Every summer, Bellingham’s Columbia Neighborhood Association hosts a community garage sale, complete with maps showing the way. In 2022, more than 40 households participated. This year’s sale is set for Saturday, June 24 — as is a similar event taking place the same day in the Sunnyland neighborhood — and signups are pointing to a busy morning and afternoon of both making and finding deals.
In past years, I’ve acquired a trove of treasures at the Columbia sales, including a three-piece outdoor bistro set (free!), a lightly used down comforter ($2), a brand-new toaster oven ($7), a set of multi-colored mixing bowls ($3), salt-and-pepper shakers being towed by a ceramic frog on a metal bicycle ($4), and a top-tier leather loveseat ($75, including delivery).
The loveseat may be the priciest item on the list, but it was actually a steal. One thing I’ve learned in my decades of attending and hosting yard/garage/estate sales is it doesn’t always pay to be an early bird. When we dropped by the house where the loveseat was being sold, only about 20 minutes of the sale remained, and the sellers had recently dropped their prices on everything by 50%. By that point of the day, they just wanted everything gone.
If you do show up to a sale before it actually opens to the public, be prepared to pay full price. It’s bad manners to start nosing around when items are still being set out and priced, and you shouldn’t expect preferential treatment simply because you have money and are willing to pay.
Speaking of cash: For those hosting a sale, try to have a variety of bills on hand before it even begins, as it will make your transactions go much smoother. Same goes for “customers.” Don’t be the jerk who hands a $100 bill to someone to pay for a $3 sweatshirt. Start the excursion with as many small bills as possible. That way, when you offer $4 on a $6 item, you’ll have the exact change.
When it comes to making deals, flexibility goes a long way on both ends. If someone has acquired a pile of T-shirts, books and ball caps and offers $20 for all of it instead of the $30 the individual prices of the items would add up to, take it. If a price is firm, make notes of it on the tag.
Conversely, don’t price items so obnoxiously high nobody will want to purchase them, and don’t quibble if someone’s asking $1 for a CD and you only want to pay 50 cents. Follow the “one dollar, no holler” mantra and shell out a buck for Madonna’s “Like a Virgin” album, already.
Another tip for yard sale hosts is having adequate signage and removing the posters or printouts once the sale has come to an end. Nothing’s worse than following old directions, only to find out the event happened the week before. Use bright colors to attract the eye, include the address, time and date in big enough font to be read from a vehicle, and add arrows if needed so people know if they need to make a right or a left turn at an intersection.
For yard sale hunters, keep in mind you may have to look around a while to find what you didn’t even know you needed. If an outbuilding or garage is part of the sale, venture inside and do some sleuthing. You may discover a 1970s-era Sun Tea container that only needs to be washed to be returned to its former glory, a vintage pickax or a map of the state of Alaska that’s been rolled up and forgotten in the corner.
With good weather on the horizon for Saturday’s sales, it’s also worth a reminder that if the sales are crazy busy, patience is a virtue. Don’t block driveways, crowd your way to the front of the line or act as if you’re the only one with questions. Do make your claim on what you want early on, and bring bags along to contain your bounty (or ask if they have bags available).
Above all, have a good time. If you’re hosting a sale, make sure you have somewhere comfortable to sit while downsizing your house or apartment’s hoard. Stay hydrated, and regale passersby with stories of where you picked up your collection of glassware, art or obscure comic books.
For those attending sales, treat them like a treasure hunt. Sure, you may not need salt-and-pepper shakers being towed by a ceramic frog on a metal bicycle, but purchasing them will make for a good story down the line. Someday, you may even be selling the amphibian and its weird haul at your own yard sale.
The Columbia neighborhood Community Garage Sale Day takes place from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday, June 24, throughout the district. The Sunnyland Yard Sale takes place from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. the same day throughout the neighborhood. Info: columbianeighbors.org or sunnylandneighborhood.com.
