Compared to NYC stoop sales, suburban yard sales have awesome stuff for not a lot of cash. This will only be my second season here, so I still have the anticipatory butterflies of a newbie. Last season brought me a lot of joy – t-shirts for the kids, a great chair (okay, that was an estate sale), framed art (real art!), masks (see below), a play castle WITH loads of knights and dragons and horses, and amazing books for all of us.
One of my favorite finds. Love it!
There were also a few duds: A play keyboard with micro-phone that didn’t work, a puzzle of the USA missing one state (Indiana), a vase that I really don’t like. I have no idea why I bought that last one; I think I felt bad for the seller.
But overall, they are a lot of fun to attend. Personally, I can’t haggle. If someone is asking what I think is too much cash, I’ll politely nod and say, “Mmmm. It’s so nice.” And then gently put whatever it is away and browse elsewhere. I’ve heard other people deriding prices and really being obnoxious. I mean, do you walk into a store and say, “I guess you don’t really want to sell this, huh?” or “What the f*ck? It didn’t cost that much when you bought it!” Ick. Update: Here are some extended tips.
Still, that doesn’t dampen my enthusiasm for the upcoming season of garage sales. I’m looking forward to having my own as well. Before getting ready, though, I’ll check back to this very organized example of yard sale prep from Simple Mom.
i’m a total yard sale and estate sale junkie. now that i’m a sahm i sneak in the weekday estate sales, which i must admit are a total guilty pleasure.
i don’t haggle either. but i do sometimes say something along the lines of “i have $20 what can you give me?” usually if it’s baby/toddler stuff they just want it gone and say “here, take it all.”
we also have a really great freecyle in our town which is where i’ve sent all these things as my son quickly outgrows them, and i’ve gotten some pretty great stuff from, too.
happy hunting
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