Better Yard Sales
Spring is here and improving weather means it won’t be long before homeowners and renters start carting their unwanted stuff outside and putting a for sale sign on it. Yard sale signs have already started popping up at intersections in warmer parts of the country and for yard sale enthusiasts, the temptation to just take a peak is usually too strong to resist a five block trip out of their way!
But how many times have we been disappointed by a yard sale? Yard sales are either hit or miss, and mostly miss unfortunately. Don’t people understand no one wants their old cassette tapes, much less the boom box that used to play them. Like it or not, lots of things have an “expiration” date, and while I applaud people who extend the useful life of things and keep them in circulation for as long as possible, yard sales shouldn’t be used to try and sucker someone out of a quarter so we don’t have to take responsibility for the proper disposal or recycling of some antiquated thing that’s been gathering dust in our attic.
With all the other places to find second-hand goods these days (e.g. Craigslist, eBay, consignment stores, estate sales) yard salers have to work extra hard to get me to stop. A big sign doesn’t do it, nor does tricky “merchandising” (e.g. spreading things out to make it look like they have more stuff than they do). I generally only stop for a multiple-households sale. More stuff just increases the chance of making a score, so I really appreciate it when an entire neighborhood has the good sense to coordinate and hold their yards sales on the same day. And this is my advice to anyone thinking about holding a yard sale this summer: buddy up with neighbors and make it worth people’s time to stop and look. And please don’t put out your old college yearbooks, inkless pens and lidless tupperware!
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