Not free to a good home

Last weekend we helped my mom run a garage sale. It was a new experience that I don't ever wish to repeat. You have a seller who is reluctant to give up her nice things to people who "want something for nothing" and then you have buyers who want something for almost nothing. You can probably already tell this was a formula for disaster.

I sold some things that I didn't need, to include a toaster oven for $3 and a small-ish crock pot for $1. This wasn't bargain basement, this was more like "Earth's mantle" pricing. I tried to think of it this way--at least I didn't have to waste cabinet space on these things anymore. They had already been replaced but they still worked. The common sense thing would have been to donate them but I was hanging onto them "just in case." I know that's not a good enough reason. I have a Target AND a Wal Mart directly across the street in case I need anything, and they even carry toasters and crock pots.

My mom was incredulous that I let the things go for what people asked. I didn't even attempt to haggle. I hate haggling, on both sides. It's not fun for me. We don't haggle in stores, so why do we do it at car dealerships and garage sales? It's just silly, especially when it gets down to the last 50 cents. At that point it's just pure egotistic competition.

It was interesting. It was an unusually hot day and my feet swelled up to 8 months pregnant proportions. The Amish people came through with horses and buggies, or on foot, or on their scooters that look like bicycles. Some people did drive bys, browsing from the windows of their vehicles as they slowly passed. People will look at anything you have out there, even the table with markers, plastic bags, newspaper, a calculator and a tin full of quarters. They'll look around at those things as if these are somehow not the tools you're using to help sell and wrap the items. Some people can't help themselves and they may even openly brag about how much stuff they have already as they browse and purchase. Then you wonder if you'll catch them on a Hoarders episode.