Yard sales and flea markets can be found nearly
everywhere. Usually held on weekends,
these events are wildly popular and are well attended by those searching for a
bargain.
Often resulting from an itch to clean out the garage, closets,
or merely downsize, all sorts of goodies wind up in driveways and curbs to
exchange hands for quick cash.
Savvy sellers neatly place their wares on tables – sometimes
made from saw horses and plywood. Really
savvy sellers wash and polish their wares to make them more attractive to
potential buyers.
At these events you will meet any of several types of
individuals. The person with clearly
priced items is the most anxious to sell.
They make it plain that this is at least the starting point in the negotiations
to make their stuff your stuff.
Another type of person you will meet is the seller who has
no price on anything. This can be a sign
of a seller who does not really want to sell anything. They often have things ranging from used
toothbrushes to bags of lint. When
inquiring about the price, they will respond with, “Make me an offer.”
At this point, I usually make an obscene offer that
generally insults the seller who never wanted to sell in the first place.
A third personality you can find at a flea market or yard
sale is the one that doesn’t want to sell anything any more than the ‘Make me
an offer’ guy. Still, no visible prices
so offers must be made. The exception
being this fellow could be offered $400 for a rusty hubcap and he will weave a
story about his first car, the type of salt he uses, and the person who taught
him how to tie his shoes.
Finally, the best person selling anything at these venues is
the fresh divorcee. Each time she looks
at the Dale Earnhart-signed official NASCAR racing jack, she thinks of her
ex-husband who left the household with a decidedly younger waitress. The ex-wife is willing to sell that jack for
five bucks. And that will be subject to
negotiation.
Buying things at such events can be iffy but, sometimes
profitable. Those folks selling dirty
items can easily be talked down on prices.
The same holds true for hawkers offering broken or non-running tools and
appliances.
I recently bought a chipper-shredder that eats 4” branches,
and copious amounts of leaves, for $40 because it wouldn’t start. This $500 machine was running immediately
after the gas shut-off valve was turned to the “on” position. This was one of those rare bargains for me.
Still, the old saying, “If is sounds too good to be true, it
probably is,” holds firm.
My sainted wife personally hates yard sales and flea
markets, and lets me know each time we stop at one. Unfortunately, she quickly forgets why she
dislikes these bazaar-like dealings by finding some inexpensive must-have
trinkets.
It’s too bad she didn’t see the value in a genuine,
autographed NASCAR jack.
