Front-Yard Merchants : Garage Sales May Yield Treasures of Former Lives for Bargain(ed) Prices

Everything runs in cycles. Time becomes work, work becomes money, money becomes possessions and, after you acquire so many of them you don’t have room to park your car anymore, possessions become a garage sale.

In a city of 3.5 million people, that cycle reaches its peak for hundreds of people every weekend. A quantitative perusal of the current issue of the Recycler, item 247 . . . garage sales, will yield in excess of 300 ads placed by people who’ve finally reached the ultimate conclusion to one of life’s equations that is never taught in math class: Storage volume divided by mass quantities of things you haven’t used in years equals “get rid of it.”

Three Factors Should Be Considered

And there are three catalytic factors in deciding to hold a garage sale instead of shoveling it all into boxes and calling your favorite charity to pick it up or just throwing it in trash.

First, you paid a lot of money for that stuff, and you just can’t bear to give it up without getting something in return.

Second, if you approach it in the right frame of mind, holding a garage sale can be a social occasion with a good deal of entertainment value.

And third, some people will buy absolutely anything.

“One of the people who came in early this morning paid 50 cents for a 3-year-old pair of leotards with holes in one toe,” said Kathe Nolan, holding a co-venture garage sale with friend Brenda Rogers in the front yard of her Van Nuys home.

“I’ve heard the old saying that one man’s treasure . . . but I’m still flabbergasted at what people will buy. Holding a weekend garage sale is a two-day lesson in human nature,” she said.

An essential tenet of that nature is that the early bird gets the good stuff--and we do mean early. If you intend to start your sale at the civilized hour of 10 a.m., plan on the first shoppers arriving an hour early.

Prepare to Haggle

And forget about eliminating the dickering and giving the whole affair a cut-and-dried retail flavor by attaching price tags on everything. Be prepared to haggle down to 5 cents on the dollar, especially later in the afternoon, or be prepared to spend Sunday evening hauling boxes back into the garage.

“We advertised the sale as running from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m., but all the good stuff sold in the 45 minutes before we officially opened,” said Julie Bisson, director of the Nurtury preschool that operates in the basement of the Sherman Oaks Methodist Church, and organizer of the school’s annual yard sale. “With more than 30 families donating goods, we all had a great time and were able to raise more than $1,000 for the school,” she said.

“You might think that, because the sale was in the front yard of the church and all the items had price tags, people would tend to pay full price,” Bisson said. “But they bargained just as hard as they would anywhere else.”

Although a small group of people make a living either holding or going to garage/yard/moving/estate/etc. sales, for most they are an occasional activity and some guidance would be beneficial.

Tips for Buyers

Advice to buyers is simple:

--Look at the ads in the Recycler, the Penny Saver and other local publications to determine where and when sales are being held.

--Use a map to plot an efficient route.

--Get out and about early.

--Carry cash in small denominations.

--Drive a station wagon, pickup, van or 18-wheeler--depending upon your propensity to buy.

--Wear comfortable shoes.

--Make sure you’ve got someplace at home to store all the junk--uh, treasure--that you buy.

“Finding a real bargain makes me feel good,” said Janice Davis, a Van Nuys resident who admits to being a garage-sale junkie.

“In the summer, every Saturday I go from one garage sale to the next, 8 to 10 a day,” she said. “It gives me a chance to get out and meet people, and I’m able to buy a lot of things I need for a fraction of what they’d cost new.”

If you’re on the selling end, there’s a little more to do. For instance, you should check with the local police department or city clerk’s office to see if a permit is required in your city.

Next on the list is getting the word out. Letting as many people as possible know about your sale is the most critical step in a successful sale. Advertising in your local paper, or the Recycler, is an effective way to reach likely customers.

Newspaper ads will reach the garage-sale regulars, but to attract drive-by customers, large, easy-to-read signs posted around the neighborhood are a must.

The next critical factor is to have enough merchandise on display to encourage people to stop. A few forlorn items sitting on a beach towel spread on the lawn isn’t going to attract many buyers. Invite neighbors or other family members to participate.

Small Touches

And there are other, seemingly small touches that can make for a more profitable sale. Be sure to have plenty of small change on hand, and your pricing policy should be to ask for more than you are actually willing to sell it for, with prices starting higher in the morning and slowly dropping as the afternoon goes by.

If you have clothes for sale, make sure they’re clean and display them on hangers, not in boxes. People tend to assume items sitting on the ground are less valuable. Group items together, such as electronic equipment, books, glassware and kids’ toys. And the ever-popular “Everything in this box $1” is a good way to dispose of those myriad little items not worth bargaining over.

If all this seems like more than you want to get involved in, there’s professional help to be had. John Wilson is a garage sale “consultant,” who, for a very reasonable fee, organizes and executes sales for charitable organizations and individuals.

Wilson, a collector himself--especially of movie memorabilia--gained some of his expertise as a salesperson at Catchall V, an antiques and collectibles store that is open every Friday and sometimes Saturday afternoons on Colorado Boulevard in Eagle Rock. He also assists exhibitors at paper and memorabilia shows.

“The key to a successful garage or yard sale is to make it look and operate as much like an informal, outdoor store as possible,” Wilson said. “Advertising, display and salesmanship are all part of the game, as is the degree of flair and energy you bring to the task.

“Nothing makes people feel better than getting a bargain,” Wilson said, “but there’s no reason the seller shouldn’t get as much out of it as the buyers.”