Yard Sales - I hate it when...

[Dancemom03]

People who let their kids meet me at the beginning of the driveway and follow me around the whole time I'm there trying to sell me on things they think I should buy for my kids! These junior salespeople are relentless and i hate to tell a kid no but I really don't want their broken toys, boxes of dried-up playdoh or outgrown baby toys.

Maybe worse though, are the folks who let their kids set up in the driveway and put them in charge of the sale but prices are not marked. Often I find myself arguing with children telling them that "no, you can't sell that whole huge box of littlest pet shop stuff for just a dollar. I need to pay you more or I'll feel bad so how about" this much. Problem is, then I have to come up with a price that will likely be much more than I'd pay an adult for the same items.

On that same note, are the dads who wait until their wives or daughters name a price - or get you an item that they've outgrown but they forgot they owned until you asked about it - and then take the thing out of your child's hands, telling you that it isn't for sale because he can't possibly let wife/kids/mother part with such a treasure after seeing it outside on the ground. "After all, it's a collectible and I know we paid good money for that..."
Okay, so does that mean you're only selling the stuff you paid bad money for? If so, let's cut out the middleman and you can just give me all your "bad money" right now. I'll be happy to help you get that of your wallet...

 

[wewantmore]

Love this thread.

I had a lady haggle me for a glider chair, stroller and car seat. I reduced the price since she was buying all three. Then she comes back AFTER the sale is over telling me she doesn't like the stroller/car seat. And she wants the FULL price I was asking for them. I give it to her, then realize that she then got the glider chair (that I had priced at $20, for about $5.00). I was pissed.

And then after she gets the stroller/car seat out of her car she proceeds to try to get me to BUY some beauty products she's selling (not Mary Kat or Avon, but similar). I did take all her free samples.

I wouldn't have minded taking back the stroller had the sale still been happening as I could have resold it.



I do agree with most that have been written.


Michelle

 

[missj1975]

I love going to yard sales but I hate having yard sales. I have helped with family yard sales but will never have one of my own. I donate all my old clothes and misc. items to Feed My People (St. Louis Charity).

I hate when the the wife hosting the yard sales yells at her husband in front of everyone. How embarrassing for the husband.

I hate when an item is not priced and when you ask the price the lady says "how much do you want to pay for it?" And then I hate the look on the lady's face when I say "Free is better then cheap."

I hate when I can't drive past the house on the street because buyers park on both sides making it impossible for a car to fit through.

I hate when buyers park in front of my driveway even though I am not the one having a yard sale.

I hate when I go to a really expensive house and think that is going to be a great yardsale but instead it is just junk that I wouldn't even feel comfortable donating let alone trying to sell.

 

[emh1129]

We're having a yard sale this weekend.. you've all given me a lot to worry about!

 

[nunzia]

Ugh...I hate yard sales. So much work. I hate having them, going to them, everything about them. I had one once with my nieghbor. Our whole neighborhood was having it. She convinced me it was worth the trouble. Well, after getting myself and the kids up super early, carting boat loads of stuff to her house, it was just a huge hassle. I don't LIKE haggling with people for crap and junk. I had this lady baggering me to pay $8 for a 3 year old Peg Perego double stroller that looked brand new. I' rather GIVE it away to someone who really needed it than sell it to her for $8.

I didn't like the feeling of strangers all over and it wasn't even my property-it just creeped me out. I didn't really like anything about it. I admit that I have never shopped at a yard sale, so maybe I don't get the appeal. I ended up paying for pizza for my and her starving kids. I would have rather spent the day just hanging by the pool with her and our kids.

Then, after it was over I had to cart all the stuff that didn't sell back to my house, just to throw it away. She was telling me to save it for next year like she does. I was like "yeah, right." Like I'd be doing this again.

