rummage

So your collection was started some years ago, but lately your interest has evolved and you no longer save windshield wiper blades from American autos.  You’re now a serious hunter for anything from your hometown of Paris, Wisconsin. (And as soon as you get more than one, your collection will start.)

How can you get rid of this valuable collection, along with three hundred pounds of computer, printers, and cables, three beer mugs from an original set of eight, two TV’s, one with broken rabbit ears, a bread maker, (never used, you can buy bread at a store) and assorted other goodies?

Well, dear readers, it’s rummage sale season.

Regular readers will know I have many collections, as does Wifey, and some collections we sort of share. Most decorate our abode in the “wilds” of Wisconsin, where deer and turkeys roam. We have a natural outlet for any unwanted items, with wifey selling on Ebay and through her antique mall booth. Most folks without these outlets resort to the ever popular garage sale. Whatever you call it in your area, a tag, garage, rummage, relief, or yard sale, they create lots of interest at this time of year.

Jackie Looshauis-Bennett, wrote in our local morning newspaper, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, some informative “rules of etiquette” for both the buyer and seller at tag sales, titled “Make your offer, Then mind your manners”. Having been on both sides of the checkout counter at many yard sales, Jackie’s wise advise (with experts she consulted) instructs us all to act with civility to make the experience pleasurable.

Might I add some extra advice if you’re planning to place your table on the lawn and a sign at the curb, that should make your sale more profitable, less stressful and help you get rid of your unwanted treasures.

 

• Plan ahead, put key items in your newspaper or on-line ad, and don’t sell listed items till the sale begins. I always start a sale earlier than most in my area and end early. I use an odd start time like 7:42 am, which attracts attention in my ad. 
• If you use signs along the route to your sale, include directional arrows or be sure the address is large enough for drivers to read.

• Have a helper, a neighbor or friend work with you on sale days, since a successful sale requires extra hands and eyes.
•  Prepare newspaper and bags for wrapping and have change ready, accept checks if you know the person, ATM’s are everywhere, so hold the item until they return for cash.
•  Have a set area with visibility over your sale for wrapping and collecting payment. A case or tray with small valuables should be at the checkout area. Keep your money safe, not in a box unattended.
•  Don’t write, even in pencil, directly on an item, including on the back of a box, or in a book as it will decrease the value of the item, and never use tape, especially masking tape. String tags are best or tags that are designed for easy removal, wifey uses Post-it notes inside original boxes, and on the inside cover of books.
• Don’t be bullied by early arrivals, hold to your own start time.   I’m reminded of the lady that would show up at sales a day ahead on crutches and tell a “sad” story of fearing crowds on sale days. 

• “Those darn dealers out early waiting at the curb for start time.” Well bunkie, if you don’t sell to them you may miss your best chance to make money, so, welcome them without scorn. 
• Price your items fairly, what you see on the Road Show is representative of maybe 1% of all antiques. If your sure your item falls in that category, sell it through a reputable auction service.
• Checking Ebay is fine, and if your item is exactly the same – in the same condition as one that sold , then sell your item on Ebay also, but don’t expect a retail price at a yard sale. (Ebay sales locations charge sellers fees that can reduce your profit by 30% or more.)
• Consider your sale a wholesale event but leave in some room for price reduction, as everyone likes to feel they just won a bargain. Inspect your items with a critical eye, a chip, crack, fading or stains may be acceptable on very rare antiques, but not on a decorative piece from Crate and Barrel.
•  Lastly, don’t run a sale more than two days, any longer and exhaustion sets in and the last day you may be very lonely. So have fun at your sale and enjoy a new collection started with the money earned.
• Remember the adage: The price of an item is completely dependent on the mood of the buyer and seller at the very moment of sale. As a wise antique dealer once said, “I’m lowering the prices, I’m not running a museum.”

 With my years of experience, I realize that finding an addition to a favorite collection provides a great rush, but the searches are taxing and time-consuming. Overall, I do enjoy selling more than buying; it’s a wonderful opportunity to quiz attendees on their own addictions, and hear their stories of antique conquests. And the feeling that two people got the better end of the same transactions, leaves a warm glow in both hearts.

