I’ve noticed a lot of summer blooms lately. And by “blooms,” I mean “yard-sale signs.”
The hand-lettered, brightly colored notices are tacked to utility poles, taped to trees (really?) or stapled to big boxes that have rocks inside to keep them from blowing away.
Narrowly missed attending a couple of these this morning. My niece e-mailed to see if I’d be interested, but we were entertaining an unexpected guest and then working in the garden, so I didn’t get online until mid-afternoon.
In addition to her e-invite I saw “Tag sales: Don’t buy the fantasy,” a Time magazine column written by my former MSN Money colleague M.P. Dunleavey. It’s a darned amusing (and darned true) story of the ways we sometimes lose our minds in the face of a bargain.
Even a bargain we don’t need. Especially a bargain we don’t need.
In M.P.’s case, it was a beautiful wingback chair that allegedly sells for $2,200 but was tagged at just $75. It looked luxurious. It looked barely used. It looked like the find of the century.
To her husband, it looked like trouble. Not only did it match nothing in their apartment (his exact words were that it belonged “on the set of ‘Downton Abbey’”), the two of them had agreed to curtail unnecessary spending in order to save for a trip and pay for their son’s summer camp.
“What were you thinking?” he asked.
A good deal, or future clutter?
Trick question: She wasn’t thinking. She was reacting. The perception of a great bargain is a consumer tropism: one glimpse and we move for it, yearning toward the reflected light of that $2,125 “savings.”
What if some day you lose 10 pounds and could fit into that cute shirt that’s only 75 cents? Shouldn’t you want to have the collected works of Jane Austen on the shelf, especially since the entire set is only $5?
“I don’t really need it” gets overruled by the part of your brain that blares, “Only a quarter for this chip-and-dip bowl!” or “I know I saw this same candle holder at Pottery Barn for 30 bucks!”
Understand: I love yard sales. Yet they can be as dangerous as the dollar store because things are so cheap that you can’t think of a reason not to buy them. It can feel like you’re losing a great opportunity.
Put another way: I’ve bought a lot of frugal birthday and holiday gifts at yard sales, items that seemed unused and were sometimes still shrink-wrapped. Which should be an object lesson to us, i.e., some of this stuff ended up in a yard sale because it has become clutter.
Memories, or a waste of space?
Hardest to resist is the “blast from the past” yard-sale find: a game you played, say, or a storybook your grandma read to you. We want to recover the feelings associated with that item, so we buy.
I’m not immune. At a rummage sale a few years back I glimpsed the same kind of Mirro cookie press that my mother used for years.
Wham! I was right back at about eye level to the kitchen table, looking at that green box and admiring how quickly Mom could squirt those butter spritz onto the pans. I remembered being allowed to decorate the cookies with candied fruit (which I disliked) and sprinkles (which I thought were beautiful).
Even I could sense that my mom was tired and stressed by the baking of probably a hundred dozen cookies during the holiday season. Yet she was always happy to offer guests coffee and the delicious sweets that were made only at Christmas.
Yep, I bought the cookie press. I’ve used it, too. Mostly, though, it sits in the cupboard. Totally worth the $3 price tag in one sense, totally wasted in another.
I’m with M.P.: Don’t buy the fantasy. Before you open your wallet, ask yourself some very pointed questions about whether the purchase is truly worth it.
If necessary, take along a trusted pal when you hit the yard sales. A good friend will help you spot the screamin’ deals on stuff you actually need. A great friend will talk you down from the Downton Abbey chair.
Related reading:
Our power co. begs people not to put any tacks, staples, etc. on the poles because of the guys who have to climb up there and then cut or scrape themselves, but no one seems to listen in our town. Then they never take the signs down either. I noticed a few up all year round. Guess I am in the minority, but things like that irk me!
Irks me, too. You’re defacing private property and potentially harming employees. As for those who staple or tape signs onto trees, I have no words. (Well, I have some words but they’re not ready for prime time.)
Thanks for reading, and for leaving a comment.
I’m a “recovering YSA” (yard sale addict)…. Haven’t attended a yard sale yet this year….we are basically bulging at the seams with …. “bargains”. BUT… an excellent score on the cookie press….DW has two cookie presses with assorted gizmos that we paid “full boat” for….$3 is a steal….
It was a good price indeed. Vintage cookie presses are a thing now on eBay, apparently.
