Yard Sale Ponderings

In my book, Saturday mornings are good for 2 things:

1.Sleeping in

&

2. GARAGE SALES!

If I can get my body to agree, I obviously prefer the latter, but such is not always the case, so garage sale Saturdays are always a rare treat. Today's sales were no exception. I found this whimsical piece of artwork by Shane Slayer which is now the center piece in my living room. I also found books in abundance which always brings me joy.

I would like to take this occasion, though to speak as a lifelong garage sale aficionado about the frustrations of a yard saler...

Hence,

JENNY'S RULES for a SUCCESSFUL Yard Sale:

1 Make sure you have enough sale-worthy items to conduct a garage sale in the first place

*Seriously, nothing is more frustrating to a garage sale aficionado than wasting our time, efforts & gas money going to a yard sale full of refuse. If it's more than "lightly used" or if it was junk to begin with, just count your losses & move on.

*Furthermore, if there's not a neighborhood wide yard sale going on & you have less than 2 full-size tables worth of stuff to sell - you do not have enough to conduct your own yard sale. Either wait until you get more stuff, combine with a friend or neighbor, or again - count your losses.

2 If you're going to go through the effort of make a street sign for your sale, DO IT RIGHT.

*I'm not sure if people who make signs sometimes forget that we cannot read a paragraph of even a 40 point handwritten text while driving more than 2 miles an hour or if they just don't care, but the fact that they made a sign seems to signify that they do, so here's a little hint:

This sign WORKS for the following reasons:
1. The intention is clear
2. The direction is clear
3. The location is clear

This sign DOES NOT work for the following reasons:
1. While the intent is clear, the detail is excessive
2. The address is written in the same size font as the excessive details
& therefore cannot be read in the second it takes to pass the sign
3. The direction is given as an afterthought to the excessively detailed intent & will most likely be missed in passing

*Also, this is the 21st century, don't forget to use your technological advertising resources.

3 Presentation is KEY!

*Items should be reasonably clean, sorted, organized, priced and preferably placed off of the ground

*NEWS FLASH: only the most desperate for the cheapest bargain will be willing to dig through your dirty or unorganized crap

*Please for heaven's sake if you can avoid it, don't use cardboard boxes for display. They just scream - "I've been in storage for long periods of time & I might have been peed on by a rat."

*Would you be more willing to pay more for items from garage sale A or B:

A

Maybe to the untrained eye these both just look like yard sales so who cares, but I'm telling you, no one who wants to pay more than 50 cents for each item is going to dig through your floor piles.

B

4 Come to terms with the fact that people come to yard sales to FIND A BARGAIN!

*Most people who frequent garage sales could not care less that you paid $300 for something & never used it. They just want to buy it at yard sale prices which typically don't go over $100 on your biggest ticket items. If want to make fair money, sell it online, but don't get bitchy because no one values your monetary sacrifices at a yard sale.
*If things aren't selling & it's noon, YOUR PRICES ARE TOO HIGH! Tell your dreams of excessive financial gain to take a chill pill. Would you rather sell it for rock bottom prices or haul it off for donation where you get no financial gain & are forced into unpaid manual labor?
*Also, specialty items take the right crowd. Garage sales frequently don't draw it. Don't give the customers the stink eye for not wanting a specialty item (or any item for that matter). If no-one wants your neon Hooters sign. I'm sure there is some internet browser just dying to take it off your hands. & FINALLY:

5 This is not Animal Planet. Please do not stalk your customers like a friggin' lion on a wildebeest.

*I, as a common customer, am not a shoplifter. I'm not going to break anything. I can decide for myself which items I might want, and if I need a price or recommendation, I'll ask. Just stay off my butt & let me browse on my own terms & at my own pace.

Budee, Budee, Budee - That's all folks :)