Sunday, September 6, 2009

A Return to Yard Sales

For the first time in many, many years, I went yard saling yesterday with my sister. I have avoided yard sales in the past because I just didn't have room in our apartment for any more "stuff"!

The last time I had and went a yard sale was in the mid-west (Michigan). Yard sales where I grew up start at 7 AM and people are outside of your house by 6 AM! There are always tables and everything has a price. I found none of this to be true here in Vegas.

I met my sister at 7:30 AM and we thought we were getting a late start. As it turns out, we didn't start seeing signs for sales until well after 8 AM. Many of the "sales" we found had one table with a few items (maybe 20) and that was it. Some just threw their stuff on blankets in the driveway! And NONE of it had prices! I found that people had no concept what their stuff was worth. Most of the items were way overpriced, particularly the clothes. For example, one lady had baby clothes she was trying to sell for $2 each (shorts, onesies, sleepers, etc). Then she sold me three sets of BOB Books for $1 per box and this Madeline collection for $2! The books were true yard sale prices, but she could have made more money selling them elsewhere. I saw so many kids clothes priced at $2 and above! Crazy.

I was really frustrated over the lack of prices on stuff, especially when there were a lot of people looking and trying to figure out a price. I finally just picked up what I wanted and offered a price when I was through looking. That definitely worked better!

Yesterday's return to yard sales was definitely an eye opener and I'm looking forward to going out again this Fall as the weather cools off.

2 Thoughts From Others:

Jen said...

Very interesting...and annoying!!!!! I'm not sure how they work in AZ. I'm sure I'll soon find out. I have a ton of things to sell, as do my friends. I will, however, be putting reasonable prices on everything LOL! A true Michigander here ;)

The Prudent Homemaker said...

I have a friend who goes yard saling for me (with my list :) ) in Washington state. She finds me a TON of stuff.

I have been so frustrated with going here. I've seen baby clothes for $5 each! And who wants old paint that's been sitting in someone's hot garage for years?

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