Garage Sale

- Coupeville Lions Annual Garage Sale -
July 2-3, 2011

*Preview* July 1 from 1 to 3 p.m., * -SALE-* July 2, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. -and- July 3, 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Coupeville Lions Club’s Annual Garage Sale, “The Biggest and Best in Our World” is set for July 3 and 4 2011, featuring tools and auto equipment, good used furniture, sporting goods, books and games, children’s toys, electronics and appliances, exercise equipment, lamps and vacs, bikes and skates, collectables and more. Items/treasures are collected all year. Don’t miss this event.

The major source of recurring income for the Coupeville Lions Foundation is derived from the annual “Garage Sale”. Income from this sale helps support a wide variety of local services including Boy Scouts, scholarships, food bank, senior services, parks, youth coalition, sports, learn-to-swim, sight and hearing, medical equipment, Camp Horizon and others. Every dollar realized from the sale of donated items goes to make our community a better place.

To get the best return from donations and the tremendous effort put into the sale by Lions and other great volunteers some guidelines and good judgment need to be applied when accepting donations.

• We can't take everything. Sorry, we'll say it again...we can't take everything.

• Great quality may make an item saleable even if it's on the “don't take” list.

Donations must be accepted by a Lion! The public is not welcome to just drop stuff off...sorry, we don't have a dope-off. A Lion will be happy to pick up the item from your home...really, your donation is that important to us!

--The following Lions have access to the "secret" storage barn and will be happy to help arrange for pickup--

Please be aware that we are grateful for the support of quality donations but we can't use everything.

• Large microwave ovens, console or large TV's (over 17”), large speakers (over 12”), printers, scanners, monitors

• Dirty, excessively worn or broken furniture. We can only store, not clean/fix/restore.

• Furniture made of chip board. NO CHIP BOARD, PLEASE! It is impossible to stack/store/sell, and cost $$ to dump.

• Typewriters, copiers, computers, and computer printers, sorry no one wants to purchase them used...

• Hide-a-bed sofas, they are VERY HEAVY, and we are not professional movers...

• Encyclopedias, magazines, Readers Digest books just don't sell...and cost us $$$ to dispose of...other books VERY welcome!

SORRY-- In general, garage sale leftovers are not worth the time and trouble to pick them up...unless we are assured that good treasures/pieces are still available.

We are attempting to offer quality items at very reasonable prices to our friends and neighbors, those in need as well as bargain hunters. Your donations are important to our ability to support various community and international Lions programs and supported charities.

One man's trash is another man's treasure...Remember, we're all in this together, and our only wish is to SERVE our communities.

The Lions Club will accept cash, boat, car, plane, scooter, motorcycle & bike...donations to further our charitable giving too!,

A throng of penny-pinching shoppers searching for the best deals on Whidbey Island will venture to Coupeville Elementary School this weekend. Shoppers will line up at the starting line eagerly awaiting the horn to blow that kicks off the annual Coupeville Lions Club garage sale.

The annual garage sale takes place June 27 and June 28 in and around the school's multipurpose room. Saturday's sale goes from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. and Sunday's sale goes from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. "Here we go again," Coupeville Lions Club member Dennis Bullock said, while Lions Club members volunteered to sort the items that will be sold this weekend.

Volunteers started bringing items to the elementary school June 16, which is the day after classes were dismissed for the summer break. While no cars have been donated this year, one of the more unusual items being sold is a giant, decorative airplane, which Lions Club members salvaged from Camp Horizon near Birch Bay.

The multipurpose room was overflowing with items that browsers will sort through; everything from books to sewing machines. Volunteer Donna Brown noted the garage sale could help college-bound students. "You could furnish a dorm here," Brown said.

The garage sale started in 1985 and originally took place at Dean's Auto Repair Garage, which used to be located next to the Tyee on South Main Street, Bullock said.

Volunteer Ralph Edwards, who sorts through the electronic equipment, noted how people's buying habits have changed over the years. In the early years of the garage sale, between 15 and 20 TV sets would be sold. This year, however, he said nobody will probably buy the three sets that are available to purchase. He noticed that there are also fewer large stereo systems and VCRs available.

The garage sale virtually takes over the elementary school campus, in addition to filling the multipurpose room. Items ranging from tools, suitcases and major household appliances surround the building and furniture is placed underneath the overhangs near classrooms. The recently built covered play area is home to couches, sofas, love seats and davenports, along with chairs and recliners that are priced to sell.

The Coupeville Lions Club gathers the donated items throughout the year and stores them in a barn on Fort Casey Road.

Bullock said that the donated items also serve another important use. Collected items have been donated to families whose homes were destroyed by fire.

"That's something we can do to serve the people in the community," Bullock said.

