I rarely see garage sales any more

[captain queeg]

I was walking around the neighborhood today. Someone had their junk out by the road. I thought to myself in my younger days there were some items I might have salvaged. I thought back of "stuff" I accumulated. I never bought any new furniture till I was at least in my 30s. Same with a new car. I did buy a new color TV and stereo when I first moved out on my own, A guy at work gave me a toaster that I had for 20 yrs, and he'd had it for 20 before me. I always acquired 2nd hand furniture, My first half dozen moves every thing I had fit in my car. There is so much "stuff" these days, I just don't really buy into it. I have everything I need and live pretty simply. I visit friends who have huge houses and lots of nice furniture, I sometimes have a twinge of envy, but I'm not making payments on anything and am happy with what I have.

[Phoenix61]

1. My next door neighbor turned me on to the Habitat Restore.

Amazing what you can get there. Lots of new stuff but incredibly cheap and all the money going to a great agency.

[TheBlackAdder]

30. A lot use NextDoor to sell or give stuff away on the cheap or free.

[ret5hd]

2. I've been getting rid of "stuff" (I've got other words also)...

for a couple years now. Slow but sure. I’m approaching being able to once again make a move in one load. Truly, my ultimate goal is to have everything in one vehicle. Maybe some stuff stored in a corner of a friends garage.

But I see garage sales all the time. I also see the free stuff out by the curb.

[jimfields33]

3. Stuff doesn't last as long anymore

Seriously, refrigerators used to last forever. Today if you hit 8 years, your doing great. Tvs are disposable basically. Furniture I guess could be handed down but even those aren’t made as well. Cars can last forever and people drive them to the end or trade in for money towards a new car. Nobody wants trinkets or dishes anymore. My neighbors are stuck with their China because the kids don’t want it.

[WarGamer]

8. I have a dryer that I bought new in... 1994.

Still use it, 2x a week.

It's a GE...

[nuxvomica]

23. Got my GE dryer in 1991

I've had to replace the thermostat twice, which was easy though I am no handyman, and the timer hasn't worked in years but we still use it, just check on the laundry load till it's done.

[pstokely]

21. cars are lasting longer, but the infotainment systems go obsolete before the car quits

It's getting harder to install aftermarket head units into newer cars with so many controls integrated into the infotainment unit

[Dial H For Hero]

28. I recently purchased a 2009 Cadillac and am about to get a 2007 Porsche. Upgrading the infotainment

system to a modern one is doable, but not cheap.

[pstokely]

29. how much are you spending?

less than the car is worth? not putting a $1000 stereo in a $200 car?

[Dial H For Hero]

31. Around $1,500 per car. The Cadillac cost $7,000, the Porsche $24,000.

[sarisataka]

4. Come to my neighborhood

there are dozens every weekend

[Deminpenn]

16. Mine, too

nt

[Liberty Belle]

5. There are other outlets to sell items, such as Craigs List and Next Door.

I suspect some are selling bigger items this way, and just giving away smaller stuff to charities.

But also the pandemic made some people leery of having a bunch of strangers showing up at their homes, no doubt.

In San Diego we've reached herd immunity, everything is reopened, and I've started seeing a few yard sales once again. Give it time - I am sure they will return.

[hlthe2b]

6. I had one with my friend two weeks ago. Seven other neighborhoods were having community sales

as well--all within a short distance of each other. I think they are back in force.

[Ziggysmom]

7. I'm with you!

My husband is disabled and we downsized to an apartment about 10 years ago. I get house envy this time of year when I walk through garden centers and see examples of the plants I used to have in my gardens when I owned a home. But when I think of having to do all the upkeep, repairs and grass cutting as well as snow clearing, I get less envious. We have 2 bedroom, 2 baths, 2 cars and 2 cats. We’ve no debt and have all we really need including savings for when I retire in 8 years or so.

Conspicuous consumption is out of control nowadays. There’s a huge difference between what people want and what they actually need.

[PoindexterOglethorpe]

9. I don't think I've seen any in my area since the start of the Pandemic.

I've long been resistant to acquiring new things, and I've been known to put stuff out on the sidewalk for someone else to pick up. Almost always works.

[Elwood P Dowd]

10. The late great George Carlin on people collecting 'stuff'.

[BigmanPigman]

11. Same with me, almost word for word.

[MineralMan]

12. The Pandemic killed garage sales for a long time. However,

people here in Minnesota have started having them again.

We're moving, and I've had great success with putting things out at the curb. So far, 100% of what I've put out there has been gone within a day or two. I suspect most of it will end up in the garage sales of the people who picked them up, which is fine with me.

[Treefrog]

13. They have them around my neighborhood every weekend.

But I think a lot of people put their stuff up on the internet now.

[FSogol]

27. Same here. They started popping up again. n/t

[liberal_mama]

14. My neighbor, who lost her husband to Covid and is moving to Florida, had a garage sale

a few weeks ago. Not many people came and she ended up taking most of the stuff to Amvets afterwards. I used to love to buy books at garage sales when I was young, but they aren't too big in my area anymore.

[ProfessorGAC]

15. They're Back Around Here

I've probably seen 15 in the last 3 weekends.
There were none that I saw last year, but they seem to be back, here.

[Blue_Adept]

17. There are so many groups like freecycle and buy nothing

for every town that it eliminated a lot of this.

Easy to toss something on ebay as well.

furniture donated to charity that you can write off. etc.

[Tree Lady]

18. There are tons every weekend in my town

Starting in May. I live in Medford Oregon so its a 60/40 town 60 being conservative.

People are sick of covid and wearing masks, most stores no one wears them except Trader Joe's and co op.

We are spending the weekend in Dunsmuir CA small northern CA town. Mostly no masks but local grocery and few other places say to wear mask.

No garage sales around here.

[Retrograde]

19. They're coming back here

We have strict rules for garbage pickup: they'll only take what fits in the can. People will put out boxes of books, cds, furniture, etc on the curb with "free" on it, and they sometimes go away (I got rid of some old chairs that way, although the 3 piece sofa set has been on the corner for 2 weeks now). Twice a year they have a "Neighborhood Cleanup Day" where they'll pick up just about anything; I see people trolling the streets looking for re-usable or sellable objects (not complaining, at least they took the box of old flower pots off my hands). Now that we're supposedly back to normal I'm starting to see signs for yard sales.

[pstokely]

20. I still see signs for them around here

and they're still having neighborhood garage sales, and many thrift stores are getting more picky about the old junk they'll take

don't let the local Beavis and Butt-head watch yours, every school has them
https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x6r2h53

&ab_channel=GeorgeBuford

&ab_channel=GeorgeBuford

[melm00se]

22. Other options are more effective

and you don't have to put up with looky-lou's.

I recently moved and sold about 3/4 of my stuff via Facebook marketplace.

[Vinca]

24. There aren't many where I live anymore either. Covid seemed to be the final blow.

Too bad really. I used to find great stuff - everything from new clothing to wear to works of art to either hang or sell. Never did find the Picasso of my dreams, but you never know when you stop your car on the side of the road after seeing a sign. That's the fun of it.

[Maxheader]

25. I see quite a few really nice country homes..

With steel buildings...30 x 50 and much larger.

People like myself buy stuff, rarely use it but

don't want to hassle with selling it to the general

public....

[Luciferous]

26. I see signs all over for garage sales in my area