While I have long been a customer of rummage sales, I had very little experience running one. I love going to garage and rummage sales, and once a year or so a friend and I would hold a joint garage sale to rid ourselves of items we no longer needed. But all of this experience in no way prepared me for the insight gained while running a virtual rummage sale for the Petaluma United Methodist Church for the last 9 months. Despite the lack of experience, we sold over 330 items and made a total of $7,400. While the money was the primary objective originally, it was gratifying to find new homes for items that would just have been stored otherwise, and the stories that we heard along the way were incredible.
When Covid caused the shutdown in March 2020, the church had a full storage room of items donated for their planned rummage sale. Needless to say, that wasn't happening, so after six months of storing them, I suggested the idea of a virtual rummage sale to help the items find new homes (and raise some much-needed funds for the church). We ran the virtual sale very successfully through Facebook Marketplace from October 2020 to June 2021, and then were able to hold an in-person sale (making another $1,850 in one day). We then donated the remaining items to a local thrift store. Now that I have "retired" for the summer, I wanted to share some musings from the process.
If you want to know more about the background, and the details of the process we used to set up and run the virtual sale, feel free to read this document.
In the interest of saving you time, I'll get right to the point of this blog. The main reason I want to share this experience was the stories that we heard as we made connections with the community. Some were very touching, others bittersweet, some absolutely heart-breaking. I think a primary purpose of the church is to make connections within the community, and I was absolutely delighted at the success we had with this virtual sale. I look at it as "little touches over time" vs. the in-person sale was more like "drinking from a fire hose", which I don't think was as effective. Given we did both, I think we had the best of both worlds.
So on to the stories...
Where to start? I'll start with one of my first sales, pots and pans. We had 7 different pans, and I had measured them and noted the brands while taking photos at the church. At home, writing the ad, I realized I didn't have a clean connection between the photos of the top of the pan (which is the view I wanted to use in the ad) and the photo of the bottom of the pan, which gave the information about brand, etc that I wanted to include. So first learning - take good notes or better photos so you aren't advertising the item incorrectly!
I listed all the pans together, because I thought it would be too much hassle to sell them individually. One of the brands I had was "all-clad", and when I did the research I noted that some of them were over $100 per pan. For some reason, when I priced the items, I didn't really properly account for that, so I advertised all 7 for $25. Guess what? I got a HUGE response!!! This was really intimidating - I was new to marketplace, and hadn't really thought through my strategy - was it "first come first served" or "first person to pay me" or what? The very first night I had literally dozens of people asking to purchase those pans. Clamoring really. Second learning - don't severely UNDERPRICE! I ended up selling them to the first person who agreed to pick them up the next day, mostly just to get people off my back! Whew, this was going to be harder than I thought.
The second story has to do with a set of dishes - in a "Town and Country" pattern, yellow in color. This was a donation by Sharon, one of the team members. We learned during the research phase that some people run a business with "replacements" for sets of dishes, at fairly high prices. But since we didn't want to go into that business, I priced these very reasonably as a set. Sharon had very thoughtfully photographed them, then packaged them up, listed exactly which pieces were included, and gave me lots of detail with which to place the ad. I listed them late one evening, and sold them within 30 minutes to a woman who wanted to buy them for her niece. Her favorite color was yellow, and she was just moving out on her own and needed dishes to get started. Her aunt was thrilled to find these for her. This was my first taste at how the personal stories make this such a fulfilling process.
Sharon had also donated this solid brass chandelier. This was my first experience pricing something that really had no comparison on the internet. I priced it at $15 because frankly, I thought no one would want it. It was snapped up in a matter of hours, and the woman who picked it up was thrilled and wanted to know what else we had for sale??? This was my first experience at "if you can let them "shop" you can sell even more", but with Covid restrictions we couldn't make that happen. Later on, we occasionally did, but usually by accident.
The next story was another example of how the "search" aspect of Facebook marketplace can be a big help in connecting the right buyer with the right item. We advertised this reproduction antique radio, and I had several people wanting to buy it, but I noticed they had the same last name. It turns out it was multiple siblings who wanted to buy it for their father, who loved anything "old looking". I'm sure without Facebook we would have never found these buyers, and I was very touched that they were on the lookout for things their father would like.
