Relay: Clearance in Aisle Montauk
Fall weather is perfect for a yard sale. People aren’t hot or cranky and really seem to enjoy the smell of leaves dying and the crunch they make under one’s feet. I’m joining a few other women this weekend to have a yard sale in Montauk and am not sure if I should be looking forward to it or dreading it. Obviously, I have done this before.
One might wonder what I could possibly be thinking, as those who have held yard sales know that the insults to your personal stuff fly freely. I just hope to wake in a good mood on Saturday morning.
It’s time to clear out my house and some personal belongings. I have finally accepted that the beautiful high heels worn only once for a wedding will never get worn again. I’ve also concluded that I should get rid of a few favorite pocketbooks — oops, I mean handbags, as they’re now called. I see no reason to hang on to the leather bags that clutter my bedroom and that my two daughters have no interest in.
The best part of a yard sale is never knowing what treasures you might find. I scored a Dolce & Gabbana black leather shoulder bag from the bottom of a box at the Montauk Library’s yard sale section at its book fair this summer for $5. Brand new, it sells for over $1,000! That, I’m holding on to. And if someone reading this says, “Oh no, Mom donated my Italian leather bag with gold chain clasp,” don’t even think about asking for it back. I paid my $5 and it’s now mine, all mine, heh heh heh.
Jewelry will also be sold. Until a few necklaces appeared to be choking me recently, I never realized that my neck would thicken over the years as much as my waistline. A necklace is my favorite type of jewelry and I have too many. This is a clearance sale; I need to clear out my house.
I will be selling the lingerie from Victoria’s Secret that my husband buys each year for me on Christmas. It never fits me, but if in his mind I’m still that slender slip of a girl, so be it. Who am I to burst his bubble? As I get older, I just keep dimming the bedroom lights more and more. And if I can make a few bucks on the items, then maybe I’d buy some slinky thing that actually fits me.
Pricing items for a yard sale is tough. I’m selling stuff that I would probably keep, except that there’s no more room in my house for clutter. But when I’m offered $2 for something I think is a bargain at $5, that’s when I might have to slug the offender. People read in newspapers and magazines how to haggle with a seller and think it’s their job to do so. Yard sale customers will always offer you less, much less in some cases.
My sister is selling a beautiful wood kitchen island that has had some nips previously on Bonac Yard Sale on Facebook. But the wannabe buyers keep trying to haggle her down on the already cheap listing price. One woman who visited my sister’s home to look at it would not leave her driveway for almost a half-hour last week because she couldn’t wrap her head around the price my sister was asking for it. And though the woman really wanted it, she wouldn’t give in to the extra few bucks.
I’m usually an easy target; I give in. Hell, tell me a sob story and I’ll give you the item for free! But on Saturday I’m going to try to stand firm, keep my pride, and just say no, I will not take $1 for that brand-new L.L. Bean shirt that is still in its wrapper. I will not take $2 for the handbag I spent over $300 on at Bloomingdale’s several years ago. And I will not listen to your sob story. If you see something, say something, just don’t let it be, “How about a buck for that?”
Janis Hewitt is a senior writer and the Montauk correspondent for The Star.