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Would you rather have a garage sale or go to one?

Asked at Massachusetts Street on April 14, 2008

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Photo of Caitlin Matthews

“I’d rather have one. The less junk I have in my house the better. I’m not much for holding on to things.”

— Caitlin Matthews, nurse, Lawrence

Photo of Art Davis

“Neither. I don’t ever go to them, and I’ve never had one. I guess I just don’t have any stuff I need to get rid of.”

— Art Davis, engineer, Merriam

Photo of Shelby Cook

“Go to one, most definitely. Having one is a lot of work. I’ve spent an entire Saturday tagging hundreds of articles of clothing.”

— Shelby Cook, yogurt vender, Birmingham, Ala.

Photo of Chris Valentino

“Go to one, because I’m looking to accumulate more stuff rather than get rid of any.”

— Chris Valentino, bartender, Milwaukee

Comments

Multidisciplinary 6 years ago

My record is 68 in one day, garage sales attended. I power shop. Or used to.I've only held two garage sales in my life. The first on was a total flop 20+ years ago. Bad location.The last one lasted over a month. I had it on fri and sats, and then since it was all out in the garage ready, and I could just add more to it, if the weather was good and I was home, the sign went up.I need to have one now, but can't do it myself. Things will just have to get thrown in a dumpster when I move, unless someone can haul them for me.

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1wetwilly 6 years ago

I love Lawrence, even the garage sale junk is more expensive.

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JJE007 6 years ago

hawlet21,Dumpster diving is, technically speaking, illegal but I agree that it's a brilliant choice for subsidizing the enterpri$ing undermoneyed individual$ who riddle our world!~) I, personally, love it.I ain't no knowing ape but it seems like there should be days in our weeks when people ought to be given free reign to curb and dumpster scavenge!

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hawklet21 6 years ago

I would prefer to dumpster dive... It's always free and usually anonymous.

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sunflower_sue 6 years ago

I'll save my words and just say: "What Py said!"Anymore, though, I either take stuff to Goodwill or if it's something big, I'll freecycle it.I do enjoy browsing garage sales if I have nothing better to do.

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blue73harley 6 years ago

You are usually better off if you donate the stuff that you don't want and take a tax deduction...especially with clothes.

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mom_of_three 6 years ago

Have had a couple of garage sales in my life, and have been to a few, looking for specific items. I furnished my first appartment in college from items from garage sales (and if I would have kept some of those items, i would be better off.)Had grandparents who LOVED garage sales. I remember their first microwave when i was a kid, when microwaves were in their infancy, and they never bragged about it (and they worked very hard for it). But when they found a deal at a garage sale, they would tell you about it during each visit.

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dajudge 6 years ago

I'd rather not be involved in garage sales. But one time, our block had one,so, I figured we would participate. Each home on the block had their own, sopeople could go from house to house. I decided to sell everything for $1.I made a crockpot of sausage gravy and baked some biscuits, made some doughnutsand sold a plate of b&g for $1 and 2 donuts for a dollar. I made half my money on the food. Oh, and kids got their donut for free. It really helped a family moving herefrom out of town. They got a dining table for $1 and each chair was $1. The microwaveI had fixed for $15, they got for $1. The Schwinn stationary bike--$1. Got rid of a lotof things I wanted to get rid of and had some fun and didn't have to do alot of worktagging.

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dminear60 6 years ago

Is neither an appropriate answer?

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ms_canada 6 years ago

I hope spring is the right time for a sale as I am planning one in the near future. I have a ton of stuff to sell. I dare not go to another sale as I have toooooo much stuff to rid myself of. But I must say that I did enjoy going to sales be they yard or garage. And I picked up a lot of very useful articles at both yard sales or flea markets. Like when I was putting a bathroom in my lake cottage I got a really good sink with taps attached for $35 I then set that sink into an old dresser that I picked up at a flea market for $70 and I had a unique and beautiful vanity. Ask ceallach what she thought of that.

