really need the cash. I hope to sell almost all my non-essential belongings. Tips and suggestions welcome!
If your apt. has the space, put what is for sale all in one place. Preferrably near the front doo. Close off the rest of the partment with doors closed with do not enter signs or locked. If not able to close doors, put up sheets and drapes(bought from Goodwill et al, to create a closed space. Put them such that they hang high enough to not see over or under. Clip them all together so they do not have openigs to go through(except the one you know). Staples will work. Staples all the edges together.
Put the ad on Craig's list and make it a specofic day and hours. There will be a line outside the door at least an hour before.
Control the number of people allowed in to keep eyes open. Ask a friend or two to act as security. The more eyes the better.
It worked for me. Everything was gone in 2 hours. Except that ugly old couch. damn it.Godd luck with it and let us know the results.
Thank you. I was thinking about covering my bookshelves with garbage bags to protect the books and doodads I'm keeping. Good to know this isn't a farfetched idea - I thought it would look weird.
How far in advance did you post on Craigslist? A few days?
I don't really have many friends but I am thinking of this guy I know who might help. He's big and brawny.
Not specifically, but we have had several yard sales. We find them to be a waste of time. You spend two days preparing, two days sitting there at your yard sale a day cleaning up and you make maybe $300. That is with two people, so figure about 80 hours. That is a whopping $3.75 per hour.
Donate the stuff to Salvation Army and get a reciept. It takes a few minutes and you get a tax write off that will be equal to what you woudl make at a sale if you have a decent income.
I did this in Astoria. Posted on Craiglist for a Saturday and a bunch of people came by and took away a lot of stuff. If something doesn't have a price on it, they'll ask how much it is; if it's not for sale, say so. Keep your apartment door open and if you have a friendly neighbor, let them know that you may have people coming by so that there's someone around to keep an ear out. Have a friend stay with you if you can so that there's two people to watch your things.
Not specifically, but we have had several yard sales. We find them to be a waste of time. You spend two days preparing, two days sitting there at your yard sale a day cleaning up and you make maybe $300. That is with two people, so figure about 80 hours. That is a whopping $3.75 per hour.
Donate the stuff to Salvation Army and get a reciept. It takes a few minutes and you get a tax write off that will be equal to what you woudl make at a sale if you have a decent income.
I agree. My wife loves to waste time having yard sales, and as you said, she's lucky to net a few hundred dollars after its all said and done. Seeing how she usually does them as part of a neighborhood-wide garage sale weekend, she ends up spending most of her "profits" buying junk that other neighbors have for sale, so it ends up being more of a junk exchange than an actual sale.
I always load up whatever's left and take it to Goodwill- once it's part of the sale, it's not allowed back in the house. The tax savings that I get always far outweigh the money she makes, even before deducting what she spends at the neighbors'.
I had to postpone the sale due to some stuff I had to take care of, but still intend to hold one and proceed as planned.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Coldjensens
You spend two days preparing, two days sitting there at your yard sale a day cleaning up and you make maybe $300.
Quote:
Originally Posted by BobKovacs
... she's lucky to net a few hundred dollars after its all said and done.
I wouldn't sneeze at a few hundred dollars. Since I intend to sell some furniture as well, I hope to make more than that, but still - sometimes that's a make or break bit of money on whether I eat for the week. Last week I went to a gold refinery and brought some old rings that boyfriends had given me over 30 years ago and got about $300 for them. Believe me, I was very grateful for that. $300 for stuff that's been lying around for years? Heck yeah.
You need to find out what the regulations are in your city, you may need to get a permit, you also need to find out what your lease or apartment rules say about having a "garage" sale.
It is something some people think a few hundred isn't worth it ...
What would you be doing with that time otherwise?
You could check with people in your area who already have such a sale set up to see if you could consign some of your things into their sale, for a small percentage of the sales price.
If you do have a sale yourself, I agree with above posters to keep it to one room, cover all doorways and remove (or totally cover) anything that's not for sale. Don't worry about how it looks.
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