All that’s holding you back from possibly making thousands of dollars is a garage sale.
According to research by an online classifieds site households are sitting on thousands of possible dollars worth of unused goods in their cluttered homes.
“It all depends what you have to sell but it is very possible to make upwards of a thousand dollars hosting a garage sale,” Heidi Shramm from whatgaragesale.com said.
Ms Shramm has been running whatgaragesale.com for over two years now and in that time she has seen the popularity of garage sales grow.
“Definitely shopping at garage sales have increased and die hard second hand dealers have always existed but there are a lot more families wanting to pick up bargains,” she said.
The garage sale expert says the benefits of a having a sale are many and varied.
“There are so many benefits, but the untold advantages include getting to know your neighbours, often people hold sales when they are leaving the area and it can be the first time they have spoken to the people around them,” she said.
“Another advantage is doing your bit for the environment by recycling goods that would otherwise end up in a dump somewhere.”
Local resident Sandra Morris says she opted for a garage sale rather than selling her unused items on eBay because of the convenience.
“I would have been sitting in front of a computer for six months if I was going to try to sell all my things on eBay,” she said.
“A garage sale is relatively easy and over two weekends I can de-clutter my house and get some great return.”
Local garage sale enthusiast, Manfred Adams says he has been scouting for bargains at garage sales for over 30 years. In that time the Orchard Hills resident has picked up many big ticket items including a number of motorbikes, canoes, kayaks, a ride on mower and basic machinery.
“Normally the items are really well priced and because I work as a fitter if the machinery is broken I think even better. Majority of the time I can get it for cheap and then work on it,” he said.
Among Ms Shramm’s many tips for throwing a successful garage sale she says plan a month ahead so to give enough time to advertise and get as many people involved in the sale because more people means more varied items.
