Not the Long Tail Approach

[akirlu]

There was a group effort to hold coordinated yard sales in our little Mill Creek area. Optimistically, I joined in, and set up a few card tables out front on the gravel.

On the whole, I could make better money flipping burgers. But I did fill one and a half wheel-barrows full of weeds from the front yard. And I had a pleasant enough time sitting on the deck, under the hazel tree, reading my book. Oh, and I did get rid of some stuff, just not as much as I had hoped. The surprising thing, to me, is the way 90% or so of the browsers literally never got out of their cars. They would just drive by the tables (often on the wrong side of the road) v-e-r-y s-l-o-w-l-y and then drive on to the next place. Weird. Obviously gas is not yet expensive enough. Though we get some from the other end of the spectrum -- young families who were walking the neighborhood rather than bringing a car at all.

And I could have sold quite a few card tables and patio chairs, if I had been willing to part with those. But I have to ask: have you ever seen Legos at a yard sale? 'Cause I never have, and it would not occur to me to look for them at one. Legos are goddamn' heirlooms. You pass them on to your grandkids.

Comments

[don-fitch.livejournal.com]

Yup, I understand that people who have Legos (I don't, aside from maybe two or three blocks acquired in some mysterious way -- they're very much since-my-time) consider them precious, in the sense of "(sentimental) value concentrated in small compass", so they're rarely gotten rid of in the course of HouseCleaning, even of near-Thoreauvian magnitude.

[cakmpls.livejournal.com]

I wouldn't cruise a neighborhood of sales in my car even when gas wasn't so expensive, but if I happen to pass a sale, I often slow down to look. You can tell if it's mostly clothes or mostly not, and often get a general idea like "lots of toys," "old stuff," etc.

Quite a lot of our Legos were acquired from yard sales, thrift stores, and consignment shops. And when the kids didn't want them anymore, we gave them away--to an adult friend who collects and builds with them! If I ever have grandkids, I'll probably regret that.

[kate-schaefer.livejournal.com]

I haven't seen Legos at a yard sale, but I don't go yard-saling. My grandchildren own a lot of Legos acquired at yard sales; Sam cruises for cool kids' toys at yard sales all the time. Katherine Howes has the uncanny ability to find unopened K'nex building kits at yard sales.

Legos acquired at yard sales have to be soaked in dishwater for a long time before they're handed over to the kids.

[the-magician.livejournal.com]

A lot of my Lego (it's a darned Americanism to call them legos, grin!) was acquired at car boot sales (more like a flea market than a garage sale) as garage sales are very nearly unknown in the UK ... possibly because the majority of houses don't have garages, and the ones that do are not closely enough converged to make it worthwhile ... though the newer housing estates are starting to get garage sales ....

... so a car boot sale is similar, but you put your junk in the car, drive it to a field with several hundred other people and set up your card tables there, and people come along and check through hundreds of tables of stuff ... nearly went out buying this morning, but decided my house is *FULL* so need to get rid of stuff first :-)

And yes, I've bought kilos of Lego from car boot sales (you have to look for teeth marks!)

[19-crows.livejournal.com]

We do garage sales most Saturdays, and we do it by car. We cruise past slowly to see if it looks like there's stuff that interests us, or if it's mostly kids' stuff. It's too far to walk to all the sales we go to, and I can't imagine gas getting so expensive that I don't do it this way. I don't go to sales to save money, but to find interesting stuff.

I see Lego at garage sales a lot. I also know people who buy and sell it on eBay. Am told they can be washed in the dishwasher. It's not like they've stopped making them.

[chiefwirehead.livejournal.com]

I, on the other other hand, regularly cruise garage sales and estate sales ( and boot sales, if I'm in the UK). I see Legos all the time - though I haven't bought any in a while (I do have niece and a nephew to keep amused after all).
I also see K'nex as well, which I now have in abundance (though not be Glenn's standards or abundance)