This could probably be a Thursday Thirteen but we all know how motivated I’ve been to do those lately so I’m just going to rant on now. You know why yard sales suck? (suddenly, I got this image of myself as Joe Pesci in the Lethal Weapons movies going “They f**k you at the drivethrough.” Yard sales suck because you spend at least a week before the yard sale getting ready and stressing about it. And contemplating just taking the whole lot to Goodwill. But then thinking that the cash in hand rather than the tax write off would be nice. So you go through the hassle of getting it all together and thinking about pricing it. But you don’t price it because you’re lazy and you don’t want to (but maybe that’s just me).
So then you get up at six am on a SATURDAY morning (isn’t there a law against that) when you’ve been up until midnight because it was Mom’s Night Out the night before (rocking good time, btw). You get up at six am to set things out for the yard sale that’s been advertised to start at 7am (neighborhood association does all that advertising, which is a good thing in my book) and some nutjobs are already cruising past your house and actually digging through stuff while you’re trying to put it out. And price it since you were too lazy to do it earlier in the week. Someone once told me they post a sign in their yard that says “Early birds pay double.” I like that. But I’m just ornery like that.
Finally, about halfway through pricing and unpacking boxes, as you’re watching your husband still carrying even more boxes, you realize you have a lot of junk. And you think about all the money you’ve spent buying that junk over the years and you wonder, “What in the bleeding hell was I thinking?” and you get all that junk unpacked but you only get about half of it priced because you realize, after the fifth person has asked you for a price on something already tagged, people are morons so there’s really no point. They’re going to ask regardless of the blazing yellow price tag on that piece of junk they’re holding.
And then it gets to you. The haggling. The scowling. The rude comments because NO you won’t sell your paperbacks for less than 50 cents because they’re worth more online trading at Paperback Swap. And the guy who told you not to call him sir (I call everyone sir, ma’am. Polite, yes?) when you wouldn’t cut him a deal on said books? You call him sir a good five more times because he can just kiss your… and you wonder at what point in life it happened that a paperback book isn’t even worth 50 cents to people? Because that’s just sad and depressing and since you’re in the business of publishing it kind of makes you want to go find a dark cave and eat some of those Doritos your wonderful husband brought home for you after reading the comments on your blog earlier in the week.
Finally, the yard sale is over and look! You still have lots of junk. People bought stuff you would never have expected anyone to buy. And no one bought the stuff you thought would surely sell. You made…hm. Oh goody, a hundred dollars. Was it worth it? Uh, well, we did get motivated to go through the basement and clear out a lot of stuff. And it all went right onto the trailer for the Salvation Army so it’s an “easy” tax write off now. But truthfully? Yard sales suck. Because it just drives home how people want something for pretty much nothing. But yayyy! It’s done and holy moses did we get rid of a lot of stuff to Salvation Army in the end. It’s that much less stuff we have to worry about for moving and I’m sure there will be another load before we move.
Didn’t you know most of your stuff will sale before 7am if you have it out and ready…why you ask…because then they take it to the flee market and resale it for two or three times what they paid for it… :giggle:
As for you books…he would have sold them for at least a couple of dollars each at the flee market… :giggle:
But like you said, you’ve been motivated to go through everything and so that’s one less worry for your move… :cheer:
I forgot to say that the guy also made me grumpy because he’s a bookstore owner, used bookstore. I’ve seen him around before at a previous yard sale I did years before, and at the thrift stores. I should have jacked my prices up when I saw him but my own sense of fairness wouldn’t let me. Dammit
I like shopping at yard sales for books. A few other odds and ends here and there. Hosting my own, though, I gave up bothering. I bring my books to the second hand store, and get really big garbage bags for when twice a year I throw out all the junk!
That being said, I want to get rid of some of books from my youth: Baby-sitters Club, Sweet Valley, etc. I hate to just give them away, but I can’t find anyone to take them
Those are the kind of books I’ve had stored for years, for Brianna. Though I must admit, no Babysitter Club or Sweet Valley High. But Nancy Drew and Trixie Belden there are a lot of!
Oohhh… Man, I’d love your Trixie Belden’s.
I won’t do yard sales anymore… the one or two hundred dollars isn’t worth the stress. I’ve done it twice in the past few years and the last time I swore — never, ever again.
Books I give to the library – they sell them twice a year to make money to buy books for the library. All else makes its happy way off to the Salvation Army. I get a write off and keep my blood pressure low.
I feel for you.
Sigh. My neighbors have a yard sale every other month. Why do I know this? Because I have learned the hard way to make damned sure all of our stuff is tucked away on neighbor yard sale day or it will get taken. Apparently, and I did not know this rule, if it’s outside the sale zone and outside, it’s free for the taking. Dive gear. Fishing gear. Gardening tools.
I hate yard sales. Hate’m. Goodwill and tax write off are the only way to go.
FYI — I followed you over here from DearAuthor.com.
Your blog post just made up my mind for me. When our house sells, I’m not doing a yard sale. Anything that can’t be sold on eBay will be donated to charity. Some yard sale customers are very aggressive, and I just don’t need that kind of grief!
I’d LOVE to have my Trixie Beldens and Kim Aldriches back!
I’m a haggler and enjoy shopping at market or flea stalls in countries where bartering is commonplace.
Perhaps, Angie, it would help to know that at yard sales, folk are expecting to haggle over the price tag and so you must price a wee bit higher than you want for an item. The thing to keep in mind is not to be offended by low offers, it’s simply a way of finding where the seller stands.
I have to add, your hubbie sounds like a dream. Doritos because he read your blog. (He read your blog!) Sigh.
Sigh…yard sales do suck. I haven’t had one in a few years and reading your rant makes me realize why. They are a huge pain in the butt, people want it all for free, they’re rude, etc. And then you have to gather it all up and send it to Goodwill anyway.
So yeah the last few years, we just box it up and donate it. Hubby likes the write off. Much easier in my book.
I like this smilie. :chicken:
Getting ready for yard sales is very, very tiring, as is the clean up. Yuck! The last yard sale we had was 4 or 5 years ago. Many things that didn’t sell went to Goodwill.
But I LOVE going to yard sales! There were 2 in my neighborhood this weekend. Sadly, I didn’t stop by either.
My Nancy Drew books are keepers! I have all of them from the classic set and then a lot of the newer ones. I still buy them sometimes, actually. I really like the super mysteries as well. It’s the other books that I want to get rid of.
I don’t do yard sales, it’s always donate the stuff.
:chicken: