Yard Sale Observations

If you read my last P365 post you know that I just had a yard sale. I have had many yard sales in the past, however I am contemplating their effectiveness in light of how tired I am now. Yard Sales may be a wonderful thing but they may also be for the young at heart as well as body! By Saturday evening I was exhausted, not to mention a bit underwhelmed with the cash pay off I received for my efforts.

I do have a few observations that I will share about human nature as well as my tired and tested, although less than scientific Yard Sale Philosophy.

Over the years and my several yard sales I have noticed that most people fit into five different Yard Sale categories.

1. The Drive By

These people are the folks who just slow down in their car and then crane their neck trying to get a good look at all your stuff as they slowly roll by in there car. My opinion of the Drive By is that they are not truly gifted in the art of the Yard Sale. They are not willing to put forth the proper effort to get the full experience of exactly what a Yard Sale is. They ultimately loose out on the full experience!

2. The Strollers

These are the folks who actually get out of the car, however they just give the driveway a leisurely stroll up and then down again and then get back in there car. They may experience the the Yard Sale but they lack the effort to actually pick up an item and fully investigate the possibility of making my junk their own. The Strollers only have a semi Yard Sale experience, they have showed up for the party but don't fully engage.

3. The Muller's

These folks fall in a sub-category of group number two. They may leisurely stroll up and down the isle but they will periodically stop and just ponder something. They may bend over and pick up whatever they are pondering upon. They may turn it over and look at an item, but then ultimately the refuse to yield to their inner voice that tells them that they must have whatever it is they are pondering upon. The Muller’s lack commitment, again it is their loss and they are destined to return home unfulfilled lacking any of my good junk!

4. The Seek and Destroy

These are the people who are serious about making sure there is no stone left unturned. The Seek and Destroy usually arrive in pairs, and sometime they also bring their children. Children of The Seek and Destroy are unique in their ability to completely rearrange everything you have set out in a matter of a few minutes. The Seek and Destroy folks park their car, hop out and are prepared to hang out all afternoon making sure that they have searched each and every box, picked up every household item and unfolded and then refolded each and every article of clothing that is offered up for sale! The look at all the books, they ask questions, they chit chat as if they have know me for their whole lives. They even tell a few jokes. They usually always buy something! I like that too! They were on a mission to acquire more stuff that they will eventually end up in a yard sale of their own one day!

5. The Rhetorical

These are the people who take a look around and then ask if you have any lawn equipment, tools, large items of furniture, appliances or other invisible items that may be hiding in the recesses of your house for sale. They also want to know if the stuff I have in my garage is for sale. Clearly these people do not understand the boundaries of a Yard Sale. Anything behind where I am sitting is obviously NOT for sale! 

Now depending on the day and the circumstances you may fall into one or more of these categories. There will be times when you may encompass all of the qualities all at the same time. I have been know to be a drive by on occasion myself.

This leads me to my next Yard Sale observation. If you want the Drive By’s to actually stop and get out of their car then they must be able to actually SEE all your stuff. Most drive by are looking for something specific, one lady actually rolled down her wide and hollered at me “I’m looking for baby stuff, you got any?”

My obvious reply since she saw no baby stuff was to holler back “NO!” and she rolled her window back up and moved on to greener baby Yard Sale pastures. She was the unique Drive By/Rhetorical hybrid.

Aside from being totally exhausted I can say that the result of having a Yard Sale will be the short lasting state of euphoria as I realize that my house has been purges of all that negative energy that was clogging up my channel to inner peace. I I did have a moment of donation remorse as I drove away from Goodwill on Saturday evening. I was wondering if there were any items in the multiple bags that I might need at some point in the very near future, like those shoes that the girl child had to have but then claimed hurt her feet.

I am projecting into the very near future….”Mom I need some brown heel’s!”

…and then I will say….   “You had a perfectly good pair of brow pumps, you refused to wear them and we got rid of them at the yard sale!remember? “

Lastly I will share with you a bit of a warning.

Beware of those Yard Sale Thief's that lurk in every neighborhood. These are the folks who inhabit the dark corners of your subdivision waiting for someone else to have a Yard Sale and then they toss out all their stuff in and effort to take advantage of all your signs. The only problem is that they fail to pass on the goodwill and direct those stopping at their make shift sale on to mine that is just down the street.

You got it. Somebody stole all my customers on Saturday! He tossed up his sale on Saturday morning and then I never got another customer. Well after several hours of lack luster sales I finally decide that turn about was fair play and I closed up early and removed all my signage. Maybe it was a bit tit for tat but I figure it was just not my day for sales.

I loaded up al my leftovers and headed to goodwill!

Well After resting up and taking a good long look at how much time I spent getting all my Yard Sale ducks in a row verses the small yield of cash I had at the end of the day on Saturday, this may have been my last Yard Sale. One can only take so much rejection not to mention just being plain too old to be hauling all that stuff outside. I do have a plan for the extra cash and will be doing some redecorating in my bedroom. I figure after thirty years of marriage I finally need to have a bedroom that actually looks like something I would want to sleep in.

Well that’s my Yard Philosophy and you can all benefit from my years of experience for future reference at your next Yard Sale should you choose to be brave and have one yourself!

Blessings

R