Advice

Garage sales

By Meg ⋅ May 21, 2007 ⋅  Print This Post ⋅ Post a comment

Ok!! I must first address the biggest question on everyone’s mind this forth of July weekend; why are the individuals that go to garage sales so cheap? Yes, I know it is uncanny that I could read all of your minds like that, but I am serious. I know that just the idea of people selling things from their garage creates the illusion of used and trashy. But this is not the case!! Some things you find can be in great almost new condition if not actually new. “thrifty”. Dictionary.com says, 1: careful and diligent in the use of resources 2: mindful of the future in spending money; “careful with money”(http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/thrifty for those who have enough spare time to check up on me.) This leads one to believe that being careful with money does not have to mean ignorant with money. Although we all have a mutual understanding that you will pay less at a garage sale than a store; why do so many believe that all things found inside of every garage/thrift/estate/moving sale must be overpriced and that as a potential buyer it is up to you to offer no more than half the asking price? Now let me go back a bit here. Yes I had a sale from my own personal garage this last week-end. And I would like to give a few small tips to all those entertaining the idea.

If an older man pulls up in a lime green pick-up wearing white tee and jeans, please, rush all small children into the house and avert your eyes. Plan B, Think of polite ways to say, “Hey old guy, your catchin’way so much breeze under your hood!” or something more or less offensive depending on your own personality. Personally I choose to laugh while crawling around on the floor looking for a nonexistent button that fell. Luckily his quest did not include the many toys I had to offer and he ever so slowly, stretched and meandered back to his truck. Yes meandered slowest swagger a man could do. Guess open fly is not particularly aerodynamic.

As far advertising, Huge arrows throughout neighborhood and Craigs’list (free) worked wonders. I had lots of traffic. Ask neighbors if anyone else want in, if so everyone can pitch in and do an ad in newspaper. I know that in Colorado Springs the Gazette wants $50 buck for an ad. To big of a rip off for yours truly but I am thrifty.

Understand that everybody’s children are going to come in and play, throw, chuck, toss, juggle and slime all the toys they can get their hands on and 95% of he parents could not care one little bit. I made a point of Lysoling all toys as rude people left, and do you know that many people’s eyes are two different sizes when they glare? Interesting little fact. Maybe the dominant eye has stronger muscles in it and it closes slightly more than the less dominant eye. I should research it.

Be prepared to mark all merchandise a solid 25% more than you would really like to get, Most will only offer half of whatever is marked.

Any outfits you have (clothing) should be pinned together because everyone that looks at the table will feel the need to completely destroy and semblance it had and will definitely want to buy half a set. Another solution, price things as an individual item and half a second sticker that gives a lower price in it is bought with the matching piece. This works particularly well if half the pieces have no matching piece because the customer will begin to arrange clothing with potential matches and you will find your customers cleaning up the table to save 20 cents. Or you can pray for someone with OCD to come along. I know I suffer a bit or the whole matching outfit thing would not bother me to begin with.

Ask for donations instead of free on any small junk box or kool-aid stands. You get very generous, good hearted people out there. The kids made a killing. I would advise all Moms to help with the kool-aid making instead of assuming the kids did it correctly. I really do not want to get any deeper into that one.

And last but not least, clean up everything you put out, clean image makes customers think you know what your doing.

Well, I guess that is all I can think of off the top of my head, I just think that others should be prepared for the cheapskates out there that are convinced all garage sale sellers are greedily overpricing their items. Remember, many people rarely make enough to pay the newspaper for the ad. (Yes, I am making fun of the Colorado Springs Gazette and their prices for a thrift sale ad) And back to my initial question, why are buyers at garage sales so cheap? I do not know. Write in if you have any thoughts on the subject.