This Jenny Lind bed was donated by Sharon, and was a "3/4" size (halfway between a twin and a full-size bed). I never even knew there WAS such a thing! This was another example where my research taught me something new - even though I thought this was extremely valuable because it was so old and rare, things are only worth what someone is willing to pay for them. When I researched it, I found results on Ebay that varied from $15 to $1500. I priced it at $100, and held firm even though it took several months to sell. Eventually, it sold to a woman who wanted it for her teenage daughter, and didn't mind the hassle of having to locate a 3/4 size mattress. I was happy we were able to find a home for this unique item.
Not surprisingly, many of the items donated were from widows whose husbands had passed away. One lady donated two cowboy hats and a top hat. I thought the cowboy hats might sell well because after all, we do live in Petaluma! What was surprising was the number of people that clamored for the top hat! I sold it in a matter of days! This was yet another example of being surprised at what people will buy. The cowboy hats took longer to sell but were eventually sold to a woman who planned to restore them.
Around this time I started listing items my neighbor had given me when she moved the prior summer. This turned out to be another way to get donations, from friends who had items that they didn't want to throw away, and during Covid it was tricky to find a thrift store that would take donations. I had stored these items for 6 months or so, and was happy to be able to "clear out my garage" and list these items once we had made room to store them at the church. She had several unique items, including this "balance board". It was meant for a child to use, with two feet on the board balancing and leaning to navigate the ball through the maze. I had many requests for this, especially as the woman who bought it took awhile to pick it up so it was pending for several weeks. Another learning, while I typically sold it to the first person who agreed to buy it, it's very beneficial to get it picked up quickly as there was less likelihood the person would change their mind. Later on, if there were multiple bids for an item, I would lean toward the person who stated that they could pick it up quickly.
Another item donated by my neighbor was this mosaic, which proved to be very popular. Even though the pieces were glass, they were opaque so it wasn't very see-through, so not really "stained glass". There was so much interest in this item that I regretted not pricing it higher.
It was about this time, too, that I started wondering about Facebook's algorithms. If you're a facebook user, you know that it will put marketplace items in your "feed", and I began to realize that sometimes this was what was driving the "out of control" responses I was getting. Other times, I think my item was featured as one of the top items when someone explicitly went into the marketplace (high responses but not "out of control"). I began to experiment with "tagging" items and listing the brand when I had it available, to see if I could increase responses. I also regularly "renewed" items (Facebook will let you do this once a week, up to 4 times). I wasn't sure how much this helped my responses, but after having items on the marketplace for months, I was willing to do extra work to get them sold.
We found Covid was driving the marketplace needs for certain items. I listed a desk that Sharon donated. It was a simple "student desk" but the response was "out of control" so I think people were constantly searching for desks. I started asking the congregation if they had desks to donate.
After selling the one above for $20 (again, underpriced, crazy responses), I listed the one that Katelyn had left at home that no one needed. We only paid $100 for it new and I was able to sell it for $50. Another learning - supply and demand is a real thing!
It was about this time that we had a new experience - one of the congregation members needed to clean out his garage (his wife wanted to build a "home gym" because this 83-year-old was running in the streets for exercise and I think she wanted to keep him closer to home!) They emailed me photos and details of items and we started selling them. One of their very unique items was this desk below. This item was one of three "prototypes" built by a famous designer in SF. It was gorgeous but took up a lot of space. They had been trying to sell it for thousands of dollars. I priced it at $1500, and eventually sold it for $200 many months later to a man who was from Southern California and picked it up on his way back home. Again, a lesson in "it's only worth what someone is willing to pay for it".
This same couple donated lots of garden tools (sold very quickly) and exercise equipment (sold like hotcakes). This was another "Covid-popular" item, because people couldn't go to the gym they were all searching for alternative forms of exercise, so we were able to sell the exercise bike, rowing machine, and free weights in a few days. We ended up selling them for more than his wife paid for them (she had bought them used many years before)!