You may be a bit rusty; it has been a while. Rummage sales, tag sales, garage sales, estate sales, yard sales — you can go to a zillion different kinds of sales in the same day, if you’re so inclined, but unless you’re from a more tropical state, your options have been limited until recently. The rummage-sale season is just starting, and if you’re like me, it’s got you excited into a tizzy. Don’t jump into it unprepared, though: here’s some tips that you might not have thought of, or had forgotten in so many months since you last could spend all day roaming neighborhoods in search of the greatest deals:

• Stock up on supplies. After Hour 3 of rummaging, you’re probably a bit parched and your sugar levels might be getting low. Don’t pay convenience store prices — that bag of Twizzlers and bottle of soda will cost twice as much from the Tesoro as the grocery store, and that puts a dent in your budget. Pick up treats when you go buy groceries or shop at WalMart, and you’ll save enough to buy something extra-special.
• Make a shopping list. I’m assuming that, if you’re a collector, you already know what your collection consists of, but it’s always handy to keep the specifics written down. Which issue of that comic book are you still missing? What year was that book first published? What’s the highest price you should let yourself pay for a particular item? It can be most helpful when you’re helping a friend or relative with their collection; you might not readily remember what they’re looking for. This will keep you on-track, and prevent a lot of superfluous purchases — or an overlooked treasure.
• Get the most out of online resources. Most newspaper’s classifieds are now online and searchable, including those freebie ’shopper’ papers at the grocery stores. If you’re feeling nerdy, coordinate the online rummage sale listings with Google Maps to help you visualize where the sales are. It might take some time, but you might realize that most of the good sales are in one area, and not waste your time driving around.
• Buy in bulk. We’ve mentioned before that this is one of my favorite methods of shopping. If you encounter a rummage sale with numerous things you collect — even if some are duplicates or poor quality — ask what the seller will take if you bought everything. Don’t let sticker shock get to you: take your time and do the math. Rummage sellers are generally interested in getting money for their stuff, and if they can dump their ‘junk’ on one person for a wad of cash, they’ll probably give an extra-good discount. I’ve chastized myself many a time for deliberating on which five items I’ll pay $1 each for, even though the seller offered the lot of 10 for $6. I didn’t look at the math, and lost out. The extras can be resold, or you might end up with something spectactular that you didn’t realize was in the lot originally.
• Bring a box and old newspapers. Many a time, we’ve been unprepared and left a glass piece wedged between a box of books and some second-hand clothes, in hopes that it won’t roll around and break. Even if it’s not particularly valuable, broken glass on the car floor is dangerous and no fun to clean up. If you buy a breakable, be sure you can pack it properly when you get to the car, and pack it well enough to survive being driven to and from all your next stops on the itinerary.
• Clean out the trunk. Nothing’s worse than finding the Mother-Lode of a rummage sale, buying a whole bunch, then discovering the forgotten 12-pack of paper towels left in the trunk from the last trip to Wal-Mart. If you’re planning on spending a whole morning rummaging, be sure you have room for everything you hope to buy.
• Look outside your usual hunting grounds. If you’re willing to put 20 miles on your car driving around the same neighborhoods each weekend, look at the other towns outside your usual area. You’ll be guaranteed to see something different, and you might run across an auction that wasn’t in your local paper, an antique shop that you hadn’t heard of, and it will give you a new perspective on where to shop. Rummage sales are all about exploration and discovery; give yourself room to explore and discover.
• Budget, and leave the checkbook in the car. Carry small bills, so as to not look cheap when talking someone down from $3 to $1 and handing them a twenty. Don’t carry your whole budget with you, or else you’ll be tempted to spend it too quickly. Leave the balance in your checkbook, or know how much you can still get out an an ATM — that gives you some ‘cool-down’ time before spending the entire budget. When you’re walking back to the car or driving a couple blocks to find an ATM, take time to re-evaluate whether the purchase is worth spending the last of the cash. Remember, though: if you walk away from an item, even for a few seconds, someone else might grab it. Ask the seller if they’ll put it in the back and/or mark it ’sold’, or leave a cohort in crime to keep an eye on it so it doesn’t disappear.
• Assemble a utility kit. Batman knew what he was doing: you never know when you might need the right tool for the job. It can be in a box in the car, in a fanny-pack on your waist, or in the trunk, but it should be accessible. What’s in the kit may vary by collection, but we’ve often wished we’d brought along a magnifying glass, a flashlight, a tape measure, or a screwdriver on various occasions.
• Bring a cart if you’re walking a lot. Sending someone back to the car to dump an armful of purchases in the trunk is no fun if you’re at a neighborhood block sale. Your cart could range from the small collapsible grocery-tote to a Radio Flyer wagon, but it will be indispensible once your arms are full and you realize just how far away you had to park.

