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Thanks to the smart folks at Taverner Research Group, the 2024 Garage Sale Trail survey results are in, and it’s once again revealed the power of community and how small actions made by many have a BIG impact.

Over two big weekends in November 2024, Australian households, Men's Sheds, Neighbourhood Houses, Scout and Guide groups, CWAs, local councils and even whole streets and towns put secondhand first at thousands of garage sales across the country 👏👏

Who took part?

Almost 300,000 people shopped or sold secondhand at more than 13,000 sales nationwide in 2024.

What were people's reasons for getting involved? The top 3 were wanting to declutter, diverting items from landfill and making some money. For shoppers, it was all about finding a bargain, looking for something unique and shopping sustainably.

Results from the seller survey also revealed that 88% were more likely to resell items they no longer need at a garage sale, market or online after participating, and 66% will consume less and buy more items secondhand in the future ✅

One Victorian participant remarked “We loved meeting new people, feeling more connected to our neighbourhood, [making] new friends… and are now more mindful about reducing excess and purchasing thoughtfully.”

How much did we save and earn?

755,261 items were sold or reused over the two big weekends. 41% of these items would otherwise have been sent to landfill.

That's 418 tonnes of pre-loved items re-homed; roughly the weight of 105 elephants worth of stuff diverted from the tip 😳

For sellers, that translated to an average of $499 earned at each household sale, and for shoppers - savings of over $9 million as a consequence of choosing secondhand over new.



What was the environmental impact?

Need a bit of context for just how significant this is for our environment? Here’s the skinny thanks to a nifty new reuse calculator developed by Charitable Reuse Australia and NSW EPA:

On top of the 2,540 tonnes of CO2 emissions being saved (the equivalent of removing 1,050 cars from the road), reusing clothing and household items over just two weekends saved more than 96 mega litres of water too ♻️ That’s enough to fill 38 swimming pools!

How does my waste footprint stack up?

Want to find out how your secondhand shopping habits are making a difference 🤨 Calculate your own CO2 emission savings using the Charitable Reuse Australia Calculator here

A final thanks to you all 🫶

Once again, we want to give a very special shoutout to each and every one of you who hosted sales, shopped sustainably, and spread the word. Your passion and hard work are the heartbeat of Garage Sale Trail 💚

This success wouldn't have been possible without the unwavering support from our 81 council partners and 3 regional groups, as well as state government partners like the NSW Environment Protection Authority and the Queensland Government.

Our collaboration with resale partner eBay Australia, media partner Peppermint Magazine, and community partners such as the Australian Men's Shed Association and Neighbourhood Houses has been invaluable too.

Take a bow everyone and get ready to do it all again on 8-9 & 15-16 November 2025.