I am not a big fan of garage sales. I've gone to a few and usually end up bringing home a piece of junk that is good for nothing. Mind you, I know lots of people who swear by garage sales. Perhaps they're more discerning buyers than I am!
Every year we have a community garage sale in the complex where we live. I don't go to it and I don't have a table in it either. My philosophy about garage sales is pretty clear. I don't participate in garage sales, because, in my humble opinion they are a waste of time and I think - no I actually know - that I can find better ways to waste my time. Just saying.
You have to sort through your junk to decide what you're going to keep and what can go. Of course the junk that was going to go has suddenly become very precious so you don't want to sell it to just "anyone". Then of course you have to price your junk. That whole pricing process takes awhile because, after all, your junk is way too valuable to give to just "anyone" at just any price. Once you decide on a price then you have to put labels or tags or both on your junk because, God forbid, you don't want to charge the wrong price for your junk. And, horrors, what if someone should actually steal your junk?
The morning of the garage sale, you have to get up early, drag a table out to the driveway and load all your junk up so you can put it out on the table for viewing. And lets face it - it cannot just be thrown in a pile. It must be displayed in an esthetically pleasing manner; if it isn't, then people won't look at it.
Ok, so fast forward to start time. Now you have to deal with all the dufuses (is that even a word?) who don't have enough of their own junk so now they want to buy yours....at less than asking price. Waaaayyyy less! You're almost giving this crap away and still someone wants to rip you off. Whatever !
Fast forward to the end of the sale. You've sold next to nothing and have managed to earn $10 for a full evening of work the previous night AND a full day spent sitting by your table at the end of the driveway. Most of your stuff didn't go and now you have to drag the remainder back into the house and put it away. Once that's done you can drag your table back in and find a place for it so it's handy for you to drag out the next time there's a garage sale.
So....that's why I don't do garage sales. I have more than enough of my own junk. I don't need to go and buy your junk and bring it home to add to my junk. When I want to get rid of my junk I post it on Freecycle. If there are no takers, I call a local charity, they come and pick it up and take it away. Every one is happy! They make my junk their junk and sell it like nobody's business. They even have a storefront they use to do that. Go figure!
Just saying.
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