A garage sale website where buyers can see what's left
A notice in the local group says when and where. A page with photos of what's for sale gets the right people to turn up: the one who wants the bike, the couple furnishing a flat. Add a way to reserve an item, mark things as they go, and take payment in person when people collect.
When a page beats a post
For a few boxes of books and toys, a post in the neighbourhood group is enough. A garage sale website is worth the half hour when you're clearing a house: a moving sale, a downsizing, a sale of a relative's belongings. Larger items like furniture, tools and appliances sell better when buyers can see the photo, the measurements and the price before they make the trip, and a single link is easier to share across several groups than a dozen posts.
What the page should say
- Date, times and address, with a note on parking and which door to come to.
- No early birds if you mean it: "Please don't arrive before 9:00."
- How payment works: cash, a bank transfer on the spot or a payment app, and whether you have change.
- Collection rules for big items: bring help, bring a van, collect by Sunday 5pm.
- What happens to reservations if someone doesn't turn up.
- A contact route that isn't your personal phone number published on the page.
Listing the items
Each item needs a photo, a short name, a price and anything that settles the obvious question: dimensions for furniture, size for clothes, "works, tested" for electrics. Photograph in daylight against a plain wall, one item per photo, and include a scale reference for anything where size matters.
| Approach | Best for | How it works |
|---|---|---|
| On the page | Up to about 30 items | Upload the photos to the build and describe the items; the model places them with their details. Mark sold items in the visual editor. |
| In a CMS collection | Longer lists, or several people updating | One entry per item with fields for name, price, condition, size and status. Each item gets its own page, and the collection page lists them all. Edit status in the dashboard. |
Group the list by room or by type (furniture, kitchen, garden, children's) so buyers can scan for what they need. Price to sell: a garage sale is about clearing space, and round numbers make cash easier.
A reserve-this form
Reservations turn browsers into buyers who arrive knowing what they want. The simplest version is the contact form: name, email and a message saying which item. For a tidier list, a custom form tied to a site function can ask for the item number, name, phone and when they'll collect, all as plain-text fields, and its thank-you page can say what happens next: "We'll text you to confirm. Reserved items are held until 11:00 on the day."
Send reservations to a Google Sheet or to your phone through Telegram or Slack so you can mark items quickly. The form doesn't stop two people reserving the same item, so confirm each reservation yourself and change the item to "reserved" on the page as soon as you do. That's what keeps the page honest about what's left.
Payment happens in person
There's no checkout on the page, and for a yard sale page that's usually right: people want to see the item before they pay. If you'd like a deposit for something large, you could point a button at a payment link from your own provider such as PayPal or Stripe Payment Links, but for most sales a confirmed reservation and payment on collection is simpler and avoids refunds. Never ask buyers to pay in advance through a link someone else sent you; scams around online sales often start that way.
Building it
Describe the sale: "a moving sale website for 12 and 13 April at 4 Elm Road, with furniture, kitchen and garden items, and a form to reserve things". Upload your item photos to the build. The Playful or Organic design systems suit a friendly neighbourhood sale. Publish to a free anticode.dev address; for a two-day event there's no need for your own domain. Unpublish it afterwards, or leave a "thanks, everything's gone" note for a week.
Limits
- No automatic sold or reserved status. You change it by hand.
- No cart or online checkout. Buyers pay in person, or by your provider's payment link.
- No embedded map. Link to the address on a map service instead.
- Public address. The page is public; publish the address only as close to the sale as you're comfortable with.
Questions people ask
Can buyers make offers through the form?
Yes, in the message or an "offer" field on a custom form. You reply to accept or decline.
How long does it take to set up?
Most of the time goes on photographing items. The page itself is built from a short description and changed in place as items sell.
Can I reuse the page for the next sale?
Yes. Edit the dates and items; recent versions are kept in version history if you need to go back.