Garage Sale Tips to Success

One of the best fundraisers you can participate in as a church is a garage sale, rummage sale or bazaar. It doesn't matter what you call it as long as it makes money! You've probably had your own sale, you've probably been to a sale, and you know what is a good one and a bad one. Why spend all of your time and resources to have a bad event - make your garage sale the best one ever!

First, start by examining your location.

You don't have to have it at your church. It seems like the obvious location, except, are you limiting the people that attend? Sure, you have a welcoming church but this is about sales. Is there an outdoor location on a basketball court, parking lot, a dance studio, gymnasium, or community center in town that would donate their facility? This is about making money... think about your location.

Publicity
Online advertising is great, don't forget to highlight your event on your website. But really, will people not connected to your church hear about your event when they're never going to visit your website? Make sure you put out signs, especially in front of your church, had out fliers, maybe the kids in your group can volunteer to color grocery sacks with reminders of your sale and the grocery store can use those a couple days before the event. Local cable typically has a spot for community events. And of course if everyone in your church calls 10 people, you will generate word of mouth to hundreds, even thousands of people!

Catagorize Your Sale

Nothing is worse than coming into a sale and having to figure out where stuf is. Think of your sale like a major department store. You'll need a work out, kitchen, sporting goods, furniture and clothing section to name a few. In the clothing section, hang your items, arrange by size, if you have the time- sort by season and for sure by gender! It will take a little time, but your sales will increase. Sometimes, the best thing is to say, 5 shirts for $2.00. You'll get rid of almost everything because people will see it as a bargain!

Remember the goal is to make money so if the TV you sell brings in $5.00 and the shirt you sell is 25 cents, that's much better than only selling one shirt for $2.00 and no TV! It's about the bottom line, whole effort, have fun and visit my website: fundraiserbuzz.com for more ideas on fundraising success.