Last year my husband and I spent 2 days completely gutting (AKA cleaning out) our basement storage area. We tossed everything in the garbage-sets of dishes, furniture, TV's, knick-knacks, holiday decorations, clothing, coats, glassware, old purses, baby stuff-everything! It took us 3 weeks of putting stuff out for the garbage men to take it all. It would have taken longer, but when my husband would put stuff out at night people would take it, so in the morning we could keep adding more stuff to replace what was taken.

It was the best feeling to get rid of all that junk. I can't imagine saving it for a future yard sale. Now that my storage area is really clean and I only keep stuff I actually use and want, I'm so much happier. When I have something that I have no real place for and I'm tempted to just put in the basement, I stop and think "would this just be something to sell at a yard sale?" If the answer is "Yes" I put it in the garbage.

My friend still has the yearly yard sales and I know the week before she has piles of junk all over her dining room and living room getting ready for it. I'm just happy it's not me!

Holy Cow..in the GARBAGE..I wish you would have dragged it to a charity's thrift store or something...

 

[TupperMom7]

Ugh...I hate yard sales. So much work. I hate having them, going to them, everything about them. I had one once with my nieghbor. Our whole neighborhood was having it. She convinced me it was worth the trouble. Well, after getting myself and the kids up super early, carting boat loads of stuff to her house, it was just a huge hassle. I don't LIKE haggling with people for crap and junk. I had this lady baggering me to pay $8 for a 3 year old Peg Perego double stroller that looked brand new. I' rather GIVE it away to someone who really needed it than sell it to her for $8.

I didn't like the feeling of strangers all over and it wasn't even my property-it just creeped me out. I didn't really like anything about it. I admit that I have never shopped at a yard sale, so maybe I don't get the appeal. I ended up paying for pizza for my and her starving kids. I would have rather spent the day just hanging by the pool with her and our kids.

Then, after it was over I had to cart all the stuff that didn't sell back to my house, just to throw it away. She was telling me to save it for next year like she does. I was like "yeah, right." Like I'd be doing this again.

Last year my husband and I spent 2 days completely gutting (AKA cleaning out) our basement storage area. We tossed everything in the garbage-sets of dishes, furniture, TV's, knick-knacks, holiday decorations, clothing, coats, glassware, old purses, baby stuff-everything! It took us 3 weeks of putting stuff out for the garbage men to take it all. It would have taken longer, but when my husband would put stuff out at night people would take it, so in the morning we could keep adding more stuff to replace what was taken.

It was the best feeling to get rid of all that junk. I can't imagine saving it for a future yard sale. Now that my storage area is really clean and I only keep stuff I actually use and want, I'm so much happier. When I have something that I have no real place for and I'm tempted to just put in the basement, I stop and think "would this just be something to sell at a yard sale?" If the answer is "Yes" I put it in the garbage.

My friend still has the yearly yard sales and I know the week before she has piles of junk all over her dining room and living room getting ready for it. I'm just happy it's not me!

But don't you feel guilty filling our landfills and dumps with items that someone else can use? When we have things that don't sell at the yard sale, we put it at the edge of our driveway with a free sign. It's gone by the end of the day.

 

[starwood]

Have you noticed that the ones who haggle over a .25 item for .10 usually arrive in a Lexus SUV?

I always price my items a little higher due to the haggle factor. But it seems like lately anything priced over a $1.00 no one is interested in. You would think with the state of the economy more people would be buying at garage sales.

I also like the people that spend 15 minutes trying to decide if they want to spend .25 for an item and then put it back. One year we put everything we had left out the next day with a free sign and we still had people "agonizing" over whether they should take items.

And last - while I'm having a garage sale to get the garbage out of my house, my mother tells me I can have this and that to sell at my garage sale and I can keep the money. I want to get rid of my stuff not yours and I know it won't sell and I'll be stuck getting rid of it.

