RENO, NV - Back-to-school shopping is in full swing. But the place to go this week for the best deals may not be at the mall, but at the Reno Livestock Center.

Hundreds of families are expected to show up for the Just Between Friends Consignment Sale. It opens to the public on Friday and ends on Saturday.

"Moms all over Reno have cleared out their houses and got together their gently used items and they're going to bring them down and they're going to consign them at Just Between Friends," said Sarah Fierro, who organized the event in Reno.

On Wednesday, volunteers started collecting the merchandise and setting up, so they can roll out the deals for back-to-school shoppers.

"It's like a giant garage sale, but nicer," said Fierro. "You name it, you'll find it at Just Between Friends."

Nearly 200 families have signed up to sell their stuff and they don't even have to be there to bring in the cash. Sellers just have to register their items online...

"Then they drop them off with us at the Livestock Center," said Fierro. "At the end of the night, we'll upload the sales that we sell at the sale and consigners can see all their items that have sold."

Marci Banes started dropping her items off. "I love to clean, I love to shop. I love to sell," said the young mother. "So what an awesome opportunity!"

Organizers are expecting 10,000 items and hundreds of shoppers to walk through the doors. And while mothers may focus on the bargains, it's really a community event. All of the money made stays in the area, with most going back into the pockets of local families.

"You know, everyone has bins of stuff and garages full of stuff. Why not recycle it, make some cash, buy what you need and then take the extra money and pay some bills and take care of your family?" says Fierro.

"People really do in this economy need a little extra help," said Amanda Sutherland, who attended the event in Texas. "And especially it's back to school time, and this is a great place to come shop and get all the stuff you need."