Posted by Goodgirlfriday on 2005-12-29 17:24:36
Post Subject: Wine and Fun in NY Hudson Valley
If you are in the NY region and looking for a great activity with pals, I highly recommend wine touring in the Hudson Valley. They have some really strong chardonnay (in the style of buttery Australian and clean crisp French) as well as some great pino noir and red blends.
http://www.shawangunkwinetrail.com/
It is a great "bust out of the city" adventure and is much closer than the North Fork vineyards on Long Island. Also, the discounts on the already-reasonable bottles make for a great wine rack stocking event.
Posted by teagrrl on 2005-02-17 07:17:01
Post Subject:
Hmm. Of course I have to reply to a thread about tea. :-)
How about getting a mini chest of drawers, like IKEA's Moppe? (I have two of those for craft supplies) You could paint it or cover it with paper or fabric, and label it. The drawers alone wouldn't keep the loose tea fresh, but you could put the tea in small tins and place them in the drawers.
You could also get round metal canisters and make some sort of rack for them...like a wine rack, but smaller (unless you have a lot of tea :-).
I keep my tea in various tins, myself. I like the way they look. But several identical tins would look nice as well.
Here's some info about tea storage:
http://www.planetroasters.com/faqspics/Tea%20Storage.html
Posted by lizzymahoney on 2004-05-19 18:13:10
Post Subject:
Most incorporated areas will have a requirement for a permit. You can often get it the same day, but try to do it the week before. It may be a buck or five. And it may limit you to two days once a year or somesuch. They'll also tell you about posting signs, what's allowed and what's not.
Pricing merchandise: keep like sized and like priced things together. A cigarette lighter, five mismatched coffee mugs, paper towel holder, package of christmas cards, skein of yarn and a beat up pair of pliers can all go together if you don't have lots of similar things to group them with. They're all the same size, all under five bucks, etc.
Put the eye catching stuff and furniture out closer to the road where passersby will see them. If you have primary colored preschool toys, expect that the antiques and books shoppers will not stop. But there are big resales in kids' stuff, too.
Do not expect people to pay pawn shop or flea market prices. Don't expect to get what you think is a reasonable price. Just because you spent $40 on it two years ago is no reason to think someone will pay $10 today. That does depend somewhat on the merchandise, though. Just because it's collectible does not mean it's saleable that day in that area. It may be a great buy, but without the buyer it's worthless. Put it away for another year.
Anticipate theft and deception. Be vigilant and don't be shy about telling someone to leave if you think they are trying to scam you. Sometimes at the early rush you will have a person or two distract you with arguments about prices or whatever while a friend of theirs is slipping bracelets on her wrist and tucking silk scarves into old sweat pants.
One woman has come twice to my garage sales here. I don't know who she is with, but it's definitely a ruse. She will speak very softly without looking at me, asking the price of something that is already marked. While I look around to see who is talking, she turns her back and continues to speak softly. It's definitely a trick to keep me from seeing whatever is really happening. The last time I saw her I told her to leave and she tried to argue with me, also a way to create a commotion where her partner can make off with something more valuable.
I practically give stuff away, I live in a nice area, and I know garage sale pricing and etiquette very well. And still someone will steal two of my German pilsner glasses or walk off with sago palms or tell my father they already paid for the CDs.
Another thing I hate are the people who think every thing needs to be haggled over. "You think I busted my ass sorting all this stuff just to be nickel and dimed by you? The damn type cases are worth $25 apiece at a yard sale and I will not sell the lot of them to you for ten freaking bucks." I've had people say stuff like this, "Well I only want the maple wine rack for the casters so how about if I give you five bucks for it?" or "I really don't want the frame, but the print is cute so I'll give you a quarter." @#$%^
Don't do it by yourself. Keep two of you with the merchandise at all times, never leave the cash unattended.
Get it set up early, before the time you listed. I don't mean you have to sell early, but that might happen if you are amenable. Just don't wake up at 8 for a garage sale that's supposed to start at 7.
Talk to people, even if just a hello. Real thieves won't be deterred, but generally nice people with sticky fingers may be less likely to steal if you've actually made eye contact.
Be prepared to deal. Have an idea of what you would go for on something if offered. A box of books on tape for $30?, $20. Don't be hasty and base it on what the individual tapes are marked. You may not sell all of them singly, so a single purchaser lowballing you may still be profitable for you.
You know those color coded round labels? Use them for pricing. Have several big posters with the colors and the price. All yellow tags like this one: X : 25 cents, etc.
Any posters you put out need to be visible from a distance. Here are a few things that will help: Spring for the more expensive bright colored poster boards and a new fat magic marker. Make the sign simple, short and sweet. "Garage Sale 105 Brentwood --->>" Make your arrows and your type very bold. 72pt bold type is not too big if you use a computer. Use balloons with or without helium to draw attention to your sign. Post the signs and balloons at every significant intersection from the main drag to your place. Place a bigger sign at your house, same color and same balloons. Don't even bother with flimsy signs. The first wind or rain drops and they are gone or invisible. Plus they piss off the neighbors. Don't leave your signs up past the sale. In fact, I send someone out to collect the signs from the main drag in about half an hour before I close up shop.
It takes more stuff to fill a garage sale than you might think. If all you can muster is one card table top worth, then get a friend or three to go in with you so you will attract more customers. Really. I don't stop for diaper genies or for three cardboard boxes in a driveway. There has to be the suggestion that something might appeal to me.
Don't have long conversations on your cell phone or with a neighbor when there are shoppers. I can't tell you how many times I've walked away from a good sized purchase because the seller was unavailable while socializing. There's always another sale somewhere else where I can spend my money.
