Humans aren’t the only ones with hoarding issues!
The first time I heard this term, I was working for CPS, and one of the foster parents and kids said that this was one of their favorite weekend pastimes. I heard “yard sailing” and thought, “What is that?” This particular foster mom was one of those who barely breathed when she talked, so I had no time to ask what she meant. I eventually figured it out from context clues, but until then, just nodded and smiled.
We recently held our first yard sale. I wasn’t sure what I’d think of it. Usually I just give things to Goodwill, but I wanted to see if we could make some extra money, and we definitely did. I read a little bit online for advice before I did it, but I learned a few things as well.
1. Start early: We scheduled for 7 a.m. to 1 p.m. 6 a.m. to noon would have been better, or even stopping at 11 a.m. would have been fine. The buyers, the ones who do this on the weekends get there early. Everyone after 10:30 was mostly browsing.
2. Wear sunscreen: seriously. Put it on before you start. You won’t have time to put it on later.
3. Don’t bother to sell on Sunday. No one is going to come, not unless you’re on a very main road.
4. Be ready to bargain. No one pays full price for things. (But since I was going to give it away anyway, all was good.
5. People might get insulted if you say no. Someone offered me a price I thought was way too low, and when I said no, she rolled her eyes and got huffy. The item didn’t sell and is currently on my Goodwill pile, so maybe I would have been better off selling to her, but I didn’t like her attitude. Which brings me to the next one…
6. If you’re a buyer, be polite. I bargained with nice people way more often than with less than nice people. I had one guy get something that was marked $20 for $10 because he was persistent and polite about it.
7. Have fun. After all, if you’re not having fun, what’s the point?
Doree Weller 