This same couple donated a battery charger, which sat in the market for a few months. Late one afternoon, I received an inquiry from a gentleman, and we made arrangements for him to pick it up that evening at 6 p.m. Since it was a last minute arrangement, I decided to handle the sale myself vs. calling on one of my colleagues, and went down to the church to meet him.
This was wintertime, so it was already dark and on this particular evening, it was raining. After waiting for over 30 minutes, I pinged him on messenger to confirm he was still planning to pick it up and he said he had sent his wife. I had given him my phone number but apparently he forgot to pass it along to her. So his wife was supposed to be picking up the item but the only way I had to communicate was via messenger, with him. Since I had extra time, I looked at his facebook profile and learned he was from Santa Rosa. I calculated it would take her about 30 minutes to arrive, so waited until 7 and then pinged him again. This time I said I needed to leave in about 15 minutes, since it was getting late and I was getting aggravated. He responded and said she had been there but no one was there to meet her. By now, they had gone back to the fairgrounds and could I bring it there!?! I was a bit mystified by the fairgrounds comment, but didn't want them to have made a trip all the way from Santa Rosa for nothing, so agreed to spend the few extra minutes and drop it off. I went to the fairgrounds, which is pretty big and very dark and deserted. I started to realize maybe this wasn't my smartest move. I parked in the lot and pinged him again, and he said his wife was coming over to meet me. I got out of the car and handed off the item and got payment. Turns out he had sent his wife to meet a MAN named LAMAR, and when she didn't see a MAN waiting, she gave up and came back. They were parked at the fairgrounds, living out of their RV, and had several car batteries that needed charging so they were stranded. This was a moment when I realized that our rummage items could make a big difference in someone's life, and going the extra mile to make a connection can be worth it.
One of the most unique items I sold was donated by another neighbor. Once she found out I had a good cause for them to donate items to, she would occasionally contact me and drop off items, which was very helpful because in this case, I really needed the history. This beautiful mirror was from the late 1800's, and had come from her husband's grandmother's Victorian home, which had since burned down. It had been stored in their attic for years, and she was finally ready to part with it. Given that history, I could write a knowledgeable ad, and priced it at $200. After several months of holding firm to that price, I was rewarded by a young couple who came all the way from San Francisco to pick up the mirror. They owned a Victorian home so this item would fit perfectly. I was very happy it had found a good home by someone who would appreciate it. This was also about the time I learned that Venmo was very helpful. The church didn't have a Venmo account, but I could use my personal account and reimburse the church. In this case, the buyer Venmo'd me ahead of time to hold the item, so I felt much more secure that she would show up at the agreed upon time. This turned out to be a good way to solve the "no-show" problem, so after that I started advertising that we could take payment via this channel.
Around this time, we made another pass of the storage room and unearthed a bunch of craft items that had been used in prior craft sessions with children. Sadly, the current population of the church contains few children, so we decided to sell these items vs. continue to store them. I "batched them up" to help make it easier to sell them, and one of the batches I titled "containers galore". After several "no show" customers, I finally connected with a woman who was visiting Petaluma and picked them up. Her story was very touching - she had a friend in her hometown who was undergoing cancer treatment and she was raising money by making handmade goods such as candles to help defray his costs. Another example of how items would be much better put to use than sitting in our storage.
I was constantly learning through this process. One of the items we had donated was a Serger, by a congregation member who got it from her Mom who didn't use it.
I didn't carefully check the item, and it turns out it was missing the power cord. A woman purchased it, and then returned it when she found this out. Of course, we refunded her money, and I modified the ad to make it clear that it didn't include the power cord. Our very helpful office manager ordered a new cord online, but before it could arrive the Serger sold! When the woman picked it up, I made sure she was aware that it didn't have a cord. She was unconcerned BECAUSE THIS WAS GOING TO BE HER BACK-UP SERGER!!! Her other one was in the repair shop so she wanted to have one to use in the meantime.