I’ll be lying if I say I’m this prepared every time we go out rummaging, but we’re as diligent as we can be to avoid the troubles of buying something we don’t need, won’t fit in the car, or exhausts our budget. Taking in these amateur second-hand sales is supposed to be fun, and with a little preparation these kinds of problems can be solved and avoided.

On this past Saturday hubby and I were at a large local rummage sale, the KFGO Rummage Sale at the Red River Valley Fair Grounds. This time, we weren’t shoppers — we were sellers.

The day was exhausting (as was the set up the afternoon before) as we were busy from 7:30 a.m. until 3 p.m. with those looking for deals — and re-stocking our tables. Yes, that’s right; we brought so much stuff that under the tables we had boxes with stuff we hadn’t unpacked yet. (Don’t laugh because at the end of the day only 4 of those boxes had never been opened!)

In fact, we were so busy we rarely left our booth (hence these photos are what we could see from our set-up) — we didn’t even have time to shop ourselves.

Well, that’s not completely true. Across the way, during set-up I noticed this lady had a pair of paintings which were similar to Pletan’s — and too cheaply priced (at $10 for the pair) not to grab up.

And the eldest daughter who was helping found us a copy of Frankenweenie. But that’s all we bought (honest).

I think we were so busy because we offered more than just used clothing, previously viewed videos, romance novels and the odd assortment of used household goods — we had unusual stuff. Stuff the other guys didn’t. So folks spend a lot of time in our two — yes, two — booths. Some actually thanked me for having such neat stuff ‘on display.’ (I did tell them it was available for them to buy and display at home — but not all of them did so. *wink*)

We had vintage glassware, retro toys, wonderful textiles, wooden beer crates, vintage clothing, old dolls, and antique German books mixed in with the usual discarded kids’ books, bud vases, candle holders and the out-grown bike.

In the space next to us, they had flower arrangements and lovely antique furnishings (reupholstered pieces), shown below.

But mostly the booths were filled with ‘rummage’ more than ‘collectibles.’ (This I noticed from my few dashes to the restroom.)

At every sale we’ve ever had there is at least one item we wish we could charge $1 for everytime it was picked up or discussed (cuz then we’d surely be rich!). This time was no exception.

At first the Castle of GreySkull was object numero uno for discussion. “Everybody” was telling us how recently on eBay one in the box, never opened, just sold for $600. (This story was told to me so many times I expected it to be an urban legend and the price to increase with each telling.)

But quickly, once it was removed from a box under the table, the top conversation piece became this musical decanter of a dog with a gun raised to its head which, when turned (as it oft was that day), plays “How Dry I Am.”

Derek and I kept telling people that it was the Worst Mother’s Day Gift Ever.

Just as it’s the rule that every sale has its conversation pieces, it’s equally true that these items do not sell. This is why they are conversation pieces. No one knows why the most talked about items are the ones you must pack-up again… This is just one of those rules that sellers have to accept.

Surely the $20 Castle of GreySkull was a fair price (no one offered a lower price), as was the $6 decanter (a very low price indeed). But while they didn’t sell, they did serve a purpose — they brought people over and looking. Kind of like advertising — only the price we pay is that we have to bring them back home. (Email me if your interested – Ha!)

I’d also like to point out something I didn’t notice before this sale. One of my vintage linens, a large green tablecloth, had been drycleaned and was still in it’s bag. Even though I had priced it (and I held it in my own hands again to put it on the rack), I did not notice until noon (while eating my typical vendor hot dog) that the drycleaner bag was dated 1976! Now there’s some proof that it wasn’t a new item, huh? (Once I spotted that bicentennial bag I had a good laugh and then snapped the photo — I was going to post it here and make fun of the seller, but Derek said he’d out me!)

While some would say we made good money for one day’s work, I’d have to remind them that this wasn’t just one day’s work. We not only had to set up the day before but there were the weeks of pricing items every night which lead to walking around all those boxes in the living room too. And it was an hour to pack everything that didn’t sell up, take it home where we had to tweedle it back into the basement again…

Not to mention the countless trips buying the stuff.

As I said, we won’t mention that — because we can’t complain about that part.