One of my favorite things to do in life is hit up some good garage sales on a Saturday morning. Unfortunately, lately I haven't been feeling up to doing much most Saturday mornings, especially digging through piles of some one's old clothes. Anyway, this last Saturday I was feeling pretty good, so we decided we would go try our luck. We usually just drive around looking for signs and this Saturday was no exception. However, as we were driving around in South Provo, we stumbled upon a Lutheran church rummage sale--SCORE! (or so we thought.) Usually church rummage sales prove to be THE best finds because it's a lot of people coming together with all of there stuff, and you only have to make one stop. Plus, at least the ones I have been to in CA, usually make a deal with you like fill a bag for a buck because they really want all the stuff gone. Anyway, we park and start to look around... it didn't take long for us to recognize that not only did they not have any good stuff (i.e. hand-painted Christmas decorations, electronic equipment, and about 5 pairs of the exact same 70's, leather dress shoes for men) but it was WAAAAAAY over priced. Why do some people not get the concept of a garage sale? It is to GET RID of stuff!! You will never do it at the rate you're going. Anyway, we were like 2 of four people there actually looking at stuff, so of course the 10 people working the garage sale were watching us like hawks (which is another g-sale pet peeve of mine) because there was nothing better for them to do. So I lean over to Jordan and whisper..."This stuff is way overpriced." Just then we stopped at the "free" box to see if there was anything worth our time, and Jordan whispers back "Even the free stuff is overpriced." I don't know why, but that struck me so funny and it started a fit of laughter... I just couldn't stop. Needless to say we ditched the worthless sale... but at least we got a good laugh out of it. And now some advice to those of you who might be planning a garage sale in the near future-- coming from the perspective of a frequent costumer:
1.) Make clearly visible signs that are all the same color with nothing but arrows pointing me in the right direction-- oh how I hate when people try to cram their whole address on a piece of printer paper, when I am driving by at 35 mph and don't have a pen on me!
2.) As previously mentioned-- don't watch my every move from the time I arrive to the time I leave! I am not going to steal your stuff, I just want to look at it in peace-- and I don't want to feel bad if I don't feel like buying anything from you. Also, when I arrive, don't ask me what I am looking for so that you can try to help me-- first of all, the hunt is the fun of it, and second most of the time I don't go looking for something specific-- I'll know it when I see it.
3.) When I ask how much something is-- just tell me. I don't want to hear a story about how it's brand new, or what you spent on it--that's not MY problem. It is now junk to you at your garage sale, so how much is it? Or if I ask and you say "make an offer," don't act put out or unsatisfied when YOU put the ball in MY court-- I am honestly telling you what it is worth to me.
4.) Have your stuff somewhat organized. I can't tell you how many "drive by's" I have done just because it looked like the garage exploded on the front lawn-- and they probably even had good stuff too, but I will never have the energy to go through piles of clothes for all ages and genders. They don't even have to be folded, just organized by size and gender would be helpful.
5.) And to all you multi-family-ers...thank you for being so helpful in bringing several families together so I only have to make one stop and so there is enough stuff to make it worth my while... but could you do me a favor and stand by your stuff? I can't tell you how many times I have been sent on a goose chase just to find out the price of a single item. "Could you tell me how much this is?" "Oh hold on, I think that's Suzie's"...Suzie comes "No that's not mine, that's Pat's, let me get her.." UGH! Or have like an agreed price on everything. All the clothes are 50 cents, all shoes a dollar...etc.
6.) Okay, this will be my final gripe for now-- If your sign says from 7am-12pm...stick to it! I drove all the way over to your house to find out that you aren't ready to start at the posted time? And anyone who is out selling past 1 o'clock is just nuts. Go inside already-- it's 100 degrees and nobody will want to stop--trust me!
Anyway, I am probably sounding completely crazy to most of you by now because of how much thought I put into this... but it all affects my garage sale-ing experience-- for better or worse!