 

[kimgof]

We are doing a township sponsered yard sale. You pay 10 dollars for a space and then you can sell whatever you want. It's indoors so rain doesn't matter and all the advertising is taken care of with the 10dollars. We do it once a year. I agree, I have had so many people offer me 50cents for a 1dollar item, I want to say no, but my husband just shrugs and says give it to them. We really do price everything very low. The point is to not have to drag anything home. I also love when someone haggles you down to like 1dollar for 5 items and then hands you a 50 dollar bill! Are these people joking

 

[Luv Bunnies]

Several years ago, I was the chairperson of our elementary school's annual fall carnival. Besides games, food, cake walk, pumpkin carving contest, etc., various classes planned to hold fundraisers in conjunction with the carnival. The 2nd and 3rd grade classes decided to have a rummage sale and spent several weeks collecting donations. The proceeds were going to be used to buy holiday food baskets for the needy.

We put up signs in front of the school that listed the various activities, including the rummage sale. The carnival hours were listed as 11:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m. on a Saturday. When our set-up crew arrived at 7:00 a.m., we had people waiting on the blacktop to see the rummage sale items. Since I was the chairperson, I was sent over to deal with them. This man asked where the rummage sale was. I explained that the entire carnival, including the rummage sale, would start at 11:00 a.m. He said, "No, that's not how it's done. Garage and rummage sales always start early in the morning and those of us who come this early should get first pick." I explained again that we're not holding a garage sale. There will be a rummage sale in conjunction with the carnival. The teachers would be arriving later to set it up and then everyone would be welcome to look around. This guy got really testy with me saying that if we're going to advertise a rummage sale, we should play by the standard "rummage rules."

Geez! I get that there's a whole "garage sale" culture out there. People get up early and hit the sales at the crack of dawn to get the best stuff. But, once again, this is an elementary school carnival that just happens to be including a rummage sale for charity. The guy finally huffed off, but not before asking if I could let him into the room where the stuff was being stored. Um no, that would be a school classroom and the teachers will be opening it when they arrive. I was too busy to notice if that particular guy ever came back at 11:00. Sorry we had to disappoint him!

 

[TNT21]

We have had customers give us the "garage sale rules" speech before, too. For one thing, we have been having sales as a family for 20 something years, so we know how to run a garage sale, anyway..

We always put "no early sales" in our ad because we need to get kids to school before we can set up. So last sale we were going to start at 9 a.m. We started to pull the tables out at about 8:20, and it started to rain. Well I don't want all the clothes getting wet and nasty so we pulled the stuff back in to wait for the rain to slow down. In the mean time people are lining up in the driveway and one lady starts giving us advice: we need to just cover everything with plastic, we should let them look in the garage (one car garage+15 tables=no room to walk!), etc. She then proceeds to lecture us on how we are going to lose all are business, all the other sales are already open, people won't come back...of course not once did she make a move for her car! Not only that, but she came again later in the day! The rain only lasted 10 minutes and we were still open by 8:45 and no we didn't "lose all of our business" people wait for our sales and come back from year to year. I think she was just afraid of missing out on first dibs!

 

[vdarrell]

I am a garage sale queen or at least that is what my family and friends call me.
I love all the responses and have had one time or another had everyone of those things happen at my sales.
We have had things stolen especialy jewerly that is why we now place it taped down on a cardboard poster board that sits on a table next to us.

We also have a table with more delicate things placed close to us with a sign that says you break you buy because once a lady broke a nice glass platter ,we had marked $10 (worth much more but of course this is a garage sale) we saw her break it ,she looked at the price asked if we'd take less when told no she threw it down saying it wasn't worth that much. and when she came up to pay for her other items we told her she also owed for the platter she said "oh no it's broke I don't what that" I said oh we know it is broke and we saw you do it.She proceeded to say you didn't see me break it so I don't have to pay my cousin who was helping with the sale said not only did we see it but so did the security camera we had mounted saw her.Mind you she did pay.
But here is a few more things that bug me
When people show up and they are smoking and throw there butts down in your driveway.

If someone asks us to hold something until they can get their spouse/friend etc, can get back to see it I tell them we hold for a 1/3 down payment and will only hold for 30 minutes after 3o minutes there will be no refund on the deposit.We have been stuck with a large price item that someone says they want but don't come back for.