You may recall a yard-sale deal I’ve mentioned before: When I was still managing the apartment building I found half a dozen thermostats for a dollar each. Retail they cost something like $30 a pop — and they happened to be the ones that the apartment building used. The building owner was delighted with my find and happily reimbursed me the $6.
My other favorite yard-sale find was a box of canning supplies, including almost 150 jars and some unused lids, for $10. Still using some of those jars (the ones that weren’t given away, full of jam, during the holidays).
Again, I love yard sales. I just don’t make a habit of browsing there. How much more stuff do I need?
This piece had my husband and I talking for ages. We are definitely big fans of yard sales, thrift stores and so on. We are bargain hunters for the reasons you state ( future gifts) and we look because one of our side hustles is selling online ( ebay and the likes). I also see yard sales and such as recycling yet your article made me think further on things my husband and I discuss often. As he frequently reminds me we are still spending money. When we go with our small child and she gets given plastic crap it still plastic crap which enters our home. About 7 years ago in another life time I was 40,000 in debt and filling a void by buying things I wanted but did not get when I was married the first time around. I read a blog on minimalism and things changed. I got rid of the debt, I got rid of the stuff I had accumulated and life turned around in so many ways. Hubby and I go on a weekly grocery shop in a big town. We have stopped going to thrift stores as it takes up our time and our money. We live quite minimally and when we go we find we have picked up something we just have to have ..LOL. This article was an excellent reminder for lots of reasons. Thanks for that! I laughed many times identifying with what you were saying. I loved the part about buying ones child hood memories and the linked article was a riot!
So glad to start these conversations! It sounds like you and he are on the same financial page, which is a great comfort. But as you say, it’s always good to re-examine your actions every so often.
I have never been to a rummage sale…but I do have them every once in a while. I always get “these are such good prices” …. I always say that I brought it out and I don’t want to take it back in! If someone can use stuff that I am done with, I thank them for taking it so I don’t have to throw it away or take it to donate it. I always love some of the conversations that come up and I always love to give the child that toy that Mom or Dad says you don’t have enough money….
Sounds like a win-win to me: People get things they want/need and you get what you want/need — less clutter, a little bit of cash and some fun conversations.
Exactly…
I go from lets pitch everything that we owe to yes, I need this and this and this. Maybe I need to be medicated.
LOL! Yard sale as impulse-buy heaven! True enough.
On the other hand, both Semi-Demi-Exboyfriend and my friend La Maya are accomplished masters of the yard sale and the estate sale. They both pick up some of the most amazing things and rarely fall for the rubbish. La Maya wanted a generously sized dining-room set to entertain her generously sized relatives at the vacation house. I followed her around to more estate sales than I can count, in search of the dream table and chairs. And lo! One day she found EXACTLY what she wanted. Bargain price!
And I’ve bought some pretty nice things that I use a lot, mostly kitchenware: All-Clad pans, for example, and an awesome huge enameled cast-iron Dutch oven for my son, who was tickled with it. Brand new, still in its box — they were practically giving it away. And SDXB…well. He furnishes his house with yard-sale finds.
But both these people are very savvy about yard-saling. They keep in mind what they NEED, have some specific item or items they’re looking for, and don’t buy extraneous objects. They also will try to bargain the seller down…and they often succeed.
I can’t even remember the last time I went to a tag sale (whether in a yard, garage, or meeting hall) here in town. We did go to a tag sale in a town hall when we were on vacation a few years ago! And I’ve shopped in thrift/antique stores a couple times in the past few years.
One score: a $400+ copper stockpot for $75 (I use it all the time); another score: a pair of jeans that actually fit for $8 (at Goodwill).
I’m all for thrifting when it is intentional. Thrifting for entertainment, that’s where the trouble starts. 🙂
I really appreciate this post, recently was at my close by thrift store & found a game called “Mille Bornes” that I’d grown up playing with my family. The box was taped closed & it had a good heft, so for .50 I took a chance. All the cards etc appeared to be in the box but I live alone! I don’t have many friends and don’t know anyone who would know this game! I got it purely out of nostalgia. I’m kind of amused now, but still, in a one bedroom appt, it’s a space taker. Maybe I’ll try ebay…..Have also done that with books. Love collecting books, recently had to talk myself out of a couple of sets of beloved childhood books. It’s a challenge….