While I am a huge rummage sale fan, I had managed to resist BUYING anything we were selling. One evening I was on the couch in the backroom uploading the latest batch of photos, and Rick happened to glance over my shoulder and see a photo of a lamp donated by Judy, our other team member. Judy had been an Army nurse stationed in Japan, and had brought home several items decades ago that she was now willing to part with, one of which was this unique lamp. Rick expressed interest in it, so I showed it to him in person and we bought it. Later, Judy found the lampshade for it and brought it in, so we had a complete lamp and have enjoyed it ever since! Isn't it cool???
Remember how I said I was always learning from my research? Well, Sharon donated these two purses below, and I was astounded to learn they were almost 100 years old, from the "flapper" period.
She said they were often used to hold a pack of cigarettes, but I could imagine in today's world they might be big enough for a cell phone and used for real, or perhaps just purchased for someone's collection.
Based on my research I priced them at $100 and $75, and advertised them with confidence. After a few months, I advertised them on Craig's List as well as Facebook, and finally got a nibble. Turns out the buyer was in Mendocino, but we made arrangements for him to come down and pick up the one on the right, which had a unique label and was more valuable. Turns out he was purchasing it for his girlfriend as a Christmas gift! When Judy met him to make the sale, she was able to upsell him the other one for $80. I hope his girlfriend loved the gift, and this is another example of how we were able to find the right buyer by the power of electronic searching!
Since it was Christmas time, we now started seeing purchases that were for gifts. We uncovered this collectible doll and after researching it, I listed it for $50 one evening.
I got a very quick response from a woman who was in Sonoma but wanted to come purchase it the next day. She shared that she was buying it for her niece, and I asked if she was interested in more items. She shared the ages of her three nieces, and I ended up sending her photos in messenger and pulled out the items I thought would be of most interest when I got to the church. This was an example of "shopping behavior", not only did she buy the doll, she bought a brand-new jigsaw puzzle, a craft project kit so she could teach her nieces to sew, a disco ball, and then, spotting the items the quilt group had for sale, she bought a table runner/placemat set for her mother-in-law. All the while, she was telling me about her relationship with the United Methodist Church in Sonoma and with her nieces. At the end of the day, I felt like her new best friend!
The other thing that happened at Christmas time was I heard from my connection at Una Vida (a local non-profit) that they could use items to use as gifts for those in need. By this time, we had several months of experience, and some items that weren't selling would make very nice gifts. We donated 4-5 bags of items, such as brand new games, a scarf/hat set, gently used toys, jewelry, etc. This made us feel good and had the effect of "clearing our shelves", making way for more donations. Later in the sale we found other recipients such as teachers that could use our craft items or items for kids, so I made several donations through-out the sale. The team found this experience to be very gratifying, and it gave us yet another connection in the community. It's not always about making money!
Our pastor turned out to be one of the top contributors of donations, bringing in many interesting items, most of which sold nicely. The items which sold the best were musical instruments. It turns out he and his wife are really into music (I think his wife teaches it) and so had bought many instruments for their kids over the years hoping they would "take up violin (or accordian, or trumpet). These items were languishing in his garage and he was happy to donate them to our good cause. They were snapped up like hotcakes!
One of the most painful lessons I learned was from a serious collector. While going through a box of toys in storage, I found two cigarette lighters at the bottom of the box (From this I learned - go through EVERYTHING in detail, could you imagine if I had sold them along with the box of toys to an unsuspecting parent???). The lighters appeared collectible, and from my research I learned that they were from the 70's-80's. I posted them, using my new technique of brand and tags, and was shocked to get a response from a collector in Illinois. He was interested in one of the lighters and was willing to pay the $30 I was asking as well as shipping costs.
This was during the bad snowstorms across the United States, and after much back and forth the buyer and I agreed he would send a check when he could brave the storm enough to get to the mailbox, and I would send the item upon receipt. This was our first shipped item, but it was small and I packaged it very well. I was confident it would arrive in good shape. Imagine my surprise when I received an irate message from the buyer! He was extremely irritated that "someone had taped the box" and now the item was worthless. I had noticed the clear tape on the box, but didn't realize the value of a collectible item is highly affected by the shape the original box is in. The tape didn't show up in the photo online, and I didn't know enough to point it out. I offered to reimburse him if he wanted to send the item back, but he seemed to cool down and chalk it up to "well, now you know" and kept the item. From this I learned that collectible value is greatly increased when the original box is kept, but it needs to be in good shape!