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JJE007 6 years ago

I think it you add up your time/expense in putting on a garage sale, then you will realize you've lost money on the deal. Have at it, though. I like to go to them. I've had a few, too, but didn't like that at all! You work for days and get to have dinner downtown for your effort. Hmmm...Did you every notice that many people seem to simply be selling what they bought at last summer's garage sale?~)------------------------------FUN little garage sale-a human being can embark upon fewmore worthless endeavors than the putting onof a garage sale...dressing ones lawn with their refusehaggling over pennies with hags nhuge hubby tummy grumps...then sweeping up sad lifedepositing it with sad armiesrun on good will hunters and dumpsters...buying a burger with their daysof sweatand foolishness...beautiful...financial rapegood will meeting greedwhere the cars sleep deaf and dumb...----

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Pywacket 6 years ago

Go to one, by all means. I hate holding them. I hate cheapskates who pick up a like-new, $25-dollar-retail item priced at 35 cents and whine, "Would you take a nickel for this?" No. If I wanted to give it away, I'd give it to a friend first. No. If you can't afford 35 cents, trundle that SUV hog home and stop wasting gas. Ha.I also hate the jerks who show up at 6:00 a.m., after you've paid extra to include in your ad the comment, "NO early shoppers." After the first time that happened, I learned to lay a soaker hose across the property, close to the street, and turn it on high until 7:00 or whenever we had posted our start time. I have it on good word that these "early birds" often try to scoop others not because they need anything but because they are reselling the stuff they get. Same with the shameless gougers who offer you a nickel on something worth 20 bux. The hell with them, I say. I'd rather sell to nice people, then give the leftovers to the Salvation Army. it's less about the money than the attitude.When I go to garage sales I pay what they ask. I don't feel I have ever been ripped off by "overpriced" stuff. My soft-hearted husband even tells sellers to keep the change from a twenty or whatever, if he thinks they've underpriced the item and cheated themselves.The best garage sales (and at the same time the most heart-wrenching) are at the homes of old folks who have died or are moving from their lifelong home. I love some of the dishes and textiles I've bought at such sales, and when I use those items, I always remember the house and the people (whether the owners themselves or their grandchildren) who were holding the sale.

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jonas 6 years ago

Depends on how much stuff, if any, I have to sell, I suppose.

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coolmarv 6 years ago

I go to garage sales so I have stuff to put in my sale. Really I enjoy both. Not a worthy enough topic to pick which is better though. We price our items dirt cheap. I keep about 5% of what we don't sale but we are looking to get rid of the junk or clothes the kids (or parents) have out grown, so we price it to sell. We price 90% of our clothes at $.25. New or used. It just makes it easier than figuring of what cost what.

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mistygreen 6 years ago

Actually I do both, it is a great way to get rid of stuff you no longer use. I also find some good bargains. You have to be really careful in Lawrence though, as I feel that some tend to price their items on the high side. I can go to Topeka or other locations and find really good bargains and not be paying for someone else's overpriced trash.

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ohjayhawk 6 years ago

I'm quite fond of my garage. So, I don't know that I'd ever have a garage sale. I might go to one to pick up a spare sometime, though.

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geppetto 6 years ago

I'd have one if LJWorld ad was not so expensive.

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oldvet 6 years ago

Hold one, for sure... it is amazing what other people will buy if you price it right... and all of those $1 items add up to nice pocket change after a good day or two... my mother would always price things based on what she (or her cronies) thought it was worth, and she would hold that price right up to the end. She always thought that I priced things too low but I try to price things based on what I think they will sell for and at the end of the sale, she usually had half of her stuff left to put away and I would have less then 10% left. I'm trying to get rid of my clutter so that my kids don't have to spend weeks emptying out my house when I am gone...

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RETICENT_IRREVERENT 6 years ago

I'd rather go listen to a garage band.

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Dixie Jones 6 years ago

i would say go to one , but i am having one this upcoming weekend... and your right it is alot of work,

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sgtwolverine 6 years ago

Shelby speaks the truth -- it's far more fun to go to one. Less profitable for sure, but less work and more fun.

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