Z/Web

Things went surprisingly well. This was the first time I’d ever had a garage sale, though I remember helping at my cousin’s once many years ago. I’d prepared by placing a classified ad in the local paper and online; I even created a web page for the sale and put a link to it in the newspaper ad (better than paying extra for long text in the paper). At about seven this morning when I was out getting the sale ready and chatting with a neighbor, two different cars passed and asked about the sale! Wow, those garage sale people really get started early! I told them the sale didn’t start until nine, but about 8:30 someone asked to look and I said sure, though I was still setting stuff out. A woman who’d called last night about the storage shed came by (early) to pay for it. She also bought my collection of shelves and brackets. That seemed to start a flood. By nine-thirty I’d sold a bunch of stuff: half the videos, the air conditioner, and more. By noon I’d sold a few more things, then it got very quiet. Over the afternoon I only had a couple visitors. It seems the garage sale trade happens early. I didn’t sell a couple large pieces of furniture (primarily my kitchen hutch and loft bed), but I did sell the bedroom armoire, my stereos, almost all the videos. Only a few books sold, which was fine: I’d rather exchange them at a used bookstore anyway. I’d been thinking of selling them for a dollar (which seems cheap to a book lover like me) but someone told me I’d never sell them unless I went to fifty cents or less. Overall, I’m pleased with the sale. It brought it a little bit of cash, but mostly means I have less junk to haul to Oregon.