"One man's trash is another man's treasure." That is the fervent hope of everyone who hosts a garage sale, and probably also of those who frequent them.
I should disclose up front that I am not a garage sale person. I have only been to a couple of garage sales, and have not been tempted to buy anything in them. Every person I've spoken to who has hosted a garage sale talks of the thefts that occur, and of the people who will haggle over a 10 cent item.
I am not a haggler, and I am not so proud of my trash as to think that other people should be delighted to have it.
Nevertheless, I succumbed to my wife, as all happily married men learn to do, and agreed to let her have a garage sale. But she had to do all the work. I moved a few heavy pieces and stood around during the sale pointing out who they had to haggle with.
My in-laws brought some stuff over, as did a neighbor. Some of it sold, some didn't. We made a little money, but I won't be quitting my day job.
One thing that was really annoying was the sign ordinance here in Plano. Basically, you can't have them. At least not in the public right of way, which extends at least 10 feet from the curb and includes everything up to and including any privacy wall or neighborhood entrance stuff. So we had one puny sign in a neighbor's yard near a minorly major road. The setback requirements made it hidden from view until you were too close to read the address before you were past it. And we didn't dare to violate the ordinance because the city has been cracking down on it in recent months (minimum fine: $500).
So we had virtually no drive-by traffic. If you didn't see our puny ad in the newspaper ($150 for three words) then you didn't show up. And you didn't. Maybe our next garage sale, in 2012, will be more successful.
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2 comments:
"$150 for three words" ??
Tell me that's a tpyo! [sic]
No, Gebo, it isn't a typo. However, it is a lie.
I was feeling bitter. The Plano Star Courier, our local rag, raised advertizing rates when the city cracked down on signs. After all, classified ads were now the only game in town! What makes the move stupid is that their rates are now higher than the Dallas Managed News.
Plus, I'm the only person I know who gets the Star -- can you guess whether or not I advertized there?
The real rate (DMN) is about $32 for four lines for three days. I still think that is rather high given what we made on the garage sale.
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