I don’t like doing garage sales by myself. If I am going to be sitting outside for hours I want to be there with my friends. Multi-family sales attract more people which means you have a better chance of selling stuff, yet they do require some serious planning and organization. Here are some printables, and a few helpful tips, that can help you pull off a successful multi-family garage sale.
The first order of business is to ask your friends, set the date, and pick a home to have the sale. Honestly, this step is sometimes the hardest because of coordinating schedules. If you can do this you can do anything else.
Divide up responsibilities and keep receipts on things you purchase for the sale. Keep your reciepts for anything you have to purchase such as tables, signs or even grabbing lunch during the sale.
Label your things. The secrets to a successful multi-family garage sale is in the labeling. Everyone has to have an agreed upon system. The printable below should be printed on Avery 8167 address labels. A pack of 25 sheets has about 2000 labels. Have one person in your group buy the labels, print them out and divide them up. This will be much easier and cheaper than the store-bought version.
There are two ways you can do labels in a multi-family You can simply print the same color and everyone write their initial to the left of the price…my personal preference…or everyone prints a different color.
I actually love using these labels because there is space to not only write your initial but you also have space to change the price if you need to without wasting a label. Pick a color you want and download the labels below.
Get your transaction table ready.
Here is what you need:
Tip: I usually never use a cash box. My friends and I always rock the fanny pack. We all contribute the same amount of cash to start the sale. We write down what we contributed and keep the cash we brought in our fanny pack. This way you keep your cash safe and no one person is stressed with dealing with cash. This also helps with back-up when you are busy.
Here is how you use the log sheet system:
The Garage Sale Individual Log Sheet: (Download Here)
A person comes up with their pile of goodies they want to buy from multiple family’s stuff. No stress you are okay.
Grab a “Garage Sale Individual Log Sheet” and a pen (or have these on hand in your fanny pack). Since everyone’s stuff is labeled really well with the printable labels, you simply write down the family, the price, and any notes.
I usually don’t write notes on smaller items, but I do if a bigger item is sold or if the price was changed. To save time, if someone is buying three $1 shirts from the same family I will only write it once and $3 for that family.
Total up the sheet, collect the money, and place the individual log sheet into box #1. You don’t need to divide the money up. That is the great thing about the system. You can do it all at the end. Instead, grab a sip of lemonade and wait for your next sale.
The Family Garage Sale Total Sheet: (Download Here)
Print a few copies for each family. This is where you separate out the profits for different families. Take your filled out “Garage Sale Individual Log Sheet” and log in the different family sales onto their specific master sheet.
Once you have recorded the individual long onto the master sheet, put a line through the individual log sheet and put it in box #2.
The great thing about this system is, if your sale is busy, you don’t have to immediately update the Family Total Sales sheet. When you have down time, grab a pile from box #1 and log them into the totals sheet. You will know what has been entered by simply crossing out the sheet and moving it to box #2.
Garage Sale Final Totals Sheet: (Download here)
At the end of the sale combine everyone’s money (if you are not using one cash box) and use the above sheet for each family to figure out the amount they are taking home. This is where adding up your pre-sale receipts and dividing out the total cost among the families is important. The goal is for everyone to pay the say amount in pre-sale costs. Use this sheet to reimburse or to be reimbursed by using your garage sale cash. This sheet will help you come home with the cash you put in at the start, no money owed to others or to you, and your sweet stash of garage sale profits. Stress free right?
Take your money and spend it on something nice…or save it.
Have you ever attempted multi-family sale? If so, please do share your advice.
