I'm a garage sale rookie

[MM27]

I had a garage sale yesterday. My first ever in fact. I made over $400 so I'm happy. However, today someone came to my door and wanted to return something that they bought. Do people really do that? The item was an old video camera. You know those huge monstrosities that you had to carry on your shoulder. It had a one hour and two hour battery pack with charger and the wires so that you can tape without the battery pack. This guy bought it for $10. He came back today, said he tried to charge the battery for an hour and it didn't work. I don't think he charged it long enough, but the last time I used it, I used the wires not the battery. Would you return his money?

 

[annagirl]

No.

Garage sales are not stores. He took his chance on it.

 

[stitchlovestink]

I truly believe it is let the buyer beware when buying used electronics, appliances, etc. You are not obligated to give him his money back. I say go w/ what your gut feeling tells you to do. good luck

BTW, I would NEVER have the nerve to go back to the home where I went to a yard sale to ask for my money back. I think that itself it crazy.

 

[wdwherewecome]

If they had any question about whether it worked they could have asked you to hook it up for them before they bought it. We've done that before with TVs and other electronics.

 

[mnrose]

A big ol "No returns or exchanges" sign to hang near our checkout table. Our sale is this week (first ever) and it never occurred to me that people would ask for refunds. That's crazy! You buy things "as is" as far as I'm concerned!

 

[MM27]

I never even considered that I had to have a sign or say anything because I figured it's a garage sale, you take the chance and hope you find a treasure.

 

[BostonRob]

This guy bought it for $10. He came back today, said he tried to charge the battery for an hour and it didn't work. I don't think he charged it long enough, but the last time I used it, I used the wires not the battery. Would you return his money?

Sounds like you're not even sure if it worked. Based on that alone, you should give him a refund. Even if you're certain it worked when you sold it to him, why not give him a refund? Just because some people seem to think there's an unspoken "all sales final" rule at a garage sale, doesn't mean you can't be a decent neighbor and let somebody get out of a deal they're not satisfied with.

 

[weHEARTmickey]

We just had a garage sale this weekend. I had a ton of used Arbonne cosmetics & skincare & other old lipsticks & such. (YES, people around here buy used lipstick!!!!) Anyway, all the Arbonne was $2 each & a lady brought back some RE9 eye cream & demanded her money back, saying it was almost gone.

Well, after opening it, it was almost gone (hardly any at all) so I just gave her the $2 & said no more refunds. I was embarassed that I'd sold an empty bottle of product, but I wanted to say, "Look, that teeny tiny bottle retailed for like $50, so the little bit left in there is probably worth $2!!!" Oh well, I just chunked it in the trash & went on. I was shocked that she came back & asked for her $$ back.

I can't believe someone bought electronics w/out testing them first. All the shoppers around here want to test all that out. We just keep an extension cord ready to try out whatever it is they want. Sorry you lost $10, but on the $400!!

 

[Kaler131]

Another thing to look out for when having a garage sale are shoplifters.... Scary, I know but have had it happen a few times. I never even thought that it would be an issue .... I have also seen people switching price tags on items at a garage sale that my mom was having. Unbelieveable!!

 

[stitchlovestink]

Another thing to look out for when having a garage sale are shoplifters.... Scary, I know but have had it happen a few times. I never even thought that it would be an issue .... I have also seen people switching price tags on items at a garage sale that my mom was having. Unbelieveable!!

I've had shoppers try and take advantage of my kids too. I step in immediately and make it clear that that will not be happening at my yard sale. They can feel free to shop elsewhere.

and as far as the price tag switching... I'd tell people sorry someone else must have changed it, and since I'm not a store, I'm not obligated to sell it to you for the ticketed price.

 

[hambirg]

Idk. . .I'd probably just give him his $10 dollars back. . .it's a lesson well learned. . .post an "All Sales are Final" sign next time and have an extension cord for people to test things. BUT. . .on the Nintendo. . .I bet anything. . .they bought that one and then tried to return their old broken one. . .it happens.

I love the people that are obviously dealers that try to convince you that the thing they really want is worthless. . .yeah. . .right! My parents had a big garage sale. . .the first one. . .advertised it as a "cleaning out after 30 years". I knew there would be a lot of dealers. . .most of them showed up an hour before the start time. My Mom had some great collectibles. . .an old original alarm clock. . .a banana phone from the 70's. . .some cool vintage 50's dishtowels with cartoons about being newlyweds. . .I went through and had her re-mark all of that stuff back up. . .like up to 10x's what she thought it was worth. . .but knowing that it was still about a third of what a dealer could get for it. It all got snatched up pretty fast and my Mom was shocked! But I'll never forget this one lady. . .obviously a dealer. . .she happened to be there when my Dad was pulling boxes and boxes of old Newsweeks out of the attic. . .back to 1952 they went. She tried to convince my Mom that she just found them curious and had no intention other than to look at them. . .it will save you having to take them to recycling. . .blah blah blah. She wanted to give my Mom $20 for like 8 boxes full. . .I told my Mom to tell her $100 dollars and no less. . .some of the ads alone are worth over $5!. . .yep! She forked over the $100. . . Worthless my butt!

 

[DawnM]

I have never heard of trying to return a garage sale item!

I was sold something that I am sure the owners knew was broken and I was irked when I got home. It was only .50 though so I chucked it and learned to double check everything as not everyone is as honest as I am.

Dawn

 

[DisneyAndRedSox]

My friend's Mom had a yard sale, sold a puzzle or game for $1. Woman in a very nice Mercedes came back to return it

Our town does a town-wide yard sale every April and I also put up a "no returns/exchanges" sign. You see every walk of life at a yard sale and I don't want them comming back later unless they are looking to spend more $$!

 

[TupperMom7]

I always ask if something works before I buy it. And you can be sure that if I got it home and it didn't work, I'd be right back to get my money back. But I would think a battery would have to charge for at least 24 hours before it would work, so I don't think he gave it enough time. Perhaps you should give him the $10 back and sell the camera to someone else after you have had a chance to charge the battery and make sure it works. You could list it on Craigslist.com if it really works you might get more for it than $10!