“One man’s trash is another man’s treasure.”
This year we failed Yard Sale 101. Of course, we fail Yard Sale 101 every year. Our profit of $31 covered the price of two drinks as we dined out that night. The $31 in terms of per hour pay for the time we spent preparing for the yard sale and sale itself, came out just about $7 per hour divided in two for the two of us, so $3.50 per hour (before deductions for health insurance and pension and IRA) which is just above the minimum wage of 1990. However, we enjoyed chatting with our friends and neighbors.
While the exact origin of the idiom is unknown, “one man’s trash is another man’s treasure” started emerging in English during the 17th century. At the time, the proverb went as “one man’s meat is another man’s poison”. Along came Hector Urquhart with his introduction to his 1860's Popular Tales of the West Highlands: “one man's rubbish may be another's treasure.” Urquhart’s follow up work, a sequel, Not So Popular Tales of the West Highlands: ended up selling for a farthing at an 1861 rummage sale. Garage/Yard sales originated as ‘rommages,’ which was a discount sale of unclaimed cargo at shipyards in the early 1800’s. “Rommage” was a nautical term relating to how cargo was packed into the hold of a ship. The first “rummage” sales were held at the docks and cargo that was unclaimed or damaged was sold at a discounted rate. Our word rummage literally means to search unsystematically through a mass of things. The etymological origins are from middle Dutch and old French. When the ship came into port, the sailors took all the cargo that was left over or damaged and held a sale on the pier. Voila!
“I went to a yard sale. I've always wanted to have a yard.
Turns out they were actually selling three feet . . . used to belong to some rabbit. “ ……Unknown.
The 20th century changed the nature of yard sales. Instead of leaving rummage sales to churches and charities, people started selling their own belongings to make some extra money. This was the beginning of what we know as the American yard sale. This type of event became important in times of economic crisis, like that of the Great Depression.
The need and appeal of yard sales took a nosedive after World War II. Since the country was no longer in survival mode, the economy thrived, and people could buy newer, bigger and better stuff. Americans didn’t want secondhand items - no, no, no. They wanted big houses, cars, and televisions. The problem, of course, came when they ran out of room for showy things. Now they needed to make space for the new and improved showy things. This is an important stage in the history of yard sales since this is when the term “garage sale” also came into being. Why? Because those yard sales that were once a necessity for survival, now evolved into a way to clear out your attic space or your garage.
During the 50’s and 60’s, these sales grew to be family and neighborhood events. Garage and yard terms are used interchangeably, although technically, are different based on their location. A garage sale is within a garage, under a carport, or in a building separate from the home. Or, you could be selling a garage. A yard sale is held in an open space and may have tents or canopies set with tables of items beneath. While not available at our Community Yard Sale, we’ll be noting some of the rather bizarre items available at other sales - such as those prosthetic legs, barely used, and they could be yours for $20.
Our Lake in the Clouds Community Yard Sale is held at the picnic grounds by the lake. There are about 15 standard size picnic tables with benches, in addition to a pavilion. It’s about 50 yards from the entrance so you can’t miss it. The prime motivation for our participation in the sale was my desire to get rid of our electric leaf blower, our electric weed wacker and a 28” Travel Pro suitcase (I had purchased a new one in anticipation of the sale). Margaret, on the other hand, came up with an assortment of useful, practical and attractive decorative items. While neighbors had as much as three carloads of items, our meager offering, which took up ½ of the trunk of our car, took up an entire table if we left 8 -10 inches of space between each item. The community sale advertising posters were posted in town and on Facebook and was advertised as 9-3. We arrived at 8:45 thinking we’d probably be among the first sellers. Wrong! Only one table was still available, and the sale was in full swing. “Occupied” tables featured the usual potpourri of items but there were several specialty tables, one was exclusively 1,000-piece jig saw puzzles, another featured small, framed prints (no dogs playing poker), another was only clothing. They even had a hanging clothes rack. We learned that some people had arrived at 7:30 to set up! We also learned that if you have a yard sale or a garage sale buyers will show up early to get the good stuff before everyone else arrives, which they did today. Those early arrivers and leavers will never know that the missed out on an electric leaf blower for $10. Our leaf blower became quite itinerant.
In 2002, C. Daniel Rhodes of Alabama, established Garage Sale Day as the 2nd Saturday in August after watching his neighbors hold garage sales every weekend. Clearly his neighbors had lots of things to sell. No one knows who put C. Daniel in charge as there is there is no presidential proclamation or congressional resolution declaring this a true national day. There is even a World’s Longest Yard Sale. The 127 Yard Sale is an annual event that takes place the first Thursday-Sunday in August each year. The route spans 6 states; Michigan, Ohio, Kentucky, Tennessee, Georgia, Alabama and is 690 miles long. And yes, it is on rt. 127…..until you get to Georgia. It is the same road, but it has a lot of different numbers and left and right turns. It can get confusing and a wrong turn may take you to Saskatchewan for the snow sale. You may even find a painting of a cat Mona Lisa, or a chair made entirely of tennis balls ($200) as you shop. Each year, Americans host an estimated 6.5 to 9 million yard/garage sales.