You can ask if I'll take less but don't tell me the flaws and price it should be after all it is mine and I set the price if you don't want my flawed overpriced item then put it down and walk away.

I just had a sale two weeks ago and made $500. and another 1 week later when a lady knocked on my door and asked if we sold our couch which we didn't so she bought it for $100.
And are planning on having another in 2 weeks to get of the rest before it gets donated.

 

[OceanAnnie]

My pet peeve is when I do the research to save gas and find that the REALLY BIG yard sales (as advertised) are small tables of junk.

pet peeve #2 is when people try to sell stuff to my child that I don't want him to have! Hulk boxing hands? He wasn't even looking at that! No thank you. Then don't try to sell me on the things! Am I sure? What? Yes! I'm already a referee!

Additional pet peeves, I'm sure I'll think of later.

What I love is everything sorted nicely and priced. Nice displays on tables. Friendly people but not overly so. It's really nice if there is a variety of things! I've found some great bargains yard sales.

 

[Luckymomoftwo]

I haven't had enough of my own yard sales to have a "I hate when this happens" list, but I do shop a few yard sales throughout the summer and what I hate the most is when my son is with me and gets excited about buying a toy. The seller didn't say anything about it being BROKE to the point of it being total garbage. What's up with that?! I know I'm not getting brand new stuff at a yard sale, but come on, I didn't expect to buy a BROKEN item that could not even be fixed.

 

[mistymouse5001]

I can't stand it when you go to a garage sale and the person holding it tells you how WONDERFUL the item is that you are standing in front of and how expensive it was when she bought it. UGH! Hello... im just standing here trying to look at the big table of junk, I didn't say I wanted it's life history and a description of the isle and store where you got it from.

 

[dreamin_disney]

I hate having yard sales but my sis loves them. Shes' been bugging me to have one andi avoid it. Well dd(9) wants to have one and sell all her toys that she nolonger plays with and old clothes. She wants to earn money for disney. Last time we had a sale I HATED when kids would go through the toys , make a mess and end up stealing stuff. Well just walking off with it and parents not saying anything. By the time i noticed they are driving away.

How do you handle selling toys????????????


another thing i hate is when i have a brand new clothes item with tags
(over $20.00) on it and they say .50-1.00
btw- can someone pm me how to price new clothes items with tags still on -TIA!

 

[plummer925]

Any ideas on how to remain polite to people being rude?

Here are a couple of scenarios:

1 - A yardsale with no prices. I hate that! I hate having to ask about everything! I'd like to politely tell the person I'm not buying because of the lack of prices. We went to a sale like that a few months ago and I asked about a price and the woman said "well, what do you think it's worth?" - C'mon lady! Sheesh. I said "sorry, I don't play pricing games. You tell me what you want for it - if it is what I'm willing to pay, you've made a sale, if not, then you haven't. I don't haggle" - my dh was mortified that I said that!

2 - what about people that follow you around trying to sell things? I have an anxiety disorder and it not only drives me BONKERS that people follow me around but it causes panic/anxiety too.

Any ideas on how to politely tell these people off?

 

[TNT21]

Just run away!!

 

[disneychrista]

I just hate Yard Sales.

 

[dizkids]

Funny thread!

I did 1st sale in 5 years with a friend and couple neighbors on the street. NO ONE goes in my garage let alone my house. BLOCK IT OFF with chairs or garbage cans....dont let them in.

As for going to sales. I HATE IT when the owner tells you "thats brand new we never used it...only twice".....OK then. I just wander and let them talk to themselves.

 

[swilshire]

You can ask if I'll take less but don't tell me the flaws and price it should be after all it is mine and I set the price if you don't want my flawed overpriced item then put it down and walk away.

On the other hand, the prospective buyer may just be assuming that you didn't notice a defect when you priced the item. It would be easy to miss a stain on a piece of clothing or a crack in a piece of glass. I always point out the flaw if the item is overpriced for the condition.

I also hate sales with no prices. I almost always leave without asking about any items.

Sheila