stoop sale
We had a stoop sale this weekend. For those not in the know, a stoop sale is just like a yard sale, except it takes place on your stoop, since you presumably have no yard. I’m fascinated by stoop/yard sale culture. When we lived in Iowa all the people that showed up an hour before our epic, pre-move yard sale knew each other by name. Now that we're in Brooklyn, Julia scours the neighborhood stoop sales for books every weekend and always comes back with a few gems. She’ll haggle if people dare charge too much - $1 for hardcovers and $.50 for paperbacks is standard. There are always a few dealers who show up early to snatch up all the best records and books, only to resell them on eBay or at their own, pricier stoop sales. It’s a perfect vehicle for a short story or film, the stoop sale – the interactions with strangers (always a few crazies), watching pieces of your life float away. It’s a great way to spend a lazy Sunday.
The most difficult (or at least annoying) part of having a stoop sale is the advertising. You have to put up signs around the neighborhood, which is actually illegal (a cop once caught me red-handed and gave me a stern warning), and writing in chalk on curbs takes a lot more energy than I’m usually ready to expend at 9AM on a weekend. Late last week, though, I noticed that there was a thoroughly advertised sale right on our block, so we took advantage of their advertising and set up shop.
Yesterday we sold clothes, books and knick-knacks (the most expensive item was $5) and made $100. Highlights included a woman who smoked while trying on clothes (pictured above), another woman who asked me if something she was trying on made her look fat, and a couple who confessed that they had never bought anything at a stoop sale before (the rookies are always so timid). At the end of the day it’s always fun to just give stuff away – people are so appreciative. I gave an old man a suit I’ve had for at least ten years (Julia says it makes me look like MC Hammer) and I thought he was going to cry.
Afterwards, we made a pile of the free leftovers and headed over to Prospect Park to take advantage of the rest of the near-perfect day. When we got home later that night, the only thing left was an American Heart Association cookbook. It was gone this morning.
posted by Justin at 11:52 AM
3 Comments:
I don't have a stoop, so I have to sell our stuff down the street on a busy part of the street.
There is a place I like the best, it is in the sun and centrally located. I have sold things at this spot three time over the last few years, always netting just enough to pay for something like mending my jeans or a nice clam dinner for a friend.
The last time I had a sale, an old black man bought a watch. It was one of those watches that had some sort of magnetic-movement contraptions inside that didn't need batteries. He was a little skeptical at first but I demonstrated how it worked and he got really excited. He asked me to change the date for him which took me about ten minutes since I accidentally missed the right date two times and the stupid thing wouldn't go backwards.
Why can't I find any of those old ?
Gotta go eBay for that:
http://tinyurl.com/msa34
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