The Garage Sale Report
No matter how much time you spend preparing, it’s utter chaos once you open your doors to garage sale hounds.
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Despite living in the
middle of nowhere, we were mobbed. Some people returned several times a day and even the
following weekend.
It was just as well, even though we moved the overflow
outside, there was still stuff in the back that we didn’t bring out until we
had more room.
The photos can't do it justice. By the time I had a chance to take a few pics, half the stuff was already gone and disheveled once again.
There were two comments people kept making throughout the sale.
- Our prices were incredibly low.
- We had the most unique assortment of things they’d ever seen.
What can I say? We’re eccentric eclectic collectors.
Eventually, we did have a few book buyers, but most of them went
for nonfiction. (Is that a hint for me?) The other popular subject was military
historical novels. That’s what Greg reads. Only one person picked up a romance
novel.
What went first?
Almost all of Greg’s stuff. Chain saws. Mowers. His mountain
bike. All our camping gear. The other big sellers were housewares, gadgets,
small appliances, and plastic storage containers.
Some of you might remember when I did a post about changing out most of my plastic containers for glass.
I finally
got my chance to get rid of the excess. I sold stuff by the box load: Christmas, overused
canning jars, and plastic. Then I marked the whole box for a dollar. Those things
literally ran out the door.
Décor moved the slowest which surprised me because everything
was pristine. The kitschy pieces went first and then the more traditional
stuff.
We had a few pieces of antique furniture that sold to the same person. We still have two sideboards
and two dining tables in the house I need to sell, but I’ll put them up on
Craigslist.
What didn’t sell? Two glass and iron end tables. I thought
they’d be great indoors or out, but no one wanted them.
…and just as I’m writing this, I got a text from a lady who took
our number. She wants them. Huzzah!
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| Nobody wants me! |
Good question, Mike. Good question.
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| Loved this. Wish I had a spot for it. |
Anyway, it all went well, though that hard-earned money might
have to be donated to the vet today. Iko hasn’t been feeling well. We've had
some severe storms lately, and he chews when he’s nervous.
This time he chewed up his dog bed and ate a lot of the
stuffing. I’ve been treating him at home, but I’m considering taking him to the
vet just to make sure he’s okay. Impaction can kill a dog, and I like my Iko
alive.
Have you ever had a garage sale? What was your experience like?
By the way, I wrote an ebook on garage sales if you're interested in getting an insider's secrets. It covers both shopping a sale and holding one. It's called Garage Sale Bible.
Comments
Sorry to hear about your dog. I hope he'll be fine with minimal vet bills. :hugs:
I enjoy wandering around really good garage sales - like yours! - but I try not to bring too much stuff home unless it's some funky piece I just love.
It is amazing what sales and what doesn't sale at garage sales. Tools always seem like a big item to go; books used to be but not so much any more. I get it with the nonfiction books over the other books, I had that experience too with the last few garage sales I did.
I probably won't have another garage sale in my life since we have so much less stuff now, but I did mention we had several garage sales in clearing out hubby's parents' home. I, like you, learned it is better to price low and get rid of than price high and have no one buy. My purpose was to get rid of things and not have to haul the stuff to Goodwill, etc.
betty
Iko needs to learn how to chill poor guy, eating stuffing from his bed had to have tasted awful and sure hope he is okay soon!
The one smart thing we did was hold it on the street that was more visible. We have corner acreage so our property faces two streets.
The street the house is on is a private street and a little harder to notice because of its gravel road.
LOL.
Fortunately, they managed to drive away from the tornado's heading.
I won't be able to sell for four months. Hope they're still interested by then.
I still have to recover from this sale.
What was nice is that the word got around about our sale. Many times, we heard, "so and so told us to come over." That's a nice endorsement.
More storms ahead. I'm keeping an eye on him.
Though as you can see from 10 boxes of books, I probably overdid it. :)
There was only one time I regretted not asking to buy the whole lot. This guys had boxes and boxes of hard cover SF books. But I was late for an appointment and he had other people milling around. To this day, I regret not buying his stash.
Hardly anyone counter offered, but we did give discounts to people who bought a lot of stuff at once.
Hubby and I had a garage sale when we were first combining houses, and swore we'd never have another one. It just wasn't worth the hassle for us.