Question of the Day - Monday, August 31, 2020

[MoochNNoodles]

It's the last day of August! I'm not ready for winter or bare trees in any way, shape or form. But I am happy to see our forecast calling for temperatures in the low 80s and upper 70s. I think I will wait a few weeks before going for the pumpkin spice coffee. It's not THAT good. Pumpkin muffins and donuts are another story.



Yard/Garage sales: yay or nay?



DH has been insisting we have a yard sale to get rid of stuff. While I agree we need to get rid of things; I'm not a fan of having one and have been dragging my feet for a couple years now. I have a friend who usually has one every weekend from spring through fall. Another friend had them regularly when her husband was out of work because it helped put food on the table and pay the rent. There is just so much I don't like about doing that. From having strangers on my property to haggling to the sorting and pricing to get stuff ready. It's just...blah.

As for shopping at them. I don't have a problem with it. I just don't usually get up early enough on a Saturday to do that. I'm much more likely to respond to a Facebook or Craigslist type ad for something I'm specifically looking for.

 

[Elphaba09]

I sometimes enjoy going to them because I like to find cheap good stuff. I do not, however, want to have one.

 

[Norachan]

I've never been to one, as they're not really a thing in Japan, but I'm sure I'd enjoy it if I ever went to one. We have a great recycled goods shop here that I get some great bargains at. I'm not above rescuing things from the recycling bin or from skips if I see anything worth having.

Most of my outdoor planters and garden ornaments were saved from the skip. I found a paperback in English in the newspaper recycling pile yesterday. Books in English are too rare to pass up in these parts.

 

[Mia6]

I love them but they have been put on hold because of COVID.

 

[jcat]

My mother and sister used to drag me to them all the time in the US, and I believe my sister had a few herself. They made some really good finds, like Depression or Carnival glass, but I rarely bought anything.

Private ones aren't at all common in Germany. Our town has an open-air flea market every October (this year's has been canceled) which draws huge crowds no matter what the weather is like. You can barely squeeze through the streets. We generally walk through it and get something to eat before the crowds get too bad, but have never bought much of anything. The animal shelter participated for many years, selling donated items, and I worked there a couple of times, but it really didn't bring in enough money to make the effort worthwhile. Sometimes we spent more than the takings disposing of unwanted items afterwards, so we stopped.

I do have very fond memories of 2015, when so many refugees came with little more than the clothes on their backs. Their basic needs were being taken care of by the authorities, but a lot of them were looking for things like (reading) lamps, toys, books, games, vases, throw blankets, etc.. So many sellers didn't like taking any money from them and just gave them what they needed to make their housing seem a bit more like a home. The flea market closed a couple of hours late because people had gone home, gathered a lot of the things in demand, and brought them back.

 

[klunick]

Never gone to one and never had one. Might end up having one if/when we move because my husband collects things that never get used.

 

[Winchester]

My mother was the Queen of yard sales and she always made a small fortune. It was frustrating to us, though, because she sold anything and everything. Years later, there were certain items that we looked for, but couldn't find. Chances are, she sold them. I remember one summer, she sold an entire set of old Fiesta, including her nesting bowls. I wanted that set so badly I could taste it. I even told her I'd match the price for all of it, but she wouldn't let me buy it. She was like that sometimes and it was frustrating. Years later, my siblings and I still talk about the ice cream maker that Dad converted from manual to electric. It disappeared....it just disappeared. As did their old camper stove; Dad had taken the top off of an old gas stove and converted it to propane. They used it for years. Then....poof! Gone. A lot of stuff magically disappeared after one of her yard sales.

Rick and I have had two yard sales in the 30+ years we've lived here and we did OK, but nothing over the top. We had considered doing one this summer, but the pandemic changed that.

I like them because I never know what I'm going to find. One day, I was out walking at work and found a ton of cookbooks at a sale in the neighborhood. I looked through the books, offered a price to the guy and he took it. Ran back to my office, grabbed Clarence, and we went out to pick up the books. I got a steal! One of my co-workers loves yard sales and he peruses some that are in more affluent neighborhoods. He found gently used Staub cookware for a steal. I was green with envy.

Love kitchen stuff, love outdoor stuff.

We used to go to public sales, too, from time to time. Rick would look for yard tools and I looked for interesting dishes, boxes of books, things like that.

 

[neely]

My husband can't pass up checking out a garage sale which is why I usually offer to drive on weekends. When our kids were younger our entire block would have a huge garage sale every year around July 4th. The kids really enjoyed it and when the sale was over we'd celebrate with pizza and snacks. But due to Covid I would not want to have or go to a garage sale now.

 

[maggiedemi]

No, I don't like shopping at yard/garage sales. I don't like used stuff, I prefer brand new. I would rather go to Walmart or online and try to find a really good bargain. I do buy used books sometimes.

