2024 Westgate Parade of Garage Sales

It’s garage sale season and we’re happy to announce that the Westgate Parade of Garage Sales is back again!

Whether you’re looking to clear some things out of your house, or find some new treasures to take home with you there’s a way for all Gaters to participate!

If you’re looking to participate by hosting a garage sale submit your request to George Costa by email  (george@geocosta.com) or phone (403) 875-7653. Requests must be submitted by May 15th in order to receive your free garage sale kit.

Parade of Garage Sales

May 25th 

9am – 4pm

Maps of participating locations will be available at the Westgate Community Hall

Participation in the Parade of Garage sales is free and you keep any money made through the sale of your items. We’re here to help promote the event and provide maps the day of.  While we take care of advertising, you’ll be responsible for setting up your garage sale items, establishing pricing, and dealing with any unsold items.

Tips for hosting a successful garage sale

1. Plan your set up
   • Think about what you’ll need to set up
     • Will you need tables? How many?
     • Will you need a clothing rack or hangers?
     • Does anything require assembly?
     • Do you need stickers or signs for pricing?
     • Who will be helping you? Set and take down is a lot of work, plus you’ll need someone to cover when you need breaks to eat or use the washroom. If your sale is busy, having friends or family on hand to help keeps those sales from stalling.
   • Get your cash float ready, you don’t want to miss a sale because you can’t make change. Get a mix of $5’s, $10’s and coins
   • Make sure your items are gathered and safely stored the night before the sale so you can easily pull everything out for set up
   • Having a game plan well before the day of the garage sale will give you enough time to get what you need and make set up the day of  a breeze
   • Get your day of essentials ready: water bottle, snacks, sunscreen, hat, hand sanitizer, cleaning supplies – whatever you need outside with you should be packed up and ready to go for the morning.
2. Get organized
   • Group like items together, shoppers looking for specific items will be able to easily zero in on what they need. Designate a section for similar items the same way you’d expect in a department store
     • Toys, Electronics, Clothing, Appliances, Furniture, Home Decor, Music and Books – you get the idea
3. Have clear pricing
   • Some shoppers don’t want to ask how much something is. Make more sales by clearly labelling the price of your sale items
4. Set realistic pricing
   • Price to sell, garage sales aren’t typically the venue to get fair market value. Shoppers typically expect pricing to be a quarter of the cost of buy the item brand new
5. Be open to negotiation
   • Expect some shoppers to negotiate the price of items. It’s up to you if you want to engage, but if you want the item out of your house for good don’t be afraid to offer an alternate price.
6. Plan your end of sale strategy
   • What will you be doing with your unsold items?
     • Don’t want them back in your house? Consider arranging a charitable organization to come pick them up for donation. Organizations like Diabetes Canada will pick up thinks like small appliances, clothes and books. There are also drop off locations such as Goodwill on Bow Trail

We can’t wait to see all the garage sales this year. Have fun out there Gaters.

If you want to host a garage sale don’t forget to submit your participation request to George Costa (george@geocosta.com) by May 15th.