Lessons from a Garage Sale

This past weekend my family and I hosted a Garage Sale to raise funds for our Canadian Cancer Society Relay For Life team, the CareBears.

I was unprepared.

Actually, that’s an understatement. I’ve been so preoccupied with Market to the Moment lately, it seems as though I’m always working, or thinking about work.

I had ample notice. I’ve known about this event for about two weeks, and I had more than enough time to rummage for items to sell. Regardless, I found myself running around the house at 6:00am trying to make up for lost time.
Luckily, I had the foresight to stop at a local party supply store to buy make-up for the face painting kiosk that my family had already advertised and set-up.

I arrived an hour late. For anyone who knows me, this is typical.

We’ve had these kinds of events before. My parents hold a yard/garage sale almost every year. Until this year it was just a casual get-together where everyone sits around hoping that they make $10.00, but this year was more meaningful.

I learned three things from this event:

> I don’t have a knack for pricing items that you would sell at a Garage sale.

I remember the price of these items when I purchased them. I know how much I would expect to pay for them in a used item store, but when it comes to developing price points for my own junk, I just don’t know where to start.

I don’t go to a lot of Garage Sales. I’m not an Up-at-6:00am-Saturday-Morning-Bargain-Hunter. If I need something I’ll order it online, or even venture outside the house to a retail store to get it. If it’s on sale, fantastic. If it’s not, oh well.

In my experience, items bought from the end of someone’s driveway either don’t work once you get them home, or they have several vital parts missing.

> A Garage Sale is not a great place to raise funds for a cause.

We did have many people donate to the cause without purchasing anything. It seems as though everyone you meet now has a Cancer story.

The Bargain-Hunters were a little less understanding. The fact that we wouldn’t budge on our prices probably lost us a few sales, but I don’t feel bad about it. Honestly, I was disappointed that people still haggle over one or two dollars despite the fact that we had several huge signs stating that all of our proceeds were going to Cancer Research and Not-For-Profit Programs.

I had no idea that a child’s bike, barely a year old, was worth only $5.00 at a garage sale.
Especially when you are trying to raise money for Cancer. Seriously people.

> Don’t have tweens run the face-painting/candy skewer stand.

I probably don’t have to add much text to this lesson. We found our stand unorganized, uninviting and unmanned for the majority of the day.

Nothing says “come get your child’s face painted” like a huddle of scowling teenage girls.

The most valuable lesson of all: Don’t let someone else put a value on your cause.

If you believe in what you’re doing, don’t compromise because someone else has an opinion. Your opinion is just as valuable as theirs.

In the end we may have lost a few sales, but we feel better because we know that a person who would spend 5 minutes to talk you down $0.50 is not someone we want to do business with anyway.

Pamela Weir is a Marketing Copywriter. If you are looking for a sales writer with experience creating website content, press releases, squeeze pages, and sales pages, please visit her Copywriting Services page for more information.

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