There are a lot of bird references in the English language these days. We "tweet" instant messages. Sometimes "tweets" are sent to "snow birds," vacationing in the winter in the southern portions of the United States. There are bird references in the garage sale community as well, namely, the "early birds." This flock of shoppers reaches a yard sale before it is slated to begin. They want to have the first chance to look at the garage sale treasure and to purchase it.
Now that you can identify them by sight and name, you might be interested in why they are acting with such persistence and determination. Early birds are not motivated by the fun and fancy of the garage sale, unless that merriment is accompanied by a profit margin. That is because early birds are frequently dealers. They purchase garage sale treasure and re-sell them as a job. The outlet for their resale can be online, such as on Ebay or Craigslist. They might also sell at a flea market or similar style booth or in a consignment venue of some type. They mean business because it is their business.
Many people believe that it is unfair to allow anyone to look at the stuff for sale at a garage sale before the sale starts. If the sale starts at 9:00 a.m. on Friday, these people say, that is when you should begin your sale and keep the playing field level. (This does avoid the embarrassing situation which can occur when an ordinary shopper arrives at 9:00 for your advertised roll top desk and it is gone.) If your philosophy matches this, then justice might encourage you to avoid early birds.
There are folks who get annoyed and frustrated by early birds, not on principles of equity, but rather based on boundaries. These sellers are willing to have people come to their house during the scheduled garage sale, however, they do not want strangers on their property otherwise. An early bird can be viewed as an intruder or as an intrusion.
The persistence of an early bird is difficult to overcome. They may not be eliminated, especially if a garage sale has been prepared and organized to achieve success. Those wishing to minimize the early bird because of notions of injustice, intrusion or otherwise, might follow these tips: State in your advertisements that there are no early birds or no presales. Close the doors of your home, including your garage door until the sale is scheduled to begin, which is, according to usual custom 15-30 minutes earlier than the specified time. Do not encourage "bad" early bird behavior. Do not be bullied into changing your prices, opening your garage door, or bringing out different stuff that you had not planned on selling at a garage sale (like gold.)
* Keep your garage door closed until you are ready to sell. * Put a sign on your front door and your garage door saying, nicely, that there are no early showings. (Example: still getting ready for you. Be ready at 9:00, promise!) * Put a "no early bird" legend in your advertisements. * Go with the flow. Expect early birds and take advantage of the early sales to early birds. You don't know what the weather will be on the day of your sale. * Stay firm on your prices on any early sales.
One more thing. It is not early birding to arrive at a garage sale 30 minutes before the scheduled opening. That is standard garage sale practice.
Now that you can identify them by sight and name, you might be interested in why they are acting with such persistence and determination. Early birds are not motivated by the fun and fancy of the garage sale, unless that merriment is accompanied by a profit margin. That is because early birds are frequently dealers. They purchase garage sale treasure and re-sell them as a job. The outlet for their resale can be online, such as on Ebay or Craigslist. They might also sell at a flea market or similar style booth or in a consignment venue of some type. They mean business because it is their business.
Many people believe that it is unfair to allow anyone to look at the stuff for sale at a garage sale before the sale starts. If the sale starts at 9:00 a.m. on Friday, these people say, that is when you should begin your sale and keep the playing field level. (This does avoid the embarrassing situation which can occur when an ordinary shopper arrives at 9:00 for your advertised roll top desk and it is gone.) If your philosophy matches this, then justice might encourage you to avoid early birds.
There are folks who get annoyed and frustrated by early birds, not on principles of equity, but rather based on boundaries. These sellers are willing to have people come to their house during the scheduled garage sale, however, they do not want strangers on their property otherwise. An early bird can be viewed as an intruder or as an intrusion.
The persistence of an early bird is difficult to overcome. They may not be eliminated, especially if a garage sale has been prepared and organized to achieve success. Those wishing to minimize the early bird because of notions of injustice, intrusion or otherwise, might follow these tips: State in your advertisements that there are no early birds or no presales. Close the doors of your home, including your garage door until the sale is scheduled to begin, which is, according to usual custom 15-30 minutes earlier than the specified time. Do not encourage "bad" early bird behavior. Do not be bullied into changing your prices, opening your garage door, or bringing out different stuff that you had not planned on selling at a garage sale (like gold.)
* Keep your garage door closed until you are ready to sell. * Put a sign on your front door and your garage door saying, nicely, that there are no early showings. (Example: still getting ready for you. Be ready at 9:00, promise!) * Put a "no early bird" legend in your advertisements. * Go with the flow. Expect early birds and take advantage of the early sales to early birds. You don't know what the weather will be on the day of your sale. * Stay firm on your prices on any early sales.
One more thing. It is not early birding to arrive at a garage sale 30 minutes before the scheduled opening. That is standard garage sale practice.
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Need extra money? This home business will make garage sale income every day!. This article, Yard Sale Early Birds is available for free reprint.
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