So, I promised garage sale updates...
After an exhausting but really fun day, my friend and I raked in a combined $630... just by selling stuff we weren’t using anyway. Not too shabby. If that's all you wanted to know, you're free to go about your business.
If you want to hear about some of the strange people who shopped at the garage sale, read on!
Let's just say, the next time I have a garage sale, I’ll know what (or rather, who) to expect, including the following characters:
“The Early Bird” - This character showed up at 6:15 even though the sale wasn’t supposed to start until 7. He soon became “Walmart Guy” because he was trying to roll back all my prices hard core. I don’t take kindly to someone offering HALF my posted sticker price before the sale has even started. Not cool! Come back at noon, Buddy. Maybe by then I’ll be ready to make that kind of a deal.
“Garage Sale Crawlers” - These gals were going on a garage sale crawl... hitting up every sale in town one by one. They spent time on Criagslist and read the newspaper to map out a plan of attack. These ladies would probably make brilliant military strategists. They said our sale was a bit out of their way compared to the others on their list but they loved our neon pink signs so they just HAD to stop. Lesson learned: signage is key!
“The Re-Sale Shopper” - This woman bought a mess of our price-challenged goods with the goal of taking them back to her flea-market style knick-knack shop and selling them for 4 times the price she paid. More power to ya, Sistah!
“The Temper Tantrum Shopper” - When a woman offered 50 cents for a $2 item and my friend’s husband compromised for $1 she turned on her heel, marched back down the driveway and got back in her car. Clearly, the type of shopper that pulls a temper tantrum doesn’t know the subtle art of negotiation and instead appeals to the emotions. She thinks that by turning around and walking away, you’ll freak out over losing the sale and call out “Wait ma’am, I’ll sell it for 50 cents!’ Keep walking, Lady, because that’s just rude!
Another tantrum was thrown by a woman who became IRATE when my friend haggled on an item ANOTHER lady was interested in but not the one SHE wanted to buy. Sorry, $3 firm! She was so upset she began yelling at my friend. For a moment I thought I might have to step in... luckily, no one was harmed.
“The Offensive Pricer” - Like “the temper tantrum shopper,” “the offensive pricer” does not know how (or refuses) to negotiate. Case in point: a woman offered me $3 for a perfectly good rice cooker that I wanted $10 for and would have sold for $7... maybe $6 at the end of the day. Instead of going up to $5 when I suggested $9, she just repeated the $3 offer. Well now you’ve gone and offended me AND my rice cooker with your unreasonably low offer and refusal to budge. No dice! Besides, I’d rather have a rice cooker I NEVER use than your $3. Not worth it. Moving on.
“The Auctioneers” - When shoppers argue over the same item, the scene can quickly turn into an auction. As long as everyone fights clean, "the auctioneers" will actually HELP you. For instance, an indecisive woman was interested in two watches I was selling. I told her they were $5 a piece. She hemmed and hawed so I told her if she bought both I would take $8. (Reasonable, I thought.) More hemming and hawing. She decided against buying both and wanted to know how low I would go for one of them. 3 bucks, final offer. She needed time to contemplate. Then, as if I planned it, Lady No. 2 walks up and asks about the same watch. I told her I was asking $5 and that the lady right over there was also interested. 5 bucks? No problem, says Lady No. 2. Hey Lady No. 1, she’s offering my asking price! I’ll pay $6! she says. (Look whose singing a different tune!) Lady No. 2 doesn’t put up a fight the first lady ended up buying the thing for a dollar more than I asked and double the lowest price I offered. Let that be a lesson to you, Lady No. 1!
