Shopping & Selling

Yes, I LOVE to shop. It's not very many women I know that don't. Especially at good sale events and lately, there's been PLENTY of sales out there. I find myself doing a lot of shopping on-line - especially if I'm bored at work (and I really need to quit - uh, shopping on-line at work that is, not my job!). Lately, I've gotten some pretty good deals on eBay - mostly cute summer dresses and purses. I learned my lesson quick about buying shoes off eBay - in a word, don't. As a matter of fact, I would caution anyone buying shoes from anywhere on-line. There's just too many variables involved. Physically going to the store and trying the shoe on before purchasing IS the best bet.

Last week, I participated in a shopping event for the first time in my life - the "Garage Sale." In one of my girlfriend's neighborhood, it is an annual event. She told me about it back in May, and we both agreed that we would participate as "sellers" since we both had a lot of "stuff."

I've been to one or two garage sales, but never been one to be on the market to buy other people's used "stuff" - it's just not my thing. I understand that there are some who consider themselves "garage sale fanatics" and every now and then you'll read or hear about an "antique" that was bought at a garage sale, only to be valued at hundreds or thousands more than the original purchase price.

Being a seller is a totally different experience. My friend, "D" warned me, "LeoTheLioness, there are going to be a LOT of Hispanic people and they are going to come EARLY. The sale starts at 7:00 a.m., but don't be surprised if they start coming at 6:00 a.m." I'm thinking, WTF! There is no way in hell I'm going to be set-up and ready to go at 6:00 a.m. I don't get up that early to go to work!

The sale was on Sat., June 13, but for me, the process began way before then. I have a storage unit FULL of "stuff." I downsized from a 3-bedroom, 2.5 bathroom house to a one bedroom apartment, so you can imagine all the "stuff" I have, right? It really is ridiculous the amount of "stuff" you accumulate.

First, I had to sort through what seemed like a TON of clothes. As I was sorting, a lot of memories surfaced, but that's another blog for another time. Then, the "knick-knacks," shoes, and other assorted things that are too many to mention. Next, I contacted a "Party Rental" place that provided tables and coat racks to display the "stuff" I was going to sale. Next, I had to figure out how I was going to get the tables and coat racks delivered and returned. Of course, I know one or two people with trucks, but these trucks are not for hauling - their trucks are for "stylin' and profilin'! Thank God for couriers! I surely did NOT want to haul tables and coat racks, on top of all the stuff I was selling (which turned out to be two full carloads - trunk included).

One night, I was at my storage unit sorting (which is really kinda spooky, but it's inside, air-conditioned and secure). Not really paying attention to the time, I had stuff up and down the hallway. When I took my load to the car, I noticed that it was after 9 p.m. OH HELL! Access is cut-off at 9. I still had stuff all over the hallway and my unit was wide open. Well, there really wasn't anything I could do about it, so I loaded the car and went home. After all, no one could access any units anyway, so I was pretty sure my stuff would be o.k. The next morning, I got up at 6:00, made it to my unit by 6:15 and put everything back in order by 6:45. Note to self: be completely finished at storage unit by 8:30 p.m.!

The night before the sale, I take my last carload. I'm unloading the stuff to be put in D's living room. I'm almost done and she comes outside and says, "Let me go over Mr. Willie's house (across the street) and see if he can put the stuff in his garage because he has more room." So, I'm thinking why the hell didn't you tell me this BEFORE I unloaded all this crap, but I didn't say anything. So, she goes over to Mr. Willie's, he says, "yes." We get the stuff over to Mr. Willie's, his wife comes out and sees a few things she wants and I make a quick $20. I think Mr. Willie and his wife end up spending $40 total, and recruited another neighbor who spent $10. :)

The next day (which was Friday), I took a day off to get everything priced and organized - believe me - it took the whole day. Thankfully, it was overcast and pleasant. Not blazing hot with the sun beaming down on you. The tables and coat racks were delivered, and by nightfall, I was 90% done with pricing. Most people don't price items for their garage sale, but a little on-line research told me that it's best to tag & price everything because most people are too shy to ask "how much?" and will walk on by. Also, I learned that you price things .50 - $2.00 higher to leave room for "haggling." At some point, I was just tired of pricing stuff so, anything that didn't have a price tag was "negotiable."