We’re fairly certain that those early “rommages” probably did not include our offerings of the fabulous electric leaf blower, the electric weed wacker, a 50ft extension cord to be sold with either of the previous two items since they won’t work without one of any length, a “ high speed” portable charger for “phones, laptops and iPads”, a pair of walkie talkies, (after all, one walkie talkie would only be good for people who hear voices in their heads), two patterned Safavieh rugs , one 3x4 and one 4x6, two 5 inch glass Mikasa candle sticks, a 4x6 inch leather box containing 2 decks of playing cards and a note pad, a translucent glass cutting board with rose design, the 28” Travel Pro suitcase, 3 decorative brass egg holders and a small decorative brass vase from India, a beautiful yellow china tea kettle with rose patterns, 2 weed wacker spools of weed wacking thread still in original packaging to go with or separately, our electric weed wacker, a 15 yr. old electronic solitaire game Margaret never opened, two 18” handmade wood shelves with towel holder, No CDs!. 2 veggie grill baskets for grill, one in original packaging, the other slightly used just once, another china tea kettle with pastel colored sailboat in sunset decoration and 3 hand painted tiles from Portugal. I later learned that every yard sale everywhere has tea kettles, cups, mugs and drinking glasses. It seems to be a basic rule. And……..well that was it. It was a pretty sad compared to the lavish setups at other tables.
So, after taking about 5 minutes to bring our fabulous sale items from car to table, we waved to all our friends at tables around us and sat and waited for the rush of buyers. And we waited. And we waited. And we waited. I noticed that some folks were into selling mode hawking their items. We waited. Buyers sailed past us like the sailboat on the teapot. Margaret got up to walk around and chat. I manned the fort. She returned briefly to remove the empty box for the leaf blower that I had placed on the table next to the tea kettle. She looked inside before putting it under the table, reached in and pulled out something while exclaiming, “look, it came with a leaf”. The day before, I had informed our landscaper that I would be selling the leaf blower. He said, “no one uses those plug-in electric ones anymore”. Hah! What does he know. His words would resonate during the day, however. One guy came by and said he couldn’t decide between the leaf blower and the bike that our friends, Jerry and Marie, were selling. Both were $10. He took the bike. I moved the leaf blower to the end of the bench.
Our friend Sharon came by. She explained that she, her daughter, and the two grandchildren were there because those 10- and 12-year-olds wanted to participate and sell their stuff. The 10-year-old girl sold more than we did but she also spent most her time buying things. Margaret even bought two items from her. Anyway, Sharon came by to chat and mid-sentence, as I was describing the wonders of the leaf blower, she looked up and said ‘ooh, look, a pink and white striped folding beach chair with a canopy’. She never finished her sentence and was gone leaving me holding the leaf blower. The chair had some strange mystical power and pulled her over to Jerry and Marie’s multi-table sale. Jerry went into sales mode, demonstrating how to open and close the folding chair. Eagerly, Sharon bought the chair for $5. I moved the leaf blower and weed wacker to a better location on the table.
I now believe our fabulous items were overpriced. We never go to yard sales so…….How does one set prices? – for some we checked what we paid. Evidently, experienced yard sale sellers know how to do this. I note that at some other yard sale somewhere, people had purchased pictures of giant birds with laser beam eyes for $50 or a painting on velvet of a clown comprised of vegetables, or an ‘N Sync’ candle or a taxidermy of the rear end of a squirrel mounted on a wood plaque. Yet, I couldn’t sell the weed wacker.
I went into a short-lived sales pitch mode. I rebranded the leaf blower as a “portable air mover”, good for heating legs (it was 52 degrees), clearing out nasal passages, keeping food warm at barbeques, handy for repelling insects, powering a becalmed sailboat (if you have a really long chord and I just happened to have one available for $2), or removing ear wax. Location is important in sales, so I kept locating it in different areas to attract attention. The weed wacker got moved too. Margaret would then return and silently put it /them on the picnic table bench rather than the table surface and leave to continue socializing. I put the leaf blower on top of the leaf blower box that had a picture of the leaf blower on it. I felt it was a subtle sales message.
Our first sale was the rugs which went from $10 each to two for $15. This after we unrolled them for inspection and assured the lady that no, we did not have pets. The 50ft. extension cord went for $2 so I was left with the now cordless weed wacker and the leaf blower. Then things got quiet again. With our scanty offerings people glanced rather than browsed. Some of my friends stopped by during a lull in our sales. I note that we were there for 4 hours, and 3 hrs. and 45 minutes of the sale were lulls. I went into sales pitch mode again. “Want a suitcase to carry the items or clothing you’ve bought?” “If anything sticks out of the suitcase, I have this weed wacker for you”. No one bought. One guy said “where are your CD’s? I liked the ones you had last time”. I didn’t bring any because at one “Do’s and Don’ts” at a yard sale item I saw that you should not sell CD’s. Unfortunately, when I looked at the article again, it was don’t BUY CDs (they may be flawed) so that cost me a few dollars.
