Friday Five: Garage Sale

From the RevGalBlogPals:
Welcome to your irregularly scheduled Fifth Friday Five, hosted by will smama and Songbird!
Since will smama is preparing for a joint garage sale with her parents, and Songbird’s church had a Yard and Plant Sale last Saturday, we have five enormously important questions we hope you will answer:

1) Are you a garage saler?
Not so much right now. But in the past, that was how I got a lot of clothes and toys for the kids when they were little. Including a Victorian styled doll house, Legos, play kitchen, and a gazillion toddler clothes.

2) If so, are you an immediate buyer or a risk taker who comes back later when prices are lower?
I usually buy on the spot, particularly if it is something that I spot as being valuable and worth the money.

3) Seriously, if you’re not a garage saler, you are probably not going to want to play this one. (That wasn’t really #3.) 3) This is the real #3: What’s the best treasure you’ve found at a yard or garage sale?
A set of French lead crystal (still in the box with the price tag) which, yes, we gave as a wedding gift. We’re talking a $100 set of champagne flutes and I bought it for $5 when we were barely making rent… (Is that re-gifting? Is that tacky? Oh well… the bride loved them!)

4)If you’ve done one yourself, at church or at home, was it worth the effort?
Community/church ones are more fun. You hang out, talk, and then laugh at what people will actually buy. (Best garage sale moment EVER – Beloved Bearded Spouse and I were given the world’s UGLIEST casserole dish as a wedding present. It was a home-thrown ceramic/clay dish with a lid — that didn’t fit. It had swirls of brown, green, blue and atomic puke pink. And someone BOUGHT IT for $5!!! For a wedding present!!! I think it is still out there, being sold by the next bride that gets it.)5) Can you bring yourself to haggle?
No. I get tired of people who want you to knock off bucks off of things that are already priced cheap… Besides, when I have organized a garage sale, there is a charity pick-up scheduled for the next possible day already, so it’s not like “everything must go.”

BONUS: For the true aficionado: Please discuss the impact of Ebay, Craig’s List, Freecycle, etc… on the church or home yard/garage sale.
It depends on the item. Nice things don’t go easily on Craig’s List or Freecycle, even with pictures. Big things, however, do. And broken things do!! People get greedy.

And eBay? I still can’t believe how I was able to sell Precious Moments figurines for $20 a pop, because no one even LOOKED at them at a garage sale! But ONLY on eBay could you buy this piece of toast: