Every year our neighborhood has a mass yard sale. We have never been able to participate before, despite all the decidedly yard-salable goods we have amassed over the years. We have always had some kind of scheduling conflict. This year, however, we were free. I made sure well in advance that that Bob was available to help with crowd control and haggling and I set out on a mission.
In the weeks before the sale, I organized and priced and planned for the sale. I worked like a dog. Wait our dogs don’t work hard. They don’t work at all. I worked super hard.
I even coerced Bob into cutting loose some of his treasured baseball caps and T-shirts. This was no easy feat. I borrowed tables and a canopy. I read an article on how to hold a yard sale; accept early offers because that is when the serious yard sale shoppers are out and keep your cash in a fanny pack so no one can lift it when you are distracted. On Saturday morning I was ready to unload piles of electronics, glassware and clothing, all with little price tags. My head danced with visions of dollar signs.
There were clearly thousands of dollars of treasures under that canopy. Analog televisions, old DVD players, obsolete cable boxes and an outdated Direct TV DVR were all for waiting for the hoards of tinkering electronics junkies to take home.
Dishes and glassware and luggage were all prominently displayed for those who prefer the shabby chic of mismatched items.
Bob was at the ready to manage the crowds.
Some shoppers came but the hoards of tinkering electronics aficionados not so much. A cab driver came by and bought an old blue tooth headset and a fax machine. A neighbor furnishing her son’s new apartment took some glasses and mismatched flatware off our hands. But overall it was more of a trickle than a swarm. I may have overestimated the market for obsolete electronics or possibly the yard sale sector of the economy hasn’t rebounded quite yet.
As it turned out the sale was a modest financial success. We had to carry loads of crap right back into the house quickly to avoid a sudden thunderstorm, but most of the day was actually quite nice. We had some drive by shoppers and a couple of guys who hollered from their open car windows asking if we were selling tools (Who sells tools? Have you fixed everything?) Many neighbors stopped by to chat, look at our old junk and some actually bought something. After a long winter hibernation it was really nice to check in with people on our block, especially this newcomer.
