Garage sale
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
A garage sale, also called a yard sale or tag sale, is an informal, irregularly scheduled marketplace of new or used household goods, typically sold by one or at most a few families. In some communities there are designated days every year in which "block sales" are allowed, so that people don't have to get the required permits or collect sales tax.
Typically the goods in a garage sale are unwanted items from the household conducting the sale. The goods are sometimes new, like-new, or just usable, offered for sale because the owner does not want or need the item, to minimize their possessions, or to raise funds. Popular motivations for a garage sale are "Spring cleaning" or the owner's move to a new residence. The seller displays their wares to the passers-by or those responding to signs or newspaper ads. The sales venue is usually a garage, driveway, front yard, or porch. Some vendors, known as 'squatters', will set up in a highly trafficked area not on their own property.
Staples of garage sales include old clothing, books, toys, household knickknacks, and board games. Larger items like furniture and occasionally appliances are also sold. Garage sales occur most frequently in suburban areas on good-weather weekends, and usually have designated hours for the sale. Sometimes, buyers arrive before the hours of the sale to review the items. These buyers are known as "Early Birds", and are often professional restorers or resellers. Such sales also attract people who are searching for bargains or for rare and unusual items. Bargaining on prices is routine, and items may or may not have price labels affixed. Some people buy goods from these sales to restore them for resale.
Some cities, such as Beverly Hills, California, require that the homeowners apply and pay for a yard sale permit, and even with that homeowners in Beverly Hills can only hold yard sales in the back of their homes.
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[edit] Special community sales
In some areas garage sales have taken on a special meaning to a community and have become events of special local significance. In these situations large areas of a community hold a communal garage sale involving dozens or hundreds of families at the same time. Two such examples are the Great Glebe Garage Sale, held every spring in The Glebe a district of Ottawa, Canada, and the Hwy 127 Corridor Sale which is held over 450 miles of Highway 127 in Crossville, Tennessee. These garage sale have become part of local tradition and culture, and attract thousands of shoppers for the event.
[edit] In media and the arts
The cultural phenomenon of garage and yard sales in the United States has been examined by several artists. The Thunderground Film production “Zen and the Art of Yard Sailing” is a documentary produced in 2004 that covered the aspects of finding bargains as well as the cutthroat practices of professional resellers and the previously noted “early birds”. New Jersey artist Robert Emmons’ short documentary “Yard Sale” was released in 2006. Emmons work examines the American practice of buying and selling goods in one’s front yard and the sociological impact of such activities. Tom Zarrilli an artist, photographer and writer has kept a long running online journal entitled “Yard Sale Addict” that explores the anthropological aspects of the yard sales he visits near his home in Atlanta, Georgia. Zarrilli’s interactive installation “A year in the yards of clutter and the driveways of divestment” was presented at The Atlanta Contemporary Arts Center in 2006. The conceptual work was presented as a staged yard sale with hundreds of the artist’s photographs embedded in the artifacts. The work was turned into an actual yard sale and sold off item by item at the end of its gallery run.
[edit] Online Garage Sale Mapping Software Comparison
Online mapping software can be used to map out garage sales before you go out.
| Site | GPS Features | Maps | Cost | GSN Member | Cover |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Garage Sale Organizer | Yes | Free | Yes | North America, Britain, Australia | |
| Weekend Treasure | No | Free | Yes | United States | |
| YardSaleCanada | No | Cost | No | Canada | |
| Garage Sale Mapper | No | Free | Yes | Canada | |
| Ever Single Garage Sale | No | Free | No | United States | |
| Garage Sale Source | No | MapQuest | Free | No | North America |
| Garage Sale Hunter | No | MapQuest | Free | No | United States |
| Garage Sale Zone | No | Free | Yes | North America | |
| Toronto Garage Sale | No | MapQuest | Free | No | Toronto, Ontario |
| Toronto Garage Sale | No | MapQuest | Free | No | Toronto, Ontario |
| eGarage Sale | No | WhereIs | ?? | No | Australia |
| YardHopper.com | No | MapQuest | Free | No | United States |
| Yard Sale Portal | No | MapQuest | Free | No | United States |
| Best Yard Sales | No | Yahoo | Free | No | United States |
| SaleInfo.us | No | MapQuest | Free | No | United States |
