Yard Sale

I had a yard sale yesterday as a fundraiser for the adoption.  I tend to be a packrat so I had alot of things that I was able to put in the sale.  I have never had a yard sale and BOY! they are ALOT of work :)  I couldn't find anyone that wanted to help me so I was on my own, pricing things into the wee hours of the morning, packing them up and hauling the boxes around.  My two cats were extremely interested in what I had in the boxes so I spent every other 5 minutes shooing them off.

The day of the sale I woke up at 6:00 and started setting up the tables.  A side note, not that I don't trust people, but I live in St. Louis on a busy street and was concerned, being by myself, of setting items out as I ran back and forth into the house getting other boxes, that something might get stolen.  So I moved all the boxes by the door, then moved them out onto the porch so I could keep an eye on everything, and then out to the tables.  This seemed like a good idea at the time until I realized how many times I was bending over picking up boxes!  A little sore today :)

My sale was 8:00 a.m. - noon, which I posted on some signs I taped to street poles at a couple of intersections.  At 6:40 a.m. I had three unpacked boxes sitting on tables and three people showed up already.  They asked me what kind of things I had, I told them, and they asked to come into my house to see them.  I told them I would open at 8:00 and they were a little insistent about coming into my house to see the items right now.  Now I am not an overly paranoid person, but am cautious and private, so I was not comfortable with them coming into my house. I politely declined, thinking they were rude and pushy, and they left angry.....oh well.

By 7:20 I had everything placed on the tables, while selling things when more people showed up early, and plopped in my chair, already tired, for my big sale day.  By 8:00 I already had 18 people show up and had sold $44 worth of stuff!  I was hopeful this was going to pay off and be worth all the time and hard work I had already put in.  It was 60 degrees and fairly windy so I was cold and had to chase a few items that had blown across the yard, but people still stopped by to see my wares.

People are interesting I have found and you just have to laugh or you would be insulted. I had a little old lady come over to my "pay stand" and tell me that she didn't like anything I had to sell and walked off.  Then I had several people tell me they didn't like my prices and this was "supposed to be sale!"  Yes ma'am this is a sale and everything is already 50% off....geez!  Then I got the ridiculous offers where someone wanted to pay $5 for a $20 rug, that was 8x5 in good condition.  Mind you I had signs on the tables stating this was a fundraiser for adoption too.  People amaze me. So I ended up selling quite a few items, but still had ALOT left over.  I made $181.50 which I was ecstatic about!!! I had a few "big ticket" items that helped this dollar amount which was great.  So at noon I start packing back up and as you would guess, people stopped and wanted to pay even less because "it was the end of the sale and I should give more money off," as I was told by another rude person. I gentley told her that things were already 50% off and this was indeed a fundraiser.  She very rudely informed me that "this is a sale and these aren't the prices you should be charging."  Oh I'm sorry, I didn't have time to read the rules and regulations on yard sales (you old bat.).  I just told her I'm closed and off she went. Come on, unless it was 10 cents she wasn't buying so I didn't care if I lost her sale.

So I consider my yard sale a success and may even have another to try to sell my remaining items...still considering my options.  As I sat there, in the wind and cold, I contemplated all the "interesting" people I met at my little yard sale.  Several were rude and I guess don't realize that these are your personal possessions you are selling, that you liked at one time which represents your personality, and that by saying you don't like anything, they are actually insulting you and can hurt your feelings.  But as my Mom always says, "it's moments like these that will make you strong."  In my younger years I didn't always keep my temper in check and would probably have said something equally rude back.  But now that I am more mature (and yes have been through some difficult times that HAS made me stronger) I politely smiled and told them, "thank you for stopping."  I think Mom would be proud that her words sunk in and I hope that I can provide words of wisdom to my child someday and that Grandma will be there  to help me out.
Happy Mother's Day to all those amazing women who have given of themselves to protect, support and love their children!
~Amy

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