Garage Buys

Thanks to will smama and Songbird for this Friday Five from RevGalBlogPals, all about garage sales.

1) Are you a garage saler?
YES YES YES NO (Sally might get this - and anyone who watches Vicar of Dibley) - I always try to stop and look if I see a sign out or a market in progress but I don't go looking for garage sales. I guess you could say I am an opportunistic rather than strategic on this one (as with so much else in my life).

2) If so, are you an immediate buyer or a risk taker who comes back later when prices are lower?
I'm not known for making decisions quickly - the coming back later is more because I want to think carefully about whether I really need the item. On the other hand I can certainly be impulsive and have a stash of clip-on earrings to prove it.

3) Seriously, if you're not a garage saler, you are probably not going to want to play this one.
(That wasn't really #3.)
3) This is the real #3: What's the best treasure you've found at a yard or garage sale?
One of my most treasured memories is when my daughter's friend bought a very old Bible at a church garage sale - and when we took her home her Dad wanted to read it with her. For myself the best treasure was a dry old piece of wood 'thrown in' with an EBay purchase - which polished up to a beautiful bowl by renowned Australian woodturner Terry Baker

4)If you've done one yourself, at church or at home, was it worth the effort?
Questionably. At home we did dispose of a lot of small stuff, but the big furniture items still ended up going to the Salvation Army Family Store. The real value of church ones is the camaraderie among the stall holders and the sense of shared activity.

5) Can you bring yourself to haggle?
No

BONUS: For the true aficionado: Please discuss the impact of Ebay, Craig's List, Freecycle, etc... on the church or home yard/garage sale.
EBay (or TradeMe in NZ) revolutionised our church process. Instead of a one-day-wonder with a massive bin of rubbish and exhausted people at the end of it, we set up a TradeMe identity and had a continuous garage sale. People took pictures of the items they wanted to sell and emailed to the co-ordinator, who placed the item(s) for sale and sent notification when payment received. Owner then arranged postage or pick-up direct with buyer. It was initially only going to be for three months but was so successful it just kept going.
And just this morning I delivered our old telephone to the parents of a fellow freecycler - who just could not believe that it is possible to get something for nothing. Then had morning tea with a friend who has a virtually brand new bicycle also from freecycle. To me freecycle is the church at work - an example of defecting from the empire of affluenza to the community of common wealth.