Yard Sail-ing: A Landlubber's Sport
According to my little Oxford Dictionary the word "sailing" is gliding easily on water by means of sails. Although I've lived by water all my life, I am more comfortable with two feet planted firmly on land. So I am quite happy with a new kind of sailing that has a different meaning altogether. It is strictly confined to backyards or driveways. As far as I know it has never been practiced offshore, although it is a popular weekend sport in many suburban towns. "Yard sailing" has everything in its favor. It is the ideal activity for those who love excitement, a challenge, and suspense without effort. There is no talent necessary, no pre-learning period, no advance planning, no preparation and no major time commitment. Best of all, the cost to get into the game is minimal and everyone wins. "Yard sailing" is much like a treasure hunt and consists of traveling from one yard to another in search of undiscovered goodies. Each item is a treasure only to the person who finds it. Therefore, this is not considered a competitive sport, except now and then when more than one person spots a desirable item at the same second. But, by and large, protocol intervenes and everyone is polite, deferring to the other more often than not. Things never get vicious or out of hand. Best of all, if you don't like anything you don't pay. And if the price for something you covet is too high, chances are you can get it lowered by simply asking. There are two sides to this activity, and there are rules for each side. You can either choose to be a yard sale goer or a yard sale giver and there are rules for each role.
How To Be a Good Yard Sale Giver The reward for cleaning out your basement is that you get paid for the junk rather than having to pay to have it hauled away. Your trash becomes someone else's treasure. Remember this when asked to lower a price. The objective is to be rid of it. Make your yard sale look exciting by having lots of stuff. Never hold a yard sale to get rid of 5 or 6 items. This only antagonizes the people who came to hunt for bargains. Spread the stuff out on tables and put price stickers on everything. Clothes and books are best sellers. Clean clothes and really cheap books sell even better. Books will get people hunting and pecking and create a crowd. The absolute rule is: l0 cents for paperbacks, a quarter or fifty cents for hardcover. Either you want them out of your sight or you don't!
How To Be A Good Yard Saler Don't look around and proclaim out loud, "What a lot of junk!" If you don't like what you see, quietly leave and mumble a polite thank you to your saling opponent for taking the trouble to set it up at all. If you see something you want for $50 and think it's worth $5, you can do one of two things. Follow the good etiquette rules of haggling and say, "Would you consider less?" The answer will usually be, "Make me an offer." Or you can do the cowardly thing, which is what I usually do. Mutter a thank you and leave, figuring that everything is too expensive for the game of yard saling. And finally, do not under any circumstances arrive at 8 a.m. for a yard sale that advertised "l0 to 2. Positively no early birds!" It's very bad form. A few weeks ago my yard saling partner Maddie and I initiated her 9-year-old granddaughter Amanda into the game. Here was a born yard saler. For two dollars she came home with a game of Monopoly, a brand new talking alarm clock, a gold bracelet, 2 comic books, l00 postcards, stationary and Nancy Thayer's "Lost Spirit" which she included for me. All of which goes to prove that one is never too young or too old to enter the sport. And I challenge anyone to come up with a more satisfying two hours worth of fun for a mere two dollars.
Copyright Leslie Linsley, author
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