Everything to know about the sale

Preview Sale will be Sunday, January 28, 10 am – 3 pm. $40 ticketed admission. Only 2,200 tickets will be sold. Public Shopping Days will be January 31 – February 3, February 7 – 10, 14 – 17, 19, 22 – 24. 10 am – 2 pm. $5 ticketed admission per day. Note: We will allow walk-ins each day after 11 am as space allows after all pre-paid tickets holders have entered. Children over 12 are welcome with pre-paid or walk-in ticket. Walk-ins pay $5 admission. There is a 10% surcharge on all items during the Public Shopping Days. The Blow Out Sale will be Saturday, March 2 and Sunday, March 3, 10 am – 3 pm. Free admission, but tickets are required. Children of all ages are welcome, but we cannot accommodate strollers in the warehouse. Sign up to join our mailing list for updates!

During the Public Shopping Days, we will allow walk-ins each day after 11 am as space allows after all pre-paid ticket holders have entered. Children over 12 are welcome with pre-paid or walk-in tickets. Walk-ins must pay $5 admission. As space allows during the Public Shopping Days, shoppers may enter the warehouse for free after 1 pm for the last hour of the day’s sale. Children over 12 are welcome. Note: We cannot accommodate strollers.

Tickets are only available online at our website. Preview Sale: tickets available beginning December 15th at 8 am Public Shopping Days: tickets available beginning December 20th at 8 am Blow Out Sale: tickets available beginning December 20th at 8 am. Tickets will be required for entry beginning at 10 am on each of the Public Shopping Days. Unticketed shoppers will be admitted, for the same fee as ticketed shoppers, after 11 am on each of the Public Shopping Days after all ticketed shoppers have entered.

We no longer accept in-person donations at our warehouse. All donations must be picked up by the White Elephant Sale truck. To schedule a free truck pickup, call 510-839-5919. For specific questions about what we accept, please click here.

The health and safety of our patrons and volunteers is paramount to us. We will adhere to all public health mandates in place at the time of our sale. Here’s how we’re keeping everyone safe: Masking is no longer required for everyone in the warehouse, but is strongly recommended. Doors will be open to help with ventilation. Social distancing is highly recommended. Hand sanitizer will be available. Vaccination & boosters are highly recommended, not required. Please stay home if you are feeling unwell, exhibiting symptoms of Covid-19, or if you have been in recent contact with anyone who has tested positive for Covid-19.

Please call 510-839-5919. A real person will call you back to schedule a day and time for your pickup.

Our truck picks up donations year-round in the immediate Bay Area from our warehouse in Oakland. We don’t require a minimum donation. We schedule pickups every day in Oakland, Berkeley, San Leandro, Piedmont, Albany, and Alameda. We usually schedule pickups weekly in surrounding areas as far as San Francisco, Fremont, San Mateo, Martinez, San Ramon, Livermore, and Marin County. In order to schedule as efficiently as possible, we try to schedule pickups at further locations together. This affects how soon we will be able to come for some of these areas. For specific questions about what we accept and about pickups in your area, click here.

We accept donations of gently used, good quality items throughout the year for truck pick up only. We no longer accept in-person donations. There is no minimum for a donation. You can also donate to the White Elephant Sale in other ways: Donate your Car: Visit Cars2ndchance, to donate your car to the White Elephant Sale (select White Elephant Sale from the drop-down list) Donate directly to the Oakland Museum of California

Due to the high volume of donations and limited warehouse space we find we must set quantity and quality limitations. Please check our list of items that we do not accept or ask the truck driver, who has final discretion on what we can take. Our list changes frequently due to surpluses in the warehouse. Please label boxes and bags with their contents. Be aware that our truck drivers and volunteers may decline donations that we cannot sell. Review our DO NOT TAKE LIST here.

The sale is primarily run by volunteers: all year long, hundreds of volunteers sort through, clean up, set up, and price the items for sale. The sale itself is overseen by a volunteer board of directors. However, we couldn't run the sale without a few key paid staff members, including truck drivers, warehouse janitors and managers, and a handful of other full-time and part-time staff. All of our staff receive living wages plus benefits.

The Oakland Museum’s Women’s Board (“OMWB”) will accept bequests of the contents of deceased donors’ homes for the White Elephant Sale (“WES”) subject to the following policies: Bequests to the OMWB/WES must be in writing and comply with all California legal requirements. The written bequest may be either part of a will or trust document or a separate document that is incorporated into any will or trust document. Access to the deceased donor’s home must be provided through the executor or deceased donor’s attorney. The OMWB/WES is not responsible for securing the home, for the contents of the home, or for damage or injury in the home. The OMWB/WES will not act as executor. Friends or relatives may claim specific items among the contents in the home as specified in the written bequest. The written bequest may also identify friends or relatives who may claim items of their choice in the home. Any arrangements to claim items not specified in the bequests: a) must be made through the executor or deceased donor’s attorney; b) must be cleared in advance by the OMWB/WES; and c) may be supervised by the OMWB/WES. The OMWB/WES will sort and remove wanted items from the home, but is not responsible for cleaning the home and for removing or disposing of unwanted items. As with any donations to the WES, the bequest is tax deductible under the Internal Revenue Code based on the present fair market value of the donated items, and it is the donor’s responsibility to estimate the fair market value. The OMWB’s Federal Tax ID Number is: 94-3102469.

Subject to current IRS and tax regulations, all items donated to the Oakland Museum Women’s Board White Elephant Sale are tax deductible for income tax purposes at their present fair market value. The Internal Revenue Code places the responsibility on the donor for estimating fair market value of the property. The Oakland Museum Women’s Board is a 501(c)3 non-profit. Federal Tax ID Number is EIN: 94-3102469. Tax laws frequently change. Before making a donation, please consult with your tax advisor.

No

All White Elephant Sale donations are final. If you do unintentionally donate an item, please contact us within three business days of your donation, and we will make every attempt to locate your item. Please note we cannot guarantee that we will be able to locate an item once it has been donated, and we ask you to carefully check and consider all your items before donating.