Has anyone ever organized a mom 2 mom sale

[happy2bamom]

I've been to a couple of Mom to Mom sales (some are called resales) and I would like to organize one for our church but I have no idea where to start. I know that Mom's "buy" a space to sell their stuff and people pay to come in and shop. Obviously the more Moms selling stuff, the better, to attract more interest. any thoughts, any experience? TIA

[janeybwild]

No, but I have been volunteering at 2 local ones for the past 8 times. They are a *lot* of work; both have several committees that organize smaller parts of them. The logistics involved are tremendous. Everything from recruiting volunteers, marketing, physical stuff like getting tables, signs, and tags, set-up and arranging everything, working the sale including adding machines, breaking it all down, and sorting and disposal of left over clothes. Our committees spend months organizing each one. It can be done, but you would need a team. One thing I have thought of doing for our church is just organizing a used toy and clothing sale where everybody rents a table for a fee, brings their own stuff to set-up, sell and remove, and donates a portion of their earnings to the church. Much simpler but could work for you.

[KrisM]

Metro Detroit has a nice list of all the sales. There are tips on running one on the webpage as well: http://mom2momlist.com/tips/.

We're starting to organize one for our MOMS Club. We'll do it at a church or school and use their tables, if possible. Each mom renting a table is responsible for their own setup, breakdown, money, etc. Our club will be responsible for taking money at the door and running the large item area.

[ThreeofUs]

No, but I have been volunteering at 2 local ones for the past 8 times. They are a *lot* of work; both have several committees that organize smaller parts of them. The logistics involved are tremendous. Everything from recruiting volunteers, marketing, physical stuff like getting tables, signs, and tags, set-up and arranging everything, working the sale including adding machines, breaking it all down, and sorting and disposal of left over clothes. Our committees spend months organizing each one. It can be done, but you would need a team. One thing I have thought of doing for our church is just organizing a used toy and clothing sale where everybody rents a table for a fee, brings their own stuff to set-up, sell and remove, and donates a portion of their earnings to the church. Much simpler but could work for you.

ITA. It's a LOT of work.

The easiest way to do it is the "everyone at their own table" model mentioned above. Sellers buy a table, you charge admission (with the first hour being a $10 or so charge, and after that $1 to $5). MUCH simpler.

People are usually streaming in from the community to buy a table. We sent out flyers and the odd speaker to all of the schools, day care centers, and parent programs. We also did a lot of advertising about the sale itself to the same places, as well as on craigslist and in local papers.

Remember, you don't need a whole lot of folks to make for a great sale. You're constrained by the huge amount of space each seller will need, and the 8' or so aisles between rows of tables you should have to accommodate the crowd, strollers, people carrying loads, as well as the stuff sellers will put on the floor.

One of the best ways to figure out your estimated number of sellers is to figure out the length of table you have, and add a MINIMUM of 2' to the figure, so that each table will be 2' from the next. So, 6' tables + 2' = 8 linear feet. Get the measurements of the room you'll be using, divide by 8, and you have a rough estimate of the number of tables. If you have a wide room, and can fit tables in the middle too, you're golden!

We also designated a "large items" room, with a attendant and tickets for each item. These were paid for at the entrance, at the attendant, and at the sellers' own table in different years - each of these has its own advantages and disadvantages.

I think we had something like 40 sellers, split up by selling primarily boy- and girl-stuff, and we felt stuffed in our extremely large space. But mostly everyone was happy, which was an accomplishment by itself!

Good luck and have fun with it!

[bonbon98]

Metro Detroit has a nice list of all the sales. There are tips on running one on the webpage as well: http://mom2momlist.com/tips/

Kris - You beat me to the link!! :D

My multiples group puts on a spring and fall sale each year. Instead of individual tables, we do a "department"-style sale. We tag all of our items and then our stuff is grouped together by item, gender and size. Buyers can shop the entire sale, and then go to one checkout when they're done. All of the tags are separated by seller and we usually get our $$ that afternoon before leave.

A lot of multiples groups do this type of sale because it's easier to shop at. We can go directly to the size of clothing that we need, find what we need, and move on. Also, it eliminates the need to haggle - what you see on the tag is what you pay.

This type of sale takes a lot of planning - it took my team 3 sales before we got it down to a science.

Good luck!!

[KrisM]

ITA. It's a LOT of work.

The easiest way to do it is the "everyone at their own table" model mentioned above. Sellers buy a table, you charge admission (with the first hour being a $10 or so charge, and after that $1 to $5). MUCH simpler.



Wow, you charge $10?? I've never paid more than $1 and I'm usually in line when the doors open! Where are you that you get that much for admission?

[KrisM]

Kris - You beat me to the link!! :D

My multiples group puts on a spring and fall sale each year. Instead of individual tables, we do a "department"-style sale. We tag all of our items and then our stuff is grouped together by item, gender and size. Buyers can shop the entire sale, and then go to one checkout when they're done. All of the tags are separated by seller and we usually get our $$ that afternoon before leave.

A lot of multiples groups do this type of sale because it's easier to shop at. We can go directly to the size of clothing that we need, find what we need, and move on. Also, it eliminates the need to haggle - what you see on the tag is what you pay.

This type of sale takes a lot of planning - it took my team 3 sales before we got it down to a science.

Good luck!!

I don't have multiples, so maybe that's the difference, but I really dislike department style sales. I avoid them completely. I hate not being able to haggle a bit. I often find a seller with a lot of stuff in the right size and style and if I have $33 of things in my hand, I want to offer $30 or whatever. Also, when the tag falls off, it's a nightmare to find out who's it was and get a price. And, I am sure it works out time-wise, but I hate the 20 minutes in line to check out at the end. Once I have my stuff, I want to be done and gone!

Which is your sale?

[ThreeofUs]

Wow, you charge $10?? I've never paid more than $1 and I'm usually in line when the doors open! Where are you that you get that much for admission?

NE Ohio, and the place is so full that you literally have to push your way through the crowd. It's amazing!