Yardsale. When people can not accept that we are not giving things away.

Today is a big day.  We have organized a yardsale to raise money for the adoption.  While most things have prices, we are encouraging people to make an offer.  We'll take anything.  We just want to get rid of the stuff.  I am watching one child.  Angie and the other two are out manning the sale.  When it comes to these, I always want more than I will possibly get.  So, when Angie asks how much, I throw up my hands and say " Whatever you want, don't tell me, it's your sale".  The traffic has been steady.  We picked a perfect day to do this.  Others in the neighborhood are also having sales.  All we really needed was a sign to point towards our house.  There are benefits for being the first house everyone sees when they drive in.  That does not always translate into sales, but all you can do is try.

The sale went on.  Our neighbors two doors down donate their things to us to sell.  That was an unexpected surprise.  They also helped Angie get through the rush.  People came and went.  Around 2:00, things started to trickle.  Angie made one last attempt at selling the remainder of things.  No takers.  We packaged up the items and I ended up bringing CD's to the library to sell and clothes, toys, and glasses to Goodwill.  Hopefully they will be able to raise money to do good things with the stuff provided.

We ended up tripling what we normally pull in for a yardsale.  I don't know if it was because Angie advertised that it was an adoption yardsale or we just put more things people were interested in.  We probably will do one more in the spring.  This may be near time for us to go to China, I hope.  I was actually surprised that we made as much as we did.  Angie was selling like she was bargaining in China.  It would be good if it were in the opposite direction, but when a person would look at something, she would price it downward.  That is why I just tell her to do her own thing without telling me.  If you do a yardsale, good luck!  I think you should advertise, get people to donate things to sell, involve a church, and be persistent.  When you are done, donate to another charity.

Update

Angie came home on Monday, two days after the yardsale.  At the door was an envelope.  She opened the envelope and found a note and $10.  The note Please use this towards your adoption costs. . . A Friend.