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Wednesday, May 17, 2006

one man's trash...

... is that same man's cash!

Andrew & I held a garage sale last weekend after a painful week of going through the college stuff he had not unpacked in 3 years. (THREE YEARS people!) This meant there was a lot of furniture and kitchen appliances, that would double over at our house, so naturally we decided two blenders were not necessary. Blenders don't help you mass-produce gin & tonics, only froo-froo drinks, and my blender is cute and orange so it had to stay. Not to worry, we gave all his stuff the proper good-bye before we exchanged it hungrily for mula. This was the first time I ever had a garage sale, but I must say, I learned quite a few things:

1. People generally are not interested in spending over $20. It goes against the nature of scavenging through strangers belongings and the Art of the Deal.
2. There will be throngs of people ready to pounce at 6am if you let them.
3. A lot of people travel these things looking for clothes, DVD's & CD's. That means that Ace of Base CD you've been hording since 6th grade is fair game to that senior citizen bargain shopper.
4. Big ticket items (such as furniture over $20) are hard to get rid of UNLESS you have an ANGEL DIRECTLY FROM THE HEAVENS descend upon your garage sale at 10 minutes before you pack up wanting to buy ALL OF IT. God bless that woman and her husband who strained under the weight of all of it.
5. When you put up advertising signs a few days before on busy intersections, make sure it is not lawn-mowing day, or you will find your signs disguarded in the nearest dumpster.
6. Also in regard to signs, garage sale people are SNEAKY. Rival garage sales will alter your signs to create more advertising for their own team. My signs were cool damnit. Creative marketing tactics are coveted.
7. Most people do not bargain as we thought they would when pricing items. Price items at (or close) to what you'll take for them, because high prices are discouraging and people don't ask to deal as much as you would think.
8. One Successful Garage Sale = 580 Bones in the Bank. I highly suggest this method for the financially desperate.

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

Just make sure he doesn't use that money to go buy more stuff and then try to sell your beautiful orange blender. :)

Anonymous said...

Maybe I will use that money to buy a beautiful orange mixer to match the beautiful orange blender.....however, that money is in truth gone. Burned a whole right through my pocket.

As for the event itself - I think you could make an interesting study out of the socioeconomics of garage sales. Hell, it is definitely some good people watching.

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