He added last year's garage sale brought in more than $30,000. The money raised from the garage sale supports a host of community groups such as the Boys and Girls Club and the Boy Scouts. It also funds service projects, including the purchase of new kitchen equipment for the Coupeville Recreation Hall.

People wishing to get a sneak peak at the items available for the weekend garage sale can attend a preview, which takes place Friday, June 26, from noon to 4 p.m.

Sale starts Saturday

Coupeville Lions Club’s Annual Garage Sale, “the biggest and best in our world,” is set for June 27 and 28, featuring tools and auto equipment, good used furniture, sporting goods, books and games, children’s toys, electronics and appliances, exercise equipment, lamps and vacs, bikes and skates, collectables and more. Items collected all year. Don’t miss this event. Preview June 26 from 1 to 4 p.m.; sale June 27, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., and June 28, 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Jul 02 2008 --The Coupeville Lions Club annual garage sale fundraiser brought in excited shoppers and a pile of money this weekend. The total amount of cash raised won’t be released until Wednesday evening at a dinner for the workers, but that hasn’t stopped Lions members from guessing.

Lions members have a jar and for $1 a guess can be added. Warren Ivy, a club member, said guesses range from $23,000 to $41,000. "We had a pretty good morning rush — there were a lot of people lined up to go inside and start shopping," Ivy said. He estimated that several hundred shoppers attended throughout the weekend.

Along with the assortment of books, toys and antiques, a Jaguar Sedan went for $2,800 and a nice Yamaha piano sold for $1,500.

The big items helped the cause. "We have to sell a lot of dishes to make that much money, All the boats and lawnmowers "went like hotcakes," said Ivy. However, many items didn’t sell. If homes couldn’t be found for them, they were taken to the dump. This is normal for the sale, and some usable items are sold at the landfill.

"I think we had a pretty good turnout. There were a lot of people on Saturday shopping and a lot of people on Sunday," Ivy said. "We certainly had good weather for it." Sixty to 70 Lions members and other volunteers helped out at the event. Navy personnel assisted with set-up and clean-up. Ivy said they always do a good job and their efforts are appreciated.

Wednesday evening, July 2, the workers will celebrate at Coupeville Town Park with hamburgers and the grand revelation of the amount of money raised. "I think we did alright," Ivy said.

As always, the Central Whidbey community and projects to aid vision and hearing efforts worldwide will benefit from the Lions’ famous garage sale.

By JIM LARSEN Whidbey News-Times editor
From the Whidbey News-Times 2007

Get headed to the starting line, folks. The Coupeville Lions Club Garage Sale is about to begin. “Starting line” is no metaphor. For this garage sale, there is literally a rope holding people back until the figurative starting gun fires. It’s Central Whidbey’s version of the Oklahoma land rush, only instead of land people are out to grab bargain-priced pieces of furniture, household items and electronics. Lions Club members expect at least 200 people will be waiting behind the rope when this year’s sale begins at 9 a.m. Saturday, June 29. It continues Sunday until 2 p.m. The last day of school in most communities means the kids are out for the summer. In Coupeville, it means the Lions Club can start moving tons of donated garage sale items into the elementary school.
On Friday, June 14, a pride of Lions filled trucks at their secret warehouse surrounded by farmland. They waited impatiently for 3 p.m. when school building would become officially available. “School ends today and we move in,” said Ron Boyer, Lions Club president. Actually, they only started moving in that day. They were looking forward to two weeks of moving items from secreted locations to the school.
In this a particular warehouse, donated items literally soared to the ceiling. Lions climbed around the stacks, handing items down to other Lions, who hauled them to the trucks. It was hard work. “I joined last week, and if it’s any indication of the work we will be doing I’ll be out of here next month,” complained Jim Brannan, the club’s newest member. The other Lions laughed and told him things would only get worse until the sale begins. For the Lions Club, the garage sale is more than worth the effort. Al Sherman helped start the annual blow-out sale 23 years ago, and since then he has seen it help fund a myriad of community projects. “This is the granddaddy of all garage sales,” said Lion Bob Clay, while Lion Bill Bainbridge described it as “a club effort — actually a community effort.” In Coupeville, as in many tiny towns across America, the Lions Club is one of the pillars of the community. Sale proceeds provide the flags that line Coupeville’s streets on patriotic days, support other projects and make scholarships possible for deserving students. “We gave away $15,000 the other day,” said Boyer, referring to scholarships given out to graduates.
People donate to the garage sale all year long, but the Lions don’t take junk. They make sure all donated items are clean and in working order, including computers and other electronic equipment.
That’s why garage sale fans keep coming back year after year, and it’s why a rope is needed to hold them back.