Pros and Cons of Having a Yard Sale with Neighbors
Settling on a Date Can Be Difficult
When you embark on a community yard sale, it can be hard to settle on a date that is good for everyone. You might be the planner and then they may all vote on a date when you’re unable to participate. In that case, you can still go ahead with your own yard sale at a different time if it’s not against your HOA rules.
You’ll Have More Competition
When the entire neighborhood participates, depending upon where your house is located, people might run out of money before they get to your yard sale. One way to combat this is to place your own ad in the paper about your yard sale, and put balloons out or something to draw attention to your yard.
You May Get More Traffic
When there are many yard sales in one area, you may get a lot more traffic than you would get if you did the yard sale alone. People who like going to yard sales tend to like to get as much shopping done as possible in one trip without having to drive too much.
You’ll Earn Cash
Even though the amount of cash you earn may be less than what you get from a job, it’s essentially free money that you can use to pay off a bill, do something fun with, or put into savings.
Not Much Advertising Required
Today you can put an ad to appear in Friday’s paper, but it’s not necessary. Instead, you can announce your garage sale online in community Facebook groups and on Craigslist – both of which are free.
It’s Fun
Even though having a garage sale is work, it can also be fun to see your trash turn into someone else’s treasure. Many people will be very happy to have the things that you don’t like anymore or don’t use anymore.
You Can Sell Items You’d Otherwise Need to Give Away
Usually, garage sale items are things that might otherwise wind up in the trash. Sure, you can donate them to the Goodwill and other organizations for a tax write-off; however, sadly many times they mark up the price so much that the people who need them can’t buy them.
It Takes a Lot of Preparation
Garage sales take a lot of prep work such as cleaning up things, putting prices on things, and even locating them and dragging them down from your garage. What’s worse is that you could do all that work and then it doesn’t sell.
It’s Exhausting
Most people are so tired after a garage sale that they really need to take a break and get into the cool air-conditioning. Plan to go out to eat or order food in so that you don’t have to work hard the rest of the day, because you will be tired.
Having a neighborhood yard sale simply means that you set a date with your neighbors. Each of you is still responsible for your own sale in your own garage and yard. It’s nice to do it with your neighbors so that you can get more traffic, but it’s not a necessity.
