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Come to my Virtual Yard Sale

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I live in an apartment, meaning I don’t have a yard. This also means I can’t have my much needed yard sale this coming summer.

I’ve tried putting all my treasures on eBay, but I find once shipping costs are factored in, I’m just not impressed with my financial results.

The other day I began looking into this phenomenon of craigslist. I know it’s been around for awhile, I’m just behind on the times. I’d assumed it was just another version of eBay.

I was wrong. This is the virtual yard sale. Items are separated by their location, so we’ve eliminated the shipping costs by shopping locally. This is the answer to my lack of a yard.

But now I’m left wondering what will happen to summertime yard sales with the advent of technology — driving, biking, walking around every weekend with your parents or friends looking for yard sales, sifting through other people’s unwanted goods in search of a treasure.

Will traditional yard sales eventually disappear from our streets?

photo by Chuck Khan 

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7 comments

  1. I hope not. That is the positive aspect of the suburbs.

    Yard Sales in the spring/summer make weekends fun.

    I have found many quality older electronics, and even a few bicycles for great prices at yard sales.

    They also make the neighbourhood seem a little more approachable.

    It’s a pity, that apartments do not provide outdoor space for tenants to rent out, so they can hold a
    sale.

  2. Not likely, given the things you list: “Driving, biking, walking around every weekend with your parents or friends looking for yard sales, sifting through other people’s unwanted goods in search of a treasure.”

    I can’t wait for the weather to warm up. Dibs on all the jadeite in the west end!

  3. C’mon people – how is this news?
    Craigslist hasn’t impacted yard sales – in fact, it’s one of the best places to advertise them! In the summer, there are tons posted under “garage and moving sales”.

  5. Craigslist doesn’t seem all that new to me. Not much different from the USENET forsale groups that have been around forever, e.g. tor.forsale

    Also worth noting is the Freecycle idea, especially if you’re looking to get stuff for free or get rid of items quickly.

    Anyone know what happened to the Village Pillage? It seemed pretty tame the first time I went to it in 2005, and non-existent last year. I was hoping to find garage sale nirvana, like the Great Glebe Garage Sale in Ottawa.

  6. On eBay, it is general practice for the buyer to pay shipping, not the seller.

    I’ve sold a ton of items on eBay, so much that it is becoming common for me to purge unwanted items twice a year.