Income I'm Doing A Yard Sale Today

[Zwielicht]

@Impulse and I decided to do a yard sale today. It's been years since I've last done one, but it's interesting to see how much things have changed since then.

For one, there are a ton of restrictions on how and where you place signs about your yard sale around the neighbourhood. Pretty much everyone ignores this because there's a main busy street where most people drive through, and you won't get anyone coming through without putting signage up there. I put two signs up with our address, both with arrows saying where to go. You know, making it really easy to know where the yard sale is.

So far, nobody has actually stopped to look around at anything. Nearly everyone who is walking, driving, or cycling by is staring down at their cell phone. It's only been 2 1/2 hours, but the majority of yard sale traffic around here happens prior to 11am.

• 7:00 am: We finished setting everything up.
• 8:00m: More people are driving by, but they're all on their cell phones...
• 9:00am: One couple did walk by and just did an awkward wave. Oh look, they walked by again and have their head turned 90 degrees in the opposite direction. I'm guessing so they don't have to say "Hi" again.
• 9:30am: Some guy cycling by at 1mph, struggling to turn his head 90 degrees because of how stiff he is...

I'm pretty bored, so I'll just keep updating this.

 

[Zwielicht]

So, one issue I have is that I can be very impatient. The emphasis is on the word "can". It's not that I expect instant results, but if something doesn't happen within the timeframe I'm expecting, I can become antsy about it. I've been trying to work on this over the last year, but it still happens sometimes, like today.

In the case of this yard sale, I mostly just want to get it over with right now. Yeah, it's about the journey and not the destination, but I want to clear out this extra stuff we have and I'm tired of just donating everything when we have bills to cover.

I have music playing and a swamp cooler running because it's hot outside, so that's making it more bearable.

9:49: Someone on a bike actually stopped and they're looking around! He wasn't interested in anything in the end, but he did look around at everything.

 

[Preying Mantis]

Stupid suggestion bro but did you put "YARD SALE" up on the signs?

Ppl can be stupid af and if it just says the address with the arrow they might not know it's a yard sale.

 

[Zwielicht]

Stupid suggestion bro but did you put "YARD SALE" up on the signs?

Ppl can be stupid af and if it just says the address with the arrow they might not know it's a yard sale.

Yeah, the signs say "Yard Sale" in big letters, handwriting is legible, all that stuff.

But I know what you mean; there are open houses around here, so some people might just see an address and think it's that.

9:58am Some guy speeds through the stop sign.
9:59am: Some lady runs the stop sign and drives on the wrong side on the road...

Edit:
10:02: Some lady runs the stops sign...
10:03: Some guy runs the stop sign...
10:04: The same motherfucker who ran the stop sign at 25mph did it again and drove on the wrong side on the road...

 

[Zwielicht]

10:08am: Another person stopped by! This time it was a nana in a beater.

As you can expect, she looked at the clothes and only the clothes. She said my wife's clothes were "tiny" (I mean, yes, she is small, but it's not our fault we don't have jumbo-sized American clothing). Asked if those were "guy's pants" at some of my old jeans. I don't know what to think about that...

Said she didn't see anything, smiled, and left.

 

[Zwielicht]

10:16am: We've got another one! Some older hispanic dude. He's looking at the tech right now.

He asked how much the adjustable weights are. We bought those for $440. We offered them for $80, that was still too high for him. I'm not going any lower on it. He asked for the pricing for a bunch of stuff, like cages that we're selling for $50 and $30 each. I offered a portable A/C that goes used for $250 for $50. He asked if we could do a deal for both the cages, so we offered them for $30 for both. Honestly, we just wanted to get rid of them as they were taking up too much space.

He wanted the portable A/C, but didn't want to pay more than $20 for it. I wasn't willing to go lower than $60 for it. It's an 8,000 BTU A/C and he mentioned he resells stuff like this, but I didn't want to budge on that one. I don't need to get rid of it like I did with the cages.

10:17am: Oh, some Hispanic ladies stopped by. They picked up a bunch of stuff and looked through it, then left as they weren't interested in anything. Update: Actually, they sloppily dropped some of the stuff... What is wrong with people?

Edit: 10:30am: Someone came by and acted interested, but they were a Jehovah's Witness...

Edit: 10:33am: Another guy drove by, looked, and sped off.

Total for today: $30.

 

[Impulse]

He wanted the portable A/C, but didn't want to pay more than $20 for it. I wasn't willing to go lower than $60 for it. It's an 8,000 BTU A/C and he mentioned he resells stuff like this, but I didn't want to budge on that one.

I love that he thought saying “hey, I want to resell this and make a profit, can you sell it to me for less money so I can make more?” would be a good haggling tactic.

 

[Zwielicht]

I love that he thought saying “hey, I want to resell this and make a profit, can you sell it to me for less money so I can make more?” would be a good haggling tactic.

Yeah, he seemed real disappointed when I didn't budge on the pricing.

I laughed when he asked me if my Mercedes was for sale. I told him it wasn't because it isn't, but what I wanted to say was, "Even if it was, I get the impression you don't have $30,000".

 

[Zwielicht]

Oh, I forgot to mention this. Those two ladies who came by at 10:17am asked how much the portable vacuum is. We told her $5. That was too much for them...

The portable vacuum that retails at like $150... $5 was too much for them.

 

[Octavia]

Someone came by and acted interested, but they were a Jehovah's Witness...

So did you convert ?
[

 

[Zwielicht]

It's 32C out, and some guy in a thick hoodie and a beat up gardening truck slowed down, stopped at the stop sign for a minute to think about it, and then drove off.

Probably for the best. Who wears a thick hoodie in this weather?

So did you convert ?

