Saleing

Summer weekends are often spent saleing with my kids. No, I did not just phenominally mispell "sailing", since we don't own a boat. The kind of sales that carry us out into the summer sun are of the yard/garage/rummage variety.

Once the morning chores are completed (ok, sometimes that's more like an "if") and the kids have gotten paid their weekly allowance (again, depending on whether the chores were tackled or ignored), those of us who have change jingling in our pockets head out the door in search of cardboard signs that read "Yard Sale" and bear arrows pointing nearby.

Not only does proximity help, but it also depends on the items that are strewn about people's lawns, driveways, or that may be stacked on tables in garages. My youngest, being the only non-teenager of the bunch, gravitates to displays of stuffed animals, dolls, and board games. She will peruse the clothes and shoes if they look to be her size (she is, after all, my child!) but will usually only buy these things if they are something I would never allow (think high-heeled sandals, tank tops with glittery trim, etc.)

Fourteen year-old twin boys are pretty easy to tempt: anything electronic (working or not), game tables (pool, foosball, air hockey, etc) and any or all military items. I remember last year, one of my boys purchased a pair of combat boots. He wore them a fair amount over the winter months, and all of his pals thought he was "the man." Best six bucks he ever spent, he said. It's funny though, just when I give them up for being such "boys," one of them will land an eye on an item I've been looking for, whether it's glassware or dishes, or some such, and say "Hey Mom, you might want something like this..." and I have to smile and remain hopeful that these "boys" are really becoming young men.

My oldest daughter, at fifteen, is a toughie. She will stop to scan everything, and has bought anything from cute hoodies and tennies, to roller blades and posters. She will point out items that would be great for decorating around the house, or kitchen items I've mentioned needing. But, she'll also spot something like photo albums and remember that we are in need of a few. She is in that strange place between child and adult, and yet seems to navigate them both with grace. Heck, I can't even do that, and I passed the child phase a long time ago, according to the calendar.

My own tastes tend toward the simple (polite term for mundane.) I am always on the lookout for cheap, but gently used furniture (I can sometimes find the latter, but never the former), cool stuff for the kids, unique clothing (the stuff you can't find at Wal Mart, like somebody's Grandma's mink stole, or white Go-Go boots, or whatnot), what my kids have come to call "pretties", which are really just knick-knacks that collect dust on shelves, and various kitchen and bath items that tend to look like a great deal in someone's driveway, and kinda grungy when I get them home.

Although we go saleing a lot during the warm months, we don't usually buy all that much. Part of the reason is that I have very firm standards about how items should be priced, and how haggling should proceed. I have passed this information down to my children and they now have the same expectations. Here's the thing: for common items like clothes, shoes, kitchen and bath stuff, etc. you have to expect to charge only what people are going to carry in their pockets. This means change! A quarter or two for nicer tops and pants, or dishes and glasses, nickels and dimes for the shabby stuff. After all, the reason you're selling this crap is in order to make a few bucks, and the rest is gonna have to go to donation anyway, right? Ok, now nicer items like a table and chairs, maybe ten bucks for the table, and five for each chair, then cut a deal if someone will buy the whole set. Same with a couch and love seat, etc. People should always be willing to break up a set, but throw in the whole enchilada for less. Oh, and I wish folks would mark stuff with the prices, for goodness sake. Even if it's just that stuff at each table is a certain price, or there's a box of twenty-five cent toys, that's much easier than having to find who is doing the sale and then ask about every single thing sitting out. Sheesh...

This brings me to the art of haggling. What is it with people not haggling anymore? The whole idea of having prices at a yard sale, is that you have to be willing to come down if: somebody buys a bunch of stuff, it's late in the day, or it's the end of the weekend. That's how it works! I am so shocked when someone wants half of what they paid retail for an item, won't budge on the price, and then sits there stonefaced as I walk away! I'm telling you, there should be a mandatory class about this stuff before anyone duct tapes a sign to a box and leaves it on a street corner.

I know I sound like a bit of a grump, which I really...ok..maybe I am. I don't mean to be. Most of the time I am a very nice person. But, walking block after block in the hot sun with whining kids whose allowance is burning a hole in their pockets all afternoon will make a person a bit edgy. All I ask is that the yard salers of the world unite! Set prices realistically (it's not a great economy, in case anyone hasn't heard. Maybe sellers are selling stuff because they need the money, but we are buying because we can't afford Wal Mart)! Be willing to wiggle a little on the total. Mark stuff so we know how much it is. Salers will beat a path to a yard sale if: everything is organized so we can tell what you have. My kids are dying to spend their hard-earned cash, and will do it at the one that shows them most easily what it is they just "have to have."

I think it's just wonderful that there is this "independent economy" in our neighborhoods, where people are literally taking care of business themselves. It helps buyers and sellers alike. It's also a fun tradition to have with my family, to "sale" the open sidewalks of our little world. Maybe we'll even have a sale of our own this summer. Heck, we should...we need the money, so we can go shopping! If I do, I will be sure to follow the rules. Happy saleing!