Yet another post I am starting with a disclaimer. If you are looking for garage sale tips, advice, strategies..or anything remotely useful from this post stop reading and read these wonderful posts instead…
Pricing Items at a Garage Sale
Garage Sale Season Has Arrived
Why Should I Have a Garage Sale?
However, if you would like to commiserate with me a bit while I vent about my biggest garage sale pet peeves….you will probably appreciate my little temper tantrum this evening.
If you haven’t figured it out yet, I went garage sale’ing this morning. Normally, I love garage sales. I grab my purse filled with spare change and dollar bills. I also splurge on a latte before I head out on a Friday morning treasure hunt.
Today was different. I went to three sales, and managed to experience my three biggest garage sale pet peeves within three hours (a record, I am sure). Allow me to vent a bit and share my morning with you…
1). Just because you are rich your used stuff…is still crap. Price it accordingly. This is by far my biggest pet peeve. My first stop was in one of the nicest neighborhoods in my city. “Ooooohhhh….SCORE!” I said to my daughter as I pulled up to the half-million dollar home.
Within moments I realized that the garage sale’ers were being unrealistic about their stuff. They were selling their clothing for over $3.00 a piece. They were selling childrens’ toys for just a few dollars less than new. I was annoyed. I’ve been to low-income neighborhoods with the same used “stuff”. Just because you are rich, your used stuff…is still USED. Get over yourself and sell it for pocket change like the rest of us do.
2). Old Navy is NOT a “Name Brand”. At my second stop I was rifling through some clothing. Admittedly, the home-owner had some really nice stuff. She had Gap, Ralph Lauren and Gymboree. She also had Old Navy, Genuine Kids and a few other brands I was familiar with. She didn’t have tags on her items (refer to pet peeve #3). When I asked her the cost, she replied, “$4.00 for all of the name brand items”. A bit expensive, I thought…but still a decent deal.
I ended up purchasing a Genuine Kids (Target brand) rugby and Old Navy running pants for my son. “That will be eight dollars”…she said. I cringed. Maybe I should give her the benefit of the doubt. While I wanted to say, “do you realize that I can get NEW items from Target and Old Navy for less than what you are charging for the used stuff?”….I bit my tongue and moved on. I got a good deal on a baby stroller. It was a wash, I guess.
3). I am NOT in the mood to negotiate…please price your items ahead of time. “What are they worth to you?” UG! I hate that question. It is a lose-lose question. I am a nice person. Do you really want me to tell you that your baby’s christening gown is worth ten cents to me? Do you want me to offer a buck for the dress your daughter wore to her first recital? Geez. Please just price it. I don’t want to insult you. I don’t want to think about what something is worth. I just want to buy stuff. I’ve never been to Target and had a teller ask, “so, what’s this gallon of milk worth to you?” I want to shop…not haggle. So humor me.
I will be heading out on another Friday treasure hunt next week. Stop in for what I am sure will end up being a series on garage sale venting.
Do you have a garage sale pet peeve? Share them in the comments section.