The Food Processor Mistake

Of the few people to whom I have attempted to introduce garage saling but been declined, most of them told me they were not looking to purchase anything at the time.  This is a common misconception -- and mistake -- regarding garage saling which I will discuss below.

As you have probably gathered by now, garage saling is not like regular shopping.  Take, for example, regular shopping.  If you need eggs, you go to the store, get them, pay, go home.  It's easy and predictable.  In contrast, take garage saling.  If you need say, a lamp, you get in your car, drive around, find a lamp, decide it's too ugly, drive around, find a lamp, decide it's too expensive given its condition, drive around, and, if you're lucky, by the end of the day you will have a decent, cheap lamp.

Garage saling for a single item is extremely frustrating.  You may not find the item this week or next week or even for a few months.  You may find an item that is broken or has already been sold or is too expensive (be sure to avoid this second kind of desperation purchase in which you are tempted to buy an item that is too expensive just because you have been searching so long).  Eventually, after not finding the item for a period, you get a sort of tunnel vision; the item becomes an obsession.

How do I avoid this frustration?  I keep a list of items I hope to find.  It's not a physical list written out someplace; it's just a bunch of items that I know have a decent resale value, my family or friends are looking for, or I know will make good gifts.  If I find an item from that list, great.  If not, oh well.  The most important thing to keep in mind is that the majority of garage sale purchases are not items for which one has been looking; they're simply things that strike one's interest or one feels will sell well or make good gifts.

I have seen all of the items on my list at least once.  Many of the items proved too expensive or I saw them before I realized I needed or wanted them.  The point is, if you look hard enough, you will find what you are looking for.

I call this single-minded searching the Food Processor Mistake after my good friend from high school and chief garage saling partner.  He came back from studying abroad in December 2010 thinking he wanted a food processor.  We went garage saling in December and January and he never found one. After school was done in June, we started garage saling again.  June passed with absolutely no food processors at any garage sales.  July passed the same way.  He started exploring alternative purchasing methods but finds them beyond his budget.  Finally, after much despair -- he had almost given up on garage saling for a while because he was so frustrated -- in August or September he finally finds one for $3 and immediately purchases it.  Oddly, literally the next sale we went to had one for sale as well.  And the next sale as well.  The following weekend we counted eight more.  The following weekend we counted another eight.