Yard sale stuff that nobody wants
Posted
May 21 2008, 12:17 PM
by
Donna Freedman
Thinking of giving somebody a coffee mug for Christmas? Don't do it. It'll probably end up at a yard sale.
That's what I inferred after reading a thread on the Smart Spending message board about a charity rummage sale. Reader "SC CDF," who with her daughter volunteered at the event, noted that 144 mugs were left unsold. So were beauty-product gift baskets, "a box the size of a refrigerator" full of decorative tins and enough clothes to fill three pickup truck beds.
Some of the mugs still had price tags attached. So did some of the clothing. "I pulled out a leather jacket with a tag for $275. Even if someone got it for 75% off, they spent (money) to have the jacket sit in the closet before they finally discarded it," SC CDF marveled in this message board thread.
And this was after the "$1 for everything you can fit in a bag" special. I'm amazed that nobody wanted a leather jacket for a buck, either to wear or to unload via Internet auction.
As SC CDF helped pack up the unsold items, she swore to become more conscious of what she buys in the future, both for herself and for others. Specifically, she vowed "never to give a mug as a present."
Who needs more of these things?
It's easy to understand the proliferation of mugs. They're the fallback gift for teachers, secretaries or the near-stranger whose name you drew in the office gift exchange. Some people fill them with cocoa mix or cookies, but once they're empty, well, who really wants another coffee cup?
Reader "Snoozematchit1" declared that the only reason to give someone a mug is "because you know they broke the last one they were given."
The reader was a little depressed by the sheer volume of donations SC CDF described, especially the never-used items: "Sometimes I think people just buy for the sake of buying."
How else to explain a $275 leather jacket that never got worn?
Yard sales are full of things that were probably impulse purchases or unwanted gifts: picture frames, cookware, jewelry, candleholders, exercise equipment, craft supplies, coffee table books.
At one sale last summer I scored a number of note-card sets, some funny, some beautiful. "I buy too many cards," admitted the woman holding the sale. "And then I never use them."
The 'why' of buying
Garage sales are a frugalist's dream, yet the volume of new or like-new wares is somewhat troubling. I wonder whether people are de-cluttering to simplify their lives, or if they're getting rid of stuff that bores them so they can buy new stuff.
Maybe they're purging out of guilt at having spent so much money on things they never used. If so, how long before they go shopping again?
Blue-sky thought: They're using the sale proceeds to snowflake their debts. Worst-case scenario: Maybe they're selling stuff to pay the bills.
I admit that I love paying 50 cents for something that still has the $12.95 price tag on it. But that's not why I buy it. There needs to be a reason.
Sometimes it's something for me. More often it's a gift. The purchase doesn't have to be strictly practical -- how else to explain the Astro Boy cards? -- but it does have to be intentional.
As SC CDF pointed out, it's important to think about what you buy, both for yourself and for others. Make your purchases carefully lest they end up in thrift shops or, worse, in the waste stream.
Hint: Nobody needs another mug.
