[sigmadiva]

Originally Posted by SydneyK

I went to a block garage sale last year and decided that if I were ever to participate in one, I would set it up the same way. They obviously took a lot of time for preparation, but for the shoppers, it was perfect. There were four houses involved. Each house had a different "theme" (for lack of better words). One house had appliances (toasters, coffee pots, vacuum cleaners, etc.); another house had entertainment (books, games, video game systems/games, etc.); another house had furniture (lamps, tables, chairs, etc.); another had clothes; you get the idea.

Great way of doing this!

The homeowners had each priced their items before taking them to the appropriately themed home. And each homeowner had designated price color-dots (one family wrote the price on blue dots, another family wrote their prices on green dots, etc). There was a money-station between each house (so, there were three tables where you could go to buy your stuff), and when you bought your items, the people taking the money logged the price and the color of the color-dot. I assume, at the end of the sale, they added up how much each family earned and divvied up the money appropriately.

Bold - my emphasis.

I've seen this done too and it seemed like a good system. As the shopper bought an item, the colored dot was peeled off and placed on a notepad. That way each person received his / her correct total amount at the end of the sale. But, for the sale I went to there was only one pay station.