Rummage sales were rampant, and my first comment on this is people are getting stupid. I dare not count the number of garage sale signs that went nowhere. A huge sign by the highway, and a hand drawn arrow on a stop sign post a mile into the route is idiotic. Mark your sale right. keep the signs big, or at least consistent. The second comment is on honesty. If your sign says huge sale, it better have more than a card table full of crap from under your couch cushions. Some people honestly think they can sell garbage. One such moron had a box of cans. $2. Not aluminum cans, and even then it was overpriced, but a box of empty canned good cans, labels still attached. That is the laziest recycling I have ever seen.
My third complaint is on the greed scale. You are having a rummage sale, your not Macy's. Price your things in an appropriate manner, if you want more money than a rummage sale will get you, use craig's list, or ebay.
Now on the topic of bikes. It amazes me on who considers themselves an expert on old bikes. I have been playing with old bikes since my childhood, and am by far no expert. I base much of my knowledge from either experience or looking it up within forums and groups filled with people more expert than I will hope to be. That being said, having owned a bike does not make you the leader in the field of value determination, nor give you the right to be a stubborn ass. Pardon my terminology. It is not a difficult concept, I know when I have sales in my own yard, that if I do not know much about something I'm going to sell, I look it up, find a price range, then sell it for less. A garage sale is about people looking for bargains and such, not retail shopping in the grass.
I mention this because I stumbles upon a rummage sale that held a bicycle of interest. A Schwinn Breeze. It was in fair shape, not perfect, but not bad either, and was at least kept clean. The sticker plastered onto the seat said $900. Ok, this must be wrong right? maybe it means $90. I ask, and the man says "oh no, $900, and we wont take less." Seriously? I have bought nearly a dozen of these, and a few in better shape, from guys like myself that take pride in these bikes, and follow the old bicycle culture; and not payed over $200. I'm not saying that is the determinate value of these bikes, but it is a fair range within reason. But $900? this guy was out of his mind. A more rare model, a mens frame, a continental, or voyageur might get up there. Not a breeze. So after I spoke with him a while on this subject in hopes to enlighten him, he dug in and accused me of trying to steal it for less than it was worth. Fine, I gave him the address of a few forums to go and ask some experts and enthusiasts himself. A visit a week later proved interesting when the bike was still there, (and this area is bike shark infested waters), and the price was still at $900. I asked if he had checked out the sites, and he said that he had but those guys were just idiots who didn't know a bikes value. The sites by the way were Bike forums, and Schwinn Forums. These sites are home to true experts, and people that buy sell and trade bikes professionally in some cases. Time to give up on this clown.
This is just an example of some similar cases I have come across. Some of these are understandable. People want to get rid of things they do not need or use, but truly cannot part with them. The memories add to the price to keep them safely at home. I have no doubt some part of the previous guys logic was tainted by some sentiment with the bike, a late wife's, daughter, or some attachment. People just need to keep their reason and sense about them. I suppose that is what makes garage and rummage sales that much more interesting is the experiences and people. It is always something new and different.
So after a full week of running around in search of this book, countless garage sales, and thrift shops in my path, I found it on that Thursday. Once payed for and secured in my car, I zigg zagged back home through the back roads and sale signs. After all that I estimate the book cost almost $30 more than if I had had it shipped. I'm subracting some of the costs of the search for a few other successful finds along the way, such as few pairs of cycling gloves, some bottle cages, a pair of new slick tires (26") and a Shimano lark rear derailleur. Also a few good old books, and a super cool shirt that caught my eye.
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| Garage sale Enforcement monkeys |