I don't know, is the Kingdom Hall my second home now?

Seriously, do those door-to-door pamphlets actually convert anyone? I mean, I assume it must work sometimes, otherwise they wouldn't do it?

 

[Octavia]

It's 32C out, and some guy in a thick hoodie and a beat up gardening truck slowed down, stopped at the stop sign for a minute to think about it, and then drove off.

Probably for the best. Who wears a thick hoodie in this weather?

I don't know, is the Kingdom Hall my second home now?

Seriously, do those door-to-door pamphlets actually convert anyone? I mean, I assume it must work sometimes, otherwise they wouldn't do it?

Spreading the good name.

I honestly think it is not really for recruitment event hough they day that to the person going door to door.
But more for branding " hey we are still here, even in this economy"


Also

 

[Zwielicht]

11:43am: Some guy drove past and did that 90 degree head thing in the opposite direction. Come on, there's nothing that interesting to look at; just a big metal fence.

You can tell they just feel awkward and don't want to look if they aren't interested, but this is just ridiculous. People walking their dogs do this on walking trails all the time: as you're approaching, they suddenly turn 90 degrees and stare off into the distance. Sometimes, they act extra interested in whatever their dog is doing, but they usually just stare off into the distance. One dumbass last year did this and made direct eye contact with the sun until we passed him.

Spreading the good name.

I honestly think it is not really for recruitment event hough they day that to the person going door to door.
But more for branding " hey we are still here, even in this economy"


Also

View attachment 5157

Yeah, doing it for branding makes sense.

 

[Octavia]

11:43am: Some guy drove past and did that 90 degree head thing in the opposite direction. Come on, there's nothing that interesting to look at; just a big metal fence.

You can tell they just feel awkward and don't want to look if they aren't interested, but this is just ridiculous. People walking their dogs do this on walking trails all the time: as you're approaching, they suddenly turn 90 degrees and stare off into the distance. Sometimes, they act extra interested in whatever their dog is doing, but they usually just stare off into the distance. One dumbass last year did this and made direct eye contact with the sun until we passed him.

Yeah, doing it for branding makes sense.

Last month I had a stall during Kings day.

Sold first item in the first hour, after thet nothing till the last 2 hours.
But the whole time you are thinking wtf am I even doing here. People walk by, do not even talk, or make ahitty remarks about stuff you are selling thinking you do not hear them..


Made like €50 ( $60)

 

[Zwielicht]

We wrapped up the yard sale for the day. $30, but it was stuff we were going to donate anyway, so better than nothing.

We're doing it again tomorrow and Sunday.

Last month I had a stall during Kings day.

Sold first item in the first hour, after thet nothing till the last 2 hours.
But the whole time you are thinking wtf am I even doing here. People walk by, do not even talk, or make ahitty remarks about stuff you are selling thinking you do not hear them..


Made like €50 ( $60)

Yes, that's exactly it! Right down to them making shitty remarks.

Sometimes, it's fun to do this stuff in person though, even if it's just to complain about it later.

I mean, I had the laptop outside to do online work as well, so it doesn't hurt to have the yard sale at the same time for that reason. Also, if you deal with something particularly annoying online, you can just pay more attention to the offline stuff to give yourself a mental break, and vice versa.

 

[Spicy Nug]

He asked if we could do a deal for both the cages, so we offered them for $30 for both. Honestly, we just wanted to get rid of them as they were taking up too much space

Omfg I just can’t stand hagglers! They’re always SO cheap about everything.

How Do You Handle Hagglers?

This is a problem I get not just on my Etsy shop, but literally everywhere I try to sell. It doesn't matter if I have standard pricing, I always get people who see that pricing and are just like "Ummm... I'll give you half the amount you asked for". The worst one recently was some who offered...

officeoutlaw.com

 

[t2van]

10:16am: We've got another one! Some older hispanic dude. He's looking at the tech right now.

He asked how much the adjustable weights are. We bought those for $440. We offered them for $80, that was still too high for him. I'm not going any lower on it. He asked for the pricing for a bunch of stuff, like cages that we're selling for $50 and $30 each. I offered a portable A/C that goes used for $250 for $50. He asked if we could do a deal for both the cages, so we offered them for $30 for both. Honestly, we just wanted to get rid of them as they were taking up too much space.

Racist.

Oh, I forgot to mention this. Those two ladies who came by at 10:17am asked how much the portable vacuum is. We told her $5. That was too much for them...

The portable vacuum that retails at like $150... $5 was too much for them.

Sexist

11:43am: Some guy drove past and did that 90 degree head thing in the opposite direction. Come on, there's nothing that interesting to look at; just a big metal fence.

Agist.

We wrapped up the yard sale for the day.

Think the yard sale was an excuse for the above.

Also what the time now? 12noon? Quitters lol

 

[Zwielicht]

Racist.



Sexist



Agist.



Think the yard sale was an excuse for the above.

I could say I’m Hispanic, the 11:43am guy wasn’t old, or that @Impulse was the one who dealt with the women. You could then call us self-hating. But what I will say instead is that the word you’re looking for is misanthropist.

Also what the time now? 12noon? Quitters lol

It’s 2PM.

We are quitters.

 

[t2van]

I could say I’m Hispanic, the 11:43am guy wasn’t old, or that @Impulse was the one who dealt with the women. You could then call us self-hating. But what I will say instead is that the word you’re looking for is misanthropist.

Nah I think I was correct.

We are quitters.

Sell till rush hour. You guys got this. Fuck them hispanics no matter what @Zwielicht you can cram an extra few bucks in . Gooooo

 

[Dopious]

So, what was rge hourly pay for the day so far? Yardsales seems like a waste of time to me if you don`t count the social thingy.