Sun City Anthem Community Garage Sale
A Learning Experience
(An Anthem Opinions Editorial)
Over the past weekend Sun City Anthem held its first Community Garage Sale, and to coin a phrase for those who participated:
Over 300 homes took place in this event, and at last word, the general consensus was:
If you were looking to spend $1.00-$3.00 on stuff, it was success; anything above that amount literally represented hours of work for the homeowners who participated with little to show other then sunning themselves in front of their driveways.
It all began at approximately 7:15am (though it wasn't to commence until 8:00am) when the "pros" hit the streets....
...the pros who were looking to spend that $1.00 to $3.00 in order to post their treasures on Ebay for $20.00 !
I guess everyone has to figure out a way to make a buck on seniors !
Not to regress, but us seniors can be an innovative bunch at times.
A few years ago when the Dennis Bono Show at the South Point offered a free admission TICKET that offered a free drink following the show, it all came to a halt when some "entrepreneur" decided to collect them after the show and then proceed to Ebay and SELL them at packs of $10 for a few bucks...and onceThe South Point became aware of that, quickly realized that they had created a losing proposition for any individual vising a bar !
That's why they began printing separate vouchers WITHOUT the free drink until earlier this year, the show began charging $5.00 for a reserved seat admission to include the free drink.
But...let's get back to the Sun City Anthem garage sale !
Other then the "vast" fortunes made by the participating homeowners, in my opinion, there was one success....
Meeting many of your fellow neighbors on two beautiful days !
So to those who ventured out to spend the days walking or driving through the community and getting to know others, it was an experience that didn't have a profitable afternoon for those who participated, but hopefully they had a chance to enjoy it just the same.
The best "taker" at the event ???
Would I suggest that it be repeated?
That depends if your a seller...
...or...a buyer...
I believe one POSITIVE suggestion that was notably missing was any form of successful PUBLIC advertising other then a community eblast or a couple of community blogs that few visit.
What about other avenues?
Was the The Las Vegas Journal or the Vegas Voice magazine contacted or employed?
How about the community providing "Garage Sale" signs with balloons bordering major intersections?
For a relatively small expenditure, there leaves little doubt that any of those options would have enhanced the efforts of those who painstakingly participated.
Whatever your feelings, I think the Sun City Anthem Board should be complimented on trying something new, and for that, it showed they are trying hard to enhance the Sun City Anthem Community Experience !
Got a comment?
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From Wendy Strumwasser...to...Anthem Opinions
We had a FANTASTIC Sale! There were people lined up to pay.
I thought there could have been a bit better publication of the sale.
I put it on Facebook and many people had put something on Nextdoor with an actual address.
I vote to do this again.
Wendy,
Would you mind telling us what types of items sold, the approximate prices of items that were purchased, and how much you actually collected during the Garage Weekend?
From Wendy Strumwasser...to...Anthem Opinions
I am a retired quilt designer, judge and author. I had thousands of yards of fabric.
People came multiple times and called friends.
We had tons of people. I put it on Facebook and Nextdoor.
I advertised myself, as the HOA did not.
I would prefer not to disclose the money amount. We also had higher end bicycles and kites as well as household dollar and two items.
Would love to do this next time for Friday, Saturday AND Sunday.
More advertising would have led to more traffic of people.We could not download the map.
I think that was a waste of time.