Mom 2 Mom Planning Advice

E.,

I organize our Mom 2 Mom sale for my twins mom group that I am in. We hold 2 per year, one in spring and one in fall.

For our group, because of the venue in which we hold it, we do not have a 'separate' area for large items. Moms bring their large items with them and put them in their own space that they are renting. It makes it easier and we don't have to deal with having a separate area to house large items, nor do I have to worry about getting additional volunteers to man that area. But it depends on how you are doing your sale.

I would say that if you are going to have a separate area for large items, make sure that there is only 1 way to enter/exit that area, and make sure that it is somehow being tracked when those items are being purchased so that people don't just 'take off' with the items. I think that the ones that have worked well in the past and have been the easiet to maintain are where each item is labeled with the price (2 labels with the same info), and the table number of the seller. So a shopper would have to take the label for the item to the seller, pay the seller for it, and then the seller in turn gives that person a 'sold' receipt with that item number on it. Then the buyer can take the item along with their sold receipt from the seller and show it at the person at that entry/exit or at the main entrance/exit so show that it's bought and paid for.

The reason we don't do this is it's a lot of extra labels and work and making up pre-made 'receipts' for the sellers to keep at their tables, etc. That's why we have them put their large items in their own 'space' they rent.

I would advise you though to definitely advertise it on the mom2momlist.com web site, as well as on Craig's List, and put up fliers throughout the area to encourage people to attend the sale. When and where is it?

If you have any other questions, feel free to email me.

K.
____@____.com

I organized my first one this May. I'd encourage you to do the big ticket items the way we did. The sellers pay $1 per item, they get two things:

1) a label to tape to their item. We made them from index cards. Each card was numbered and was to include a brief description (i.e. "Baby Swing"), the asking price, and the seller's table number. The seller is to fill out the info, transport the item to the large item (L/I) area, and securely attach the tag to their item (we had tape available if needed). Before the sale starts have the L/I workers walk through to make sure everything there has a tag on it.

2) a pre-printed receipt. I was going to create something and photocopy it, but I saw a receipt book at the dollar store and bought two of those instead. Set a standard format for the receipts, make a sample, and review it with sellers when they pay for items. All receipts should include the seller's table number, the item number, and the word "PAID." Tell the sellers to keep the receipts in a safe place, like with their money.

The sellers handle their own sale of their own item. This is beneficial because of bartering (they can determine if they want to adjust the price in order to make the sale) and there will be no disputes over getting any money to them. It takes a lot of weight off the organization's (and the L/I workers') shoulders.

Once the sale is made, the buyers must bring the receipt to the L/I workers. They will compare the info on the receipt to the info on the item tag. If seller number and item description match, L/I workers keep the receipt (and tag if you want) and release the item to the seller. No item leaves without a receipt, which comes only from the seller. NOte: not necessary to include selling price on receipt because if there was any bartering, it won't match the tag. We didn't care how much they paid, just that they DID pay.

It worked great for us. Hope you find it helpful. Good luck with your sale. I can't wait for our next one this coming April.

I don't really know what you have planned for "mom 2 mom"...but we do an auction every year at our school/church to raise money for the school.

When we did it, we just set the big stuff in the center of the area and put tables around the perimeter. It worked well. Of course, it depends on the space and how many participants you have. Have fun!

PS: Just my opinion, we didn't let any "vendors" in unless they were selling Mom-to-Mom stuff too. May not be popular, but I think the people who came appreciated it.

http://www.mom2momlist.com/

here is a link to the local listings for such sales..maybe one of the organizers there could assist you?
Good luck
E. W.

What is a Mom 2 Mom sale? Where is it going to be?

Thanks,

K. P.

Hi!
M2M sales are great! I've only been to them, never organized them, but one tip I have for big ticket items is to have them set up in a large space - separate room if possible - and have them tagged with the price and the seller's name and/or whatever code you are using so the right person gets their $$$. Then, they buyer takes that tag to someone you have designated in charge of payment for that room. Replace the tag with a sold sticker, have the person pay, and then either keep the item there until the buyer ready to take their item(s) home OR have a separate room with these sold items the buyers can come back to and claim. I'd have a few people in charge of monitoring these rooms as well. Hope that makes sense! And God bless!