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Garage sale questions

Axtman

Axtman

Supporting Member
Mar 3, 2008
2,573
4,709
Seattle, WA
#1
I am planning on having a musician's garage sale sometime this summer (or fall). I have a bunch of odds and ends (pedals, parts, pieces, speakers, amp projects, cables, books, etc.) I will not be putting out any expensive items (I don't really have much of that anyway). All my items will probably be under $100. The objective is to clear out miscellaneous stuff.

1) I am a bit nervous about people knowing where I live and thinking my house is full of priceless gear (it is not).

2) I would like to limit this sale to only music gear, not typically garage sale junk.

3) A few friends that I have told want to join me, but I know it is a hassle to keep items straight, and it is my sale! Get your own sale!

What are your thoughts?
 
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#5
A couple years ago I cleared out a bunch music stuff with a garage sale. Other than a guy lowballing everything, it was fine. Heck, anyone walking past my house on a random Thursday evening wound know I'm a musician because the bassment windows are rattling.
 
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#7
Axtman said:
I am planning on having a musician's garage sale sometime this summer (or fall). I have a bunch of odds and ends (pedals, parts, pieces, speakers, amp projects, cables, books, etc.) I will not be putting out any expensive items (I don't really have much of that anyway). All my items will probably be under $100. The objective is to clear out miscellaneous stuff.

1) I am a bit nervous about people knowing where I live and thinking my house is full of priceless gear (it is not).

2) I would like to limit this sale to only music gear, not typically garage sale junk.

3) A few friends that I have told want to join me, but I know it is a hassle to keep items straight, and it is my sale! Get your own sale!

What are your thoughts?
Click to expand...


Think about this…
SoonerBill said:
I was a long time officer in a local bicycle club. We had an annual sale open to anyone that had stuff to sell. We used a room in a local community center. We had to pay a small fee. $100 or so. And had to agree to leave it as clean as we found it. Kept it somewhere neutral and in a place easy to find.
Click to expand...
What he said.
While these took place in a slightly different time(and when 'mom & pop'/'vintage-ish' stores had a greater market presence), I've been involved with, or at least attended, gear swap meets or one-off parking lot musical flea markets. If you have a store of that nature, see if they'd be game for providing a venue for that sort of thing, or else round up any other musicians you know that have stuff to cut loose of, pool your resources, and rent some sort of event place/community hall. Maybe even have some bands play if allowable, for promotional purposes. Maybe tie it in with a record collector's swapmeet, if that sort of thing happens in your location.
These still go on, I attended even a drums-only event recently with a guy I play with occasionally, just to check it out
 
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#8
If you let other people join you, maybe someone will have connections to use a business or church parking lot to set up your wares. It doesn't have to get as involved as renting a space. In a mix of items from different people, tag things with different colored stickers so everyone can direct the sale to the owner.
 
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#9
Throwing in with friends ( trusted ones) will only make your sale more attractive with the added items.
And the more aggressive you discount your used items, the more successful you'll be moving everything. Ive attended garage sales where folks were too proud of their stuff and thought they were retailers. Garage sales are for clearing out stuff, not necessarily recapturing "value". If you don't want people in your driveway, offer a church a donation to use their parking lot.
 
#11
gln1955 said:
If you let other people join you, maybe someone will have connections to use a business or church parking lot to set up your wares. It doesn't have to get as involved as renting a space. In a mix of items from different people, tag things with different colored stickers so everyone can direct the sale to the owner.
Click to expand...
Renting a space if cheap enough is less involved. They had tables. And it was inside in case of bad weather. A small fee divided between a few people is no biggie. The center even put the sale on their website.
 
#12
I would prefer to have the sale at my house, on the driveway outside my deck. I hurt my back months ago, and the idea of loading/unloading makes my back hurt just thinking about it. I skipped the local guitar show for that very reason.

I will probably invite a few friends to sell their stuff in exchange for their help. I had a bad experience a while ago at an unrelated event where I did all the work, and others got most of the benefit.
 
#15
Yes, this will be a "garage/yard sale" with low prices. The idea is to clear stuff out. I am not intending to get top dollar.

I think I will invite one or two friends, but lay down some ground rules like hanging around the whole time and helping me carry stuff. They will also mark their stuff in a way that distinguishes their prices from mine.
 
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#18
Michedelic said:
Think about this…

What he said.
While these took place in a slightly different time(and when 'mom & pop'/'vintage-ish' stores had a greater market presence), I've been involved with, or at least attended, gear swap meets or one-off parking lot musical flea markets. If you have a store of that nature, see if they'd be game for providing a venue for that sort of thing, or else round up any other musicians you know that have stuff to cut loose of, pool your resources, and rent some sort of event place/community hall. Maybe even have some bands play if allowable, for promotional purposes. Maybe tie it in with a record collector's swapmeet, if that sort of thing happens in your location.
These still go on, I attended even a drums-only event recently with a guy I play with occasionally, just to check it out
Click to expand...
There is an old school not far from here that has been turned into a sheriffs substation and community events center. You can rent the basketball gym, which includes a stage and concession stand, for $250 a weekend and have a choice of running the snack stand for a small percentage of your profit from it going to the center, or allowing the community center to run it and take everything they make, or no snack stand at all. A couple three people with gear and a listing on FB marketplace would do the trick around here. I've been to a couple of local estate sales advertised on marketplace and they were swamped.
 
#19
Axtman said:
I am planning on having a musician's garage sale sometime this summer (or fall). I have a bunch of odds and ends (pedals, parts, pieces, speakers, amp projects, cables, books, etc.) I will not be putting out any expensive items (I don't really have much of that anyway). All my items will probably be under $100. The objective is to clear out miscellaneous stuff.

1) I am a bit nervous about people knowing where I live and thinking my house is full of priceless gear (it is not).

2) I would like to limit this sale to only music gear, not typically garage sale junk.

3) A few friends that I have told want to join me, but I know it is a hassle to keep items straight, and it is my sale! Get your own sale!

What are your thoughts?
Click to expand...
I lived near a community center that had a monthly garage sale in the parking lot. It was organized by a community group or a church, not sure which. You registered for a spot, put up a table, and hawked your wares during the defined hours. There might be something like that near you.

Another option would be a farmer's market. See if there's somebody whose stall has some extra room, ask if you can put a table up one week. You might have to rent a stall of your own, it they allow yardsale type stuff. Put the word out on Craigslist, Facebook Marketplace, LetGo, maybe others.
 
#20
Axtman said:
I am planning on having a musician's garage sale sometime this summer (or fall). I have a bunch of odds and ends (pedals, parts, pieces, speakers, amp projects, cables, books, etc.) I will not be putting out any expensive items (I don't really have much of that anyway). All my items will probably be under $100. The objective is to clear out miscellaneous stuff.

1) I am a bit nervous about people knowing where I live and thinking my house is full of priceless gear (it is not).

2) I would like to limit this sale to only music gear, not typically garage sale junk.

3) A few friends that I have told want to join me, but I know it is a hassle to keep items straight, and it is my sale! Get your own sale!

What are your thoughts?
Click to expand...
Look for a flea market nearby and pony up for a table. Come home with cash and a table if you you do it well.
 

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