My first garage sale of the summer will be held on Friday, June 6 and Saturday, June 7, at 840 Damon Drive in Medina, Ohio, from 9 am to noon each day. There will be thousands of comic books, books and other items on sale at what I think are insanely low prices.
My garage sales this summer are going to be different from previous years in that they will be held on darn near a weekly basis...and I'm planning to be more methodical in my restocking. Of course, when I'm saying methodical, it probably doesn't mean what you think it should me.
These garage sales have two main purposes. The first is to make a little money or even, dare I hope, a lot money. The second is to reduce my Vast Accumulation of Stuff - which currently fills a pair of storage units and five rooms of my Tardis-like house - to the point where I can once again consider it an actual collection. Having lived with this clutter for decades, the latter is slightly more important to me than the former.
Here's the good news. Having reached the ancient age of 62, I'm realizing that there are an awful lot of comics and books I never going to read or re-read. These are fine and entertaining books. But I'd have to devote ten hours a day to nothing but reading to get through even half of them before I kick that bucket of which they speak. So people who come to my garage sales are going to find wonderful items. It will pain me to sell these items, but, having worked in the comics industry for over four decades, I'm used to pain.
Restocking is going to be a daily thing with me. I'll probably go through several boxes a day looking for sale items. This means that every week's sales will feature new items. Lots of new items. Maybe a thousand or so new items each week.
A couple more things...
Besides my Facebook page and this blog, I advertise these garage sales on Craig's List and in The (Medina) Gazette. Every time I post a Craig's List ad, I get at least a half-dozen emails from people who "just can't make it" during my regular garage sales and ask if they could come by the Thursday night before the garage sale. The answer is...NO. With a side order of...DO YOU THINK I'M AN IDIOT? Because what these people really want is the chance to cherry-pick the best items before everyone else. Which, of course, they are in no way entitled to do.
I might be talked into letting someone I know come over after the week's garage sales. There will still be lots of great items for sale. But, to be honest, I have so much going in my life that it'd be a rare thing for me to let someone make an appointment for Saturday afternoon/evening or Sunday. It wouldn't be an impossible thing, but it would be rare.
The other thing...
I'm SERIOUS when I say that I will absolutely not allow dealers or any other customers to impede other customers from going through the boxes of stuff. I have received complaints from customers about this behavior and I've seen it myself.
I don't care if someone brings a thousand comics they want to buy to my check-out table. I will not sell them those comics and they will not be welcome at future garage sales. I have fun at these sales and I want my customers to have fun as well. Behave or be gone.
I'm not nearly this grumpy in person. In case you were wondering.
I'll post another update tomorrow.
Tony Isabella
Looking forward to next sale
ReplyDelete