I probably wouldn't have a garage sale because I tend to use things until they fall apart or break, so I wouldn't really have anything that anybody would want. I have some nice jeans that don't fit, but I will just donate them to St. Vincent de Paul.

 

[Jem]

I love yard sales. It's a great way to get things for a great deal. I have also been getting my junk together to have my own yard sale. It was going to be this summer, but I'll do it next year instead. I don't mind donating things, but I want to try to make a few bucks first as we need the money. Afterwards, whatever doesn't sell, I'll donate. Lots of people are really cheap around here though, and expect that items will be basically given away, so I do have a few key items, that I will post online if they don't go, because I'm not willing to let them go for "yard sale prices".
I'll will admit that as much as I love a bargain, I hate the haggling process. I feel rude offering a lower price, even though I don't low ball and I get insulted when some one offers me a low ball price, or haggles for the sake of haggling. You know, when something is say 50 cents, and they offer you 25 cents....just pay the 50 cents!

 

[NY cat man]

Michele likes yard sales, but she loves estate sales. On the other hand, I would rather drive an icepick into my eye than attend either.

 

[Willowy]

I don't mind browsing yard sales, although rarely find anything I want. I'll go with someone else who enjoys yard saling but not on my own. I think they're mainly good for baby supplies (babies grow so fast!), at least around here.

I won't under any circumstances have a yard sale myself. Too much trouble, not enough money. My uncle had an estate sale after my grandma died, and the entire house of stuff barely brought in $1500, and he had to deal with people trekking through the house, mudding up the driveway, etc. He would have been better off dropping most of it at Goodwill and selling the nice things online.

Normally I just donate stuff I don't want/need anymore, but if I had anything I wanted to sell I'd list it on Facebook, not have a yard sale.

 

[Kat0121]

I used to go to yard sales all the time. Not any more. I don't need any more stuff. I won't have one because they are a lot of work and I don't need to haggle over stuff with people. I also don't need to grow 6 more pairs of eyes to make sure people don't steal. When I really want to sell something, I will put it up on CL. Anything else I want to get rid of goes to a thrift store. Usually the VNA or Humane Society.

 

[klunick]

I used to go to yard sales all the time. Not any more. I don't need any more stuff. I won't have one because they are a lot of work and I don't need to haggle over stuff with people. I also don't need to grow 6 more pairs of eyes to make sure people don't steal. When I really want to sell something, I will put it up on CL. Anything else I want to get rid of goes to a thrift store. Usually the VNA or Humane Society.

We live on a side gravel road so we wouldn't get a lot of people stopping by if we held on anyway unless it was somebody who lived on our Court. Just yesterday, we put out a box of old soccer balls for trash pick up and it was gone when I left for work around 3:30am. Not sure why anyone would want about 15 soccer balls but ok. What's interesting is they didn't take any of the chairs that were also out there. The kind that fold open and can be stored in its own bag. One even had a sun shade thingy on it. Much nicer than a box of balls.

 

[miss eveliina]

I like going to yard/garage sales.
When my mother and I lived closer, we would take a Saturday or Sunday out of the month driving around looking for some. She loves them and I enjoyed spending the time with her.
I actually can’t tell you the last time I’ve been to one. I won’t even attempt going around any now because of COVID.
I have never had a yard/ garage sale. I usually donate or give things away if I don’t have the need for them.

 

[cassiopea]

As much as I love thrift stores, I'm not really into garage sales and haven't visited one for years now. Not keen on having one either, already work in retail so don't want to deal with that stuff at home If I have things I don't want anymore and they are still in tip top shape, I either simply donate them or sell them privately.

 

[susanm9006]

I have had my own yard sales a few times. The first half day is fun. The rest of that day and the second is god awful boring. Packing up or getting rid of what remains afterwards is a PITA. But if you have a lot to get rid of and you don’t mind setting rock bottom prices so it actually sells, it’s worth it.

I will stop at garage sales if I pass one but usually I am more of a looker than a buyer.

 

[misty8723]

I've only had one and didn't much like doing it. We used to go a lot when I was younger, when my mom was still alive. We all enjoyed it, and rummage sales were a lot of fun. I hardly ever even stop anymore to look at stuff.

 

[denice]

I have never been one for garage sales. My late mother-in-law was. Her and a friend would go every Saturday morning in the summer. She wasn't a hoarder but she usually came home with something. She finally had a yard sale of her own. My late father-in-law said she was having a yard sale to sell stuff she had bought at yard sales. He said that there was this cache of junk that went from place to place by way of yard sales. I think after she retired it was more about her once a week outing with a longtime friend as it was the garage sales.

 

[jeannem]

I am enjoying the last 'cool' 78 degrees day. It is supposed to be in the 90s for the first 2 weeks of September I am ready for cooler weather. One good thing it really cools down at night. (mid 50s).
j