Have done both and would straight away decide for a garage sale again!
Having said that, a suitable set up (i.e. separate/outside from garden garage) and several helpers/watchers (theft preventers) are essential. We usually organize garage sales between several friends and have a few maids help us. Timings strictly from 8 - 11 or 12 (depending how much stuff we have); and yes, people are waiting outside from early, to be ignored!
Adverts (including location map!) are usually distributed to about 10-12 supermarkets in Jumeirah/Umm Suqueim, placed on Dubizzle, Gulf News announcement pages, and wherever possible. Not to forget street signs leading from major road.
And we prepare to have fun between us - coffee/tea & croissants...
ok that definitely puts me off a garage sale!!! flea market sounds a possibility if one has a few people to help and gets into the spirit of it - I suppose. I had a quick look round Safa on Sat morning and the stall holders seemed quite chilled.. although some of the stalls seemed to be so close together that it felt a bit claustrophobic.
For those who are interested there is also a babies and children market - I think it tends to be on a smaller scale then the flea markets so maybe less stressful.
If anyone is interested in sharing a table at a flea market let me know..
thanks for the advice
Have you thought about selling things on dubizzle.com or souq.com?
The garage sales sound a nightmare, it's so terrible people steal...especially in your own house :O
i just sold at safa... and can't recommend it enough...
yes u will find the odd thieves and bargain hounders... but heh all that can be easily warded by having extra pairs of eyes at the stall (i roped in a few friends with an offer of lunch at my place after the sale!) and sticking to my tagged price... i just refused to budge for the bargain hounders... that way u come back still having made ur worth of money... (just made 1500/- at the flea market this saturday) and i shared my table with a friend so we only paid AED 115/- each...
garage sale at home is much more difficult to control... plus u have people walking all over the place and hence have this huge mess to clear up at the end... just wayyy too much involvement for me...
all the best with whatever u decide... try and use the best of both... so have a garage sale for all the bulky items... and a flea market table for smaller things (like clothes, appliances, etc.)