Garage Sales!

I love garage sales! And this weekend I am in heaven here in Derby! It is the city wide garage sale weekend and over 150 garage sales are listed in the paper. That doesn’t count all the people who just throw out a few things and put up a sign and join in. So a good guess is probably over 200 sales in our city of 23,000.

My daughter and I started out early yesterday morning to begin our adventure. Not everyone had their sales going on Thursday, but there were enough to keep us busy until we wore out at 1:30 in the afternoon. We really didn’t buy a lot, and no great scores like I have found in the past, but it was fun to be out together for the day.

We did make a few observations, as usual, at the sales. Nothing new, but things that make you wonder about people. We came across sales where everything was priced ridiculously high…”Oh, I paid twice that much when I bought it new!” Well guess what? Nobody cares! It is a garage sale! People are looking for bargains! Then once again we saw at least two sales where people were selling toothpaste and other toiletries they had gotten for 25 cents or even free with their couponing skills. These were in VERY nice neighborhoods, and I couldn’t help but wonder if they really could not have donated these to a local charity or to the Joplin relief efforts instead of trying to sell them for $1.

On the other hand there were less money hungry people who had some nice bargains and were doing a brisk business. They will make more money in the long run and have fewer leftovers to deal with in the end. One very kind lady came down $10 on something I wanted when I explained I was going to repurpose it for a Christmas present for a child and had a very tight budget. It really was worth her original asking price too. Those are the sales I love.

Today I may go on my own to a few. Not many, my car is more difficult for me to get in and out of than my daughters. I am looking for a seven iron for my son. That is golf club, for those of you who like myself may not have known ;) If you live in the Derby area, maybe I will see you around!

~Marla