Craigslist Ad posted Thursday....

VERBATIM.


9/13 ~ Sat 8-10 ~ * Street ~ My $5 Yard Sale (******d)
My $5 Sale

So last weekend we were going to have a block yardsale. Five families, lots of stuff. We held on to the bitter end – and called it off at 6am day of. Rain rain.Said neighbors went their separate ways. One hauled her stuff back in, another gave it up to a local tots fundraiser. Reschedule? The third is going to a hockey tournament, the fourth has to work. So me, the fifth, has nary another family with which to entice yardsalers to come.

My stuff is small. Scrappy you might say. Oh sure, it’s not junk. I mean, I cared enough about it to keep it - but is it ENOUGH, you know? Enough for a “real” sale.

I say no.

After all, I’m out every Saturday at 7:45, coffee in hand (staging two doors down so I’m not scorned openly as an early bird) and I’d LOOK at my yardsale but I wouldn’t exactly pull over and say “Whoa, there’s the motherload. I’m gonna get me some finds.” What I have is cds (in cases), some unopened, a few dvds, some Red Sox paraphernalia, a fake Fichus tree named Phil (I’ll miss him) a men’s bike*, an electric snow blower, some picnic stuff (clean/unused) various and sundry misc cords for computer nerds. I have shoes, a million pair including a two very new hootchie divorcee looking platforms circa the Woburn 99 on a Friday, two pocketbooks likely off the back of a truck from my deadbeat ex, and assorted other miscellany like curtain rods. It’s really nothing SPECTACULAR (but it was all well cared for)….

So that’s why I’m selling it all – with nothing priced over $5.

See the conversation will go like this
You: “Hey, wow, is that an electric snowshovel”
Me: Yes, it is
You: Does it work
Me; Yes
You: How much
Me: $5

And then
You: Oh, curtain rods. These are still in the box.
Me: Yes
You: Wow, these are nice. My daughter just got a place in Saugus. I should call her.
Cell phone comes out, conversation ensues, you look over top of phone
You: How much
Me: $5
You: For all three
Me: No, just for one.
You: So it’s $5 each
Me: Yes. $5

And then:
You: OMG, this is a completely unopened 4cd/dvd set of LIVEAID. This was on ebay for $18
Me: Um hmm (I’m noncommittal like that)
You: WOW. This is so cool. I went, you know,it was hot hot hot that day
Me: Interested but kind of thirsty
You: So, how much
Me: $5

It’s really fairly simple. At some point you’ll see something else, for say, $4 and you and I will both chuckle. You’ll say
You: Lemme guess, $5
And I’ll say
Me: Oh no, that one is $4
And we’ll both chuckle uproariously. Then you’ll haggle with me for $3 and I’ll begrudgingly accept it then talk smack about you when you leave for being cheap.

So. Whaddya think? We have a date or what???
THIS SATURDAY
$5 sale
8am-10am

********************************************************
We made $85. Completely not worth it but completely fun. I wrote a great ad, saw two fellow salers, and had four conversations with people I never would have otherwise had - including my neighbor, who brought me coffee; a man from the next town over, who taught me about city service in his town (the kids cant graduate unless the do a certain amount of free community service in town like shoveling elders walkways - a idea that I put on outr town survey just last week thank you very much; and then two other fellows that were just a pleasure to shoot the shit with.

It's nice actually having a social conversation that doesn't revolve around Mommying...