The Great Woodhaven Yard Sale returns on Saturday June 11th from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. (rain date Sunday, June 12th, same times). Sponsored by the Woodhaven Residents’ Block Association, the community-wide yard sale usually sees 40 to 50 participating households.
If you’d like to be one of those households, you can register for free by emailing the WRBA at info@woodhaven-nyc.org or calling and leaving a message at 718-296-3735.
For those of you not familiar with the Great Woodhaven Yard Sale, here’s how it works: instead of scattered households all over the neighborhood holding their yard sales by themselves on different dates, a large organized group holds their yard sales collectively, on the same exact day.
The Woodhaven Residents’ Block Association advertises the yard sale far and wide, and distributes maps of Woodhaven with little flags indicating all of the yard sale locations. And for those who are interested in taking it to another level, they encourage members advertise some of the items they plan to be selling on the WRBA’s Facebook page.
The maps encourage people to come to Woodhaven because they know that there are going to be plenty of yard sales to check out. In previous years, we received reports of people coming from New Jersey and Connecticut to browse the goods put up for sale by residents. In one case we had a person come from Maspeth by bus, bring all the stuff he bought home, and come back on the bus to check out other houses.
Another advantage of the Great Woodhaven Yard Sale is that you don’t have to walk around town, illegally putting up flyers advertising your individual sale. The Woodhaven Residents’ Block Association will advertise your sale for you by including it on their map and distributing it to many interested parties.
One year, my wife and I visited about 3 dozen different yard sales and found some great stuff. We looked for clusters of flags on the map, indicating concentrated areas where we could hit 5 or 6 houses on the same block. We heard the same thing from other shoppers, so if you want to boost your potential for sales, try to create your own cluster by asking your neighbors to join.
And it’s always interesting to see some of the old gems that people have stored away for years, taking up space in their basement. If you’re a frequent watcher of shows like Antiques Roadshow you know that people don’t always know the value of their own belongings. It could be that the $5 item you just purchased is worth hundreds of dollars or more!
Now that you’re sold on the idea, let’s repeat how you can become part of the Great Woodhaven Yard Sale (Saturday, 6/11; rain date the next day). You can register by sending an email to info@woodhaven-nyc.org or by calling and leaving a message at 718-296-3735.
There is no fee for registering, but you are required to give the WRBA your name and phone number (in case they need to reach you) and the address where you will be hosting your yard sale (must be in 11421). Here is an important point: they will put a flag on the map indicating your location, but they do not put your address or any other information on the map.
Now, even if you’re not planning on being a participating household we hope that you’ll help advertise this event by word of mouth. Tell your neighbors, tell your family. And tell your friends in Richmond Hill and Glendale and Ozone Park and beyond to come to Woodhaven for the biggest yard sale of 2022.
