Dollar garage sale attracts national attention

Benjy Egel

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Matt McGill, Rhys Jansen and Nick Shorts had too much junk in their garage. Most of it wasn’t even theirs, but random items left over from the house’s former lessors.

The three friends decided to host a garage sale on Sunday where every item would be sold for just $1, no matter its true value. McGill, Jansen and Shorts created an over-the-top video spoofing local infomercials, expecting only a few visitors to their house on Ferrini Road.

“We were like, ‘Wouldn’t it be funny if we just sold everything for a dollar, even if it’s really valuable?’” Shorts said, the middle school director at GraceSLO church. “And we laughed about it, and then we did it.”

The video blew up on Reddit and other social media sites, reaching nearly 200,000 views and earning some play time on Good Morning America. With items like a snowboard and large speakers for sale, McGill, Jansen and Shorts found themselves trying to organize a long line of buyers as early as 10:45 a.m.

“I interviewed some people in line, and they all wanted the stuff from the video,” Shorts said. “There were people who drove from L.A.”

Since the event started at 12:30 p.m., McGill, Jansen and Shorts also sold hot dogs for — of course — a dollar.

Shorts said the most sought-after item was an old stuffed animal snake named Hissy, featured in the video. All in all, the friends made 381 individual sales, raking in one dollar for each.

“(Jansen) was really shocked,” Shorts said. “He thought the whole thing was really stupid, and every time we got more attention for it, he said, ‘I can’t believe this is happening. This is dumb.’”

Jansen and Shorts thanked their girlfriends for their support and help organizing the event. McGill made a point of saying he is single.