Well, this blog is getting long but I can't resist telling a few final stories. One is another heart-warming example of how internet searches can help items find good homes.
This mirror was donated by Judy and she knew that it was made by the furniture maker Duncan Phyfe. I advertised it as such, and after months of posting a buyer came from a town called Galt to pick it up. I had to look up where Galt is, and it turns out to be over past the Sacramento delta, so I was very curious about her interest in it. She was over an hour late for pick-up, but given she was driving so far we waited, and the story she told was well worth it. Especially during Covid times, health-care workers are under extreme pressure. This woman headed up the lab at the hospital, and had just been run ragged for months and months. To help preserve her sanity, she decided to create a beautiful space in her hospital office, and was refinishing a table by Duncan Phyfe to put in it. When she found this mirror, she was absolutely delighted because she knew it would look just perfect over her table. I was thrilled to be able to find a buyer for which this item was such a perfect fit!
Toward the end of Spring, my friend Sue Hubbard was packing up for her move across the country, and like my neighbor, was happy to donate items to our virtual rummage sale. There were many stories associated with selling Sue's items, but in the interest of time I'll just share two.
One was this Pyrex dish. You probably have one like it at home, or your Mom used them for many years, and you think it's nothing special, right? My research turned up that this pattern is called "Teal Snowflake" and when I listed it, right away I got a response from a woman who wanted it. She was willing to drive from Modesto to pick it up!!! Turns out I needed to ship another item so I offered to ship it. She was so excited she messaged me multiple times that week, and she was absolutely thrilled when it arrived. So the lesson I learned is that even everyday items can be very special to some people.
The other item that elicited a story that nearly broke my heart was the twin bed sheets that Sue donated. Given she had two boys, she had many sets of sheets in "boy" fabrics, and I got an inquiry about the sheets below to ask if they were 100% cotton. Since I had failed to photograph that detail, I had to go to the church to check, but when I confirmed the fabric content the woman offered to purchase two sets and we agreed on a time to meet. When I met with her, she had her son with her who was about 10. She told me that she had to leave her son's father suddenly and had left everything behind, and she was just thrilled to be able to find these high quality sheets for her son's bed. At the end of the sale I snagged the remaining sheets and some other items that she said she could use because it was such a good cause. I am happy our donations were able to help.
Another near-to-my heart story was from a simple household item, a shower bar. This item was donated by the same couple who were emptying their garage, and she shared the link from the original item that showed this item selling for over $1000! Who knew that someone would ever pay that for a household item?
Needless to say, I priced it much lower, and after months of no action I finally got a response from a woman who wanted to buy it for $10. When I met with her she shared that it was for her 93 year old mother, who despite hip surgery was still going strong. Her home in Guerneville had been flooded a couple of years ago, and this daughter was trying to help her Mom fix her home and the shower bar would help make it safer. I was so touched that I ended up giving her a "package deal" on several items at a steep discount. Any daughter who is trying to help her Mom live independently needs all the help she can get!
I'll end on a more heart-warming note.
When we were kids my sisters and I played "school" for endless hours, and this easel was one of the prime stars of our classroom imaginations. My sister Liz was moving and no one in the family wanted this easel, so she cleaned it up and I offered to help find it a new home. Imagine my delight when I got a nibble on this from a woman at the Farmer's Market!
I had advertised its use as a sandwich board, and after some negotiations I was able to deliver it to her. Turns out her main business is selling eggs, which is fitting given that was my family's main business for many years. Not only did we help sell an item for the rummage sale, we found this childhood treasure a new home!
So while some people consider a rummage sale as a way to make money, I now know that the real benefit of a rummage sale is the fact that it finds better homes for unneeded items, and at the same time, creates connections in the community. We have paused our sale for the summer, but hope to restart it in the fall months. I look forward to more connections, and more stories to share in the future.
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