As I mentioned, it was 52° in mid-August, so while advising anyone near us that “Next year we should have this during the summer”, I again mentioned that the leaf blower was available for warming oneself although I didn’t mention that I no longer had the extension cord. Someone purchased the decorative glass cutting board. Things were looking up. Encouraged, I went into another sales pitch when someone came within the proximity of the table. Margaret, who was nearby, overheard me and gently reminded me “no, you don’t reduce the price until they make you an offer.”
By now, many people at our Community Yard Sale were buying things from each other. Surprisingly, we had a walkie talkie sale. The guy cross-examined us (Margaret was back, thank goodness), about bands and such and we kept saying we had no idea about bands that was why we were selling it. We didn’t mention it was 17 years old. After a seemingly endless series of questions, he offered $3 (we were asking $5). I said, “for 8 I’ll throw in the portable charger (we were asking $10)”. He took both. Our 2 long stemmed red wine glasses decorated with grapes and vines and the saying “Life is too short to drink bad wine” went for free to the girlfriend of the son of the lady at the next table (he is in the military).
Here, I should note that pre-sale research indicated there are many items that shoppers should not purchase at a yard sale. I refer to them as Cootie Collectors: helmets, child car seats, wet suits and swimsuits, mattresses, computers and tablets, shoes, sheets and bedding, baby bottles, untested electronics, makeup, stuffed animals, paint, and other household chemicals. Also, avoid hypodermic needles, used toothbrushes, half used rolls of toilet paper, used underwear, opened bottles of medicine, children, aging grandparents, used flip-flops, used plungers, unwanted spouses, upholstered furniture, dentures, and a 1970 bottle of Wishbone salad dressing.
I would advise you that if you want to buy an urn, always check the inside and ascertain that there have been no deaths (pets included) in the family before making your purchase.
I moved the leaf blower to the other end of the bench.
A few hours into the sale, two professionals - one an antiques buyer, the other his bearer -showed up. You could tell he was a pro because he didn’t glance at most items as he moved quickly from table to table (we didn’t even rate a glance). However, he had the eye and knew what he was looking for. He couldn’t have been at our sale for more than 15 minutes as he marched around, but he bought quite a few items. None from us. He was a fast walker. He would buy something, pay, and then have his bearer take it back to his truck. He purchased items from the lady at the next table. “It’s a bubble mirror” he said to his bearer. Learning that her husband is an antique collector, he gave her his card for his shop. I told her to wait a few days and go to the store and see was he was selling her stuff for. Who knows how many yard sales (and there were quite a few within a 5-mile radius) he visited that day. I asked Jerry if I could move the leaf blower to his display.
Meanwhile, our sales had come to a grinding halt. It was still cold. Our table was in the shade and so I moved our chairs to various spots following the sun due to the arctic conditions. This meant that eventually, I was too far away from the table to launch into a “Dramatic Price Reduction” sales proposal. By 1:00 things had slowed down all over, and people were excitedly exclaiming, “look! three cars just came into the lot!” The leaf blower, weed wacker, and suitcase were still present albeit in their 6th or 7th locations of the day (I lost track). Meanwhile sold at some time at some other sale somewhere in America was a glow-in-the-dark black velvet picture of Jesus and Elvis shaking hands. Still another had a painting of Jesus playing soccer with a group of children. Yet no one would buy my leaf blower, weed wacker or suitcase. Go figure. I probably should have kept the suitcase open. Sitting closed and upright, people probably thought it was for transporting our sale items. 10 bucks for a clean 28” Travel Pro was a good deal I thought, although evidently no one else did. Probably part of the cootie list, although we had thoroughly washed and cleaned it. Sharon came by again exclaiming “I can’t believe it. I bought more than I sold!”. I offered her the suitcase to take things home. She declined. By now Jerry and Marie were up to $134 although they ended up giving away an exercise bench for free. The leaf blower was back on our bench.
Post-sale research indicated some strategies for the next sale. Have a “free” pile. Jerry and Marie had a “free stuff” display. It attracts people to your table(s). Suggested items include, coat hangers and aluminum pans, wine corks, and other random things that people would not usually pay for, but that you need to get out of your house. People will come and look at the “freebies” and those items usually disappear as the yard sale progresses. It keeps them at your table for the sale items. Also, merchandising is important. Make the sale look good, with nice displays and easy access to everything. So, the weed wacker and leaf blower on the bench in front of the table display was probably not such a good idea.
By 2:00, many items were free and possibly, after we left, and for all we know, people may have been paying potential buyers to take away their unsold goods. When we departed around 1:00, all of our unsold items save the leaf blower and weed wacker fit into the suitcase. They would go to the Salvation Army. Then, miraculously, a guy came to the table and, picking up the leaf blower said, “how much do you want for it?”. I said “$5”. Sold! Alas, he didn’t want the leaf blower box even though I told him it came with free leaves.
