First, the lady who made a deal and got five dollars off her total when she bought the mattress set and the big screen tv together. Her son was begging her for the tv which my brother was selling. My brother said he had no idea how long it would last since it is old and so he put $25 on it. That boy really wanted it. My dad is a great man. He loves to see us be able to get rid of some of the things that take up space in our lives and so he is usually happy to help when it comes to delivering if it is not too far away.
True to form, he joined my brother to deliver these two large items. Those of us who stayed back to man the sale were wondering what was taking them so long when 45 minutes later we still hadn't seen them come back. Not long after though, the truck and trailer were coming down the road. Imagine our surprise as it got closer and we saw the television on the back of the trailer. Poor boy, they tried everything they could to get that big clunky thing shimmied in around two corners and downstairs to his room with no such luck. I don't know who was more disappointed, the boy, or us! She returned the next day for her money but did leave us with $10 for the trouble.
Then, there was the man riding his bike with a trailer. We weren't sure the last time he had bathed and it looked like he may have needed some dental work, but he came and parked his bike and started looking around. There were a lot of things to look at and he spent quite a bit of time rummaging around looking for the perfect thing. After about 30 minutes, he found it - a pair of girls tap shoes for 75 cents! He happily purchased them and tossed them into his trailer and on he went to the next sale.
There was a new phenomenon when my brother Josiah added his homemade costumes to the mix. They are REALLY good costumes that he makes from scratch. He had a Sponge Bob, and Angry Bird, Pig and two Ninjagas (blue and red) He priced them a little higher but they are better than any of those flimsy wear once costumes that you can buy around Halloween time for sure. There were a few people interested but most who looked had their children put on the costume of their choice, or a couple different ones and their moms or adult chaperons would pull out their cell phones and take pictures. Huh? Who knew a garage sale would provide such a great photo op? Maybe next year a photo booth complete with dress up will be in order.
My favorite sentimental moment was when a young couple came up with their twin girls. It was the third day and I had put out my Little Tykes kitchen with food. They walked up and asked if they could get all the food for a reduced price. I told them the kitchen was $25 and he could have all of the food for $10 making it a total of $35. He pulled out the cash, paid me, grabbed the kitchen and food and off they went. I was remembering almost 11 years ago when my parents brought down the combined 1st birthday present for the triplets and they all were so tiny, like those two little twin girls today. They gathered around my dad and husband as the two of them built this little kitchen so they could play. They enjoyed it for many years after that. And now it can bless another family with fun!
My mom sold our check out table right out from under us this year! And after all was said and done we got the closest results ever when we added up all of the sticker and the money. We were only off $5.85! Now THAT was amazing! Some years we can be off up to $100 or so! We just divide it amongst ourselves and call it good. A couple of the grand kids made over $50! We had so much fun, we are going to do it again at my house next weekend. I have only had a chance to go through half of my stuff and so I will spend a lot of time in my basement this week trying to get things priced to sell. Like I said, I feel lighter lately. It is a nice feeling.
I love having garage sales, these are just a few of the many stories that I could share. It is such a weird environment but it is so fun to see what kind of treasure we really have to share!
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