The night before the sale, I spend the night at "D's" house which I refer to as "my vacation home in the city" or "the bed and breakfast." I have "my" bedroom, which is in front of the house so the morning of the sale, I wake up about 6:15 a.m., peek out the window - no cars. At about 6:30 a.m., I hear one car go by, then another at about 6:45 a.m. At about 7:15 a.m., I peek out again and see Mr. Willie setting up, so I get my butt outta bed. Mr. Willie ain't gonna outdo me! At about 7:30, "D" comes down. In that short 15 min. time span, there are at least four carloads of people waiting for us to set up. "Are you going to have any household items?" one lady asks. "Yes," I answer. "Well, I'll give you some time to set up, then I'll be back! Most of the neighborhood is still setting up, so they should've said the sale starts at 7:30." I respond, "well, you know how WE do" and smile, but I'm thinking, Lady you have no idea! I'd like to see YOU get up and be ready to roll at 7:00 a.m. after all the stuff I've been through and not getting in bed until 1:30 or 2:00 a.m.! I have no idea how long it took to set up because as soon as they saw stuff on the table, they were on us like white on rice! So much so that we didn't eat anything ALL day except for when the ice cream truck came by. It was even a challenge to get a break and go to the bathroom!

"D" was right - there were a LOT of Hispanic people - a lot of which did not speak English at all, or the English they did speak was very broken. One observation I did make was that if the woman was with her husband/boyfriend, HE carried the money. The scenario: she would see something she wanted, tell him about it (in Spanish), ask me how much, tell him how much (in Spanish), get the money from him, pay me. Or, the women who were alone or with their children or girlfriends would offer $1 to $5 lower than the "asking" price. Actually, this kinda pissed me off because I priced the stuff so cheap anyway, but "D" reminded me that this is stuff that you want to get rid of, so just be happy that they are taking it off your hands. Touche. Point taken.

But, my clothes were a different story. We are NOT talking about cheaply made clothes purchased at Wal-Mart or something. I'm talking about NICE, gently used clothes in PERFECT CONDITION - mostly designer labels - R. Lauren, Banana Republic, Gap and The Limited, just to name a few.

For example, I had a Ralph Lauren sweatsuit - perfect condition. Asking price - $15. By the end of the day, I was so tired of haggling and hand gesturing, I let it go for $4. Then, this one lady had picked out a Kenneth Cole shirt ($4) a 2-piece outfit ($10) and a dress ($10). I told her she could have it all for $15. She mumbled something, put it back on the rack and walked off. Whatever. I was like, do they expect you to let this stuff go for nothing? Well, I ain't the one, so guess what, I'm making an appointment at a consignment shop this week - cha ching! I also have a dorm-size refrigerator. Perfect condition. Asking price $30. Guess what? I bought it back home with me. There were plenty of inquiries, but I was not budging off the price. I'll wait until about the end of July/beginning of August when the kids are getting ready to go to college and I betcha I can get $50 for it.

I ended up bringing back 1 carload of stuff - mostly clothes, so I guess you could say I ended up selling 1/2 of the stuff I had for sale - not bad, not bad at all.

I still have a black side-by-side refrigerator w/water & ice dispenser on the door, a leaf blower, a lawn mower, 2 ceiling fans and a washer/dryer for sale. I'm reluctant to sale the washer/dryer because I would hate to move to a different apartment that didn't have a washer/dryer in the unit, then have to buy them again or (Heaven forbid), go to the Laundrymat (oh hell no!), so I'll probably hang on to those. I've decided I will NEVER mow another lawn again in my life, so I'm going to place an ad and get rid of those. The refrigerator - another item I would hate to have to buy over again, but EVERY apartment comes with a fridge, right? It's just some things that I guess I'm not ready to part with just yet - you never know what the future might bring.