Yard Sales, Flea Markets and Second Hand or Consignment Stores

I must confess, I became hooked on yard sales, flea markets and consignment stores years ago when I was a single mom and pretty broke. Buying new anything was simply not an option in my budget.   It took me a while to get used to it, because I came from an affluent home where new was taken for granted, but once I did become used to it, I find it very hard to shop retail now.  Especially because I still like very nice things, even designer items, and find that I don't care much for the designer price tags that go along with them.   I am building resistance to consumerism in the form of cheap, disposable fashion and goods, in favor of well-made, durable and quality items.  Inevitably, that drives me back to yard sales, flea markets and second hand or consignment stores!

Now, even when I can buy new I look for used first, unless the new item is dramatically reduced in price. The impact on the environment from used items is minimal, and something that was formerly shuttled off to no-man's land gets a new lease on life. I've even found most of these items are better than their more disposable, more modern and more more plastic counterparts.

Garage sales aren't for everyone. I realize that, but even those who are retail-a-holics may find it pays to buy tools or baby items second hand.  It helps to have both an open mind and an iron-clad idea of what you're looking for. I can't tell you the number of times I went out in search of something and found another thing I didn't at all expect.  Or just went out, looking for nothing specific, and found something I had been needing for a long time, like a 30 foot locking ladder for $20.   (A fantastic investment and used quite often!)

There are some who object to second hand consignment items, and even I have my limits. Generally, I avoid shoes and intimate items of any kind. No bathing suits, either. The only shoes I've bought 'second hand' or consignment were some still in the box, never worn by the owner to my knowledge. I have bought unused shoes off of Ebay, too.  I have bought a lot of 'gently used' vintage designer clothes, and handbags, though.  But since I have started working towards minimalism, I have kept a light variety (3-4) of handbags of the highest quality and donated the rest to charity and/or hosted a clothing swap.

Flea markets are fun, but the flea markets in Florida around here hold a lot of miscellaneous junk. A lot of old movies, dusty books and things. However, I did buy my best vaccuum cleaner ever for $25 at a flea market; it was an old Eureka upright, all metal parts. It still ran, and I took it to an vaccuum-repair place and the guy reworked it for me top to bottom for $30. That thing ran like a dream for 7 years. When it finally died, I was sad - because all the new one are made entirely of plastic and are of much poorer overall quality. I just wish I'd found that old vaccuum cleaner earlier!

I'm planning on holding a garage sale at the end of August. Having them can be a good way of getting rid of unnecessary items, making a little money and putting items out there to be recycled by others. It takes a bit of work, but if you know what you're doing, you can make a tidy profit.  Hosting a garage sale is easy.  There is a lot of free adversiting available in local newspapers and Craigslist, or Freecycle.  Putting clear, bright and well-written signs out in strategic places also helps.  Make sure to get enough change (I start with $50 in change in a cash box, small bills and coins), so you don't have to continually leave the sale in someone's care to go to the bank or nearest grocery store to get more.   Label things clearly with price, but be flexible.  Also, make your sale easy to navigate and tidily set up.  Borrow folding tables, like card tables, and hang more valuable items of clothing.   Try not to make your buyers work too hard or dig through piles.  At my last garage sale, I netted a $200 profit in 4 hours. That's $50/hr (more than I make at my full time job!)