Last week, I traveled to New York to help my cousin Lisa put on a moving sale. She’s moving to Manhattan, where her whole apartment is only slightly larger than her present dining room table. I took the opportunity to sell some antiques and collectibles out of my stock. We had lots of laughs, ate well, did a few good deeds, and sold a few (not nearly as much as we’d hoped) things. Based on this sale, here are some
helpful hints for
buyers and sellers:
- Do NOT have your sale during a hurricane, although I have no practical advice for controlling the weather.
- If the sale is scheduled to begin at 9am, DO NOT ring the doorbell at 8am.
- When making sarcastic comments about the pricing or the variety, be sure you are not speaking to the owner of the overpriced, boring items.
- When a buyer tells you that the package of tissue paper you are asking $1 for is only worth a quarter to her, do not say, “It’s worth a quarter to me NOT to sell it to you.” This is not good salesmanship.
- Believe it or not, someone WILL buy a partially used tube of sunscreen with some stranger’s name on it that your child accidentally brought home from camp 3 summers ago (but they will pay only a quarter for it).
- After the sale is over, enjoy a pizza and splurge for a nice bottle of wine, or better yet, martinis
