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Bargains
by the yard
Springtime
in Takoma and Silver Spring means yard & garage sales
BY
CASSIE CHEW
A
few weekends ago during a walk down Takoma Avenue, I happened
upon a display of small electronics in the grassy area
across the sidewalk from one of Takoma Park's historic
homes. As I knelt down to inspect the goods, the homeowner
came out, carrying two lamp stands. |
Photo:
Marjorie Clarkson
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There
were no price tags on the items, so I asked, "are you
just giving these away to anyone that wants them?"
"Yes,
and it works, too," he said as I picked up a 4-head VCR,
complete with the cables and a remote control with batteries.
Generosity
is a good thing, but in these economically strained times,
many Takoma Park/Takoma D.C./Silver Spring residents are hosting
yard sales with twofold hope of getting rid of gently used
merchandise and making some extra money.
And experts
say that the key element to making a yard sale a financial
success is in the advertising.
At 9 p.m.
on a recent Saturday night, Ellen Murphy hiked through her
neighborhood carrying a shopping bag full of neon pink and
green signs. She posted them on trees facing traffic on Takoma
Avenue and at the intersection of Takoma and Piney Branch
Avenues.
Murphy
was using the signs to publicize a sale that she was having
the next day in the front yard of her Piney Branch Avenue
home.
She was
inspired by a sale that she held two weekends earlier, in
which she netted more than $125 in sales.
"I
sold things today that didn't get picked up at a yard sale
last year," Murphy said.
She credits
her strategic advertising for the better results.
A group
of Takoma DC residents employed other methods to maximize
profits at
their yard sales. The Plan Takoma Neighborhood Association held
a community yard sale day on May 3, in which residents who hosted
a yard sale at their homes paid a $10 registration fee in exchange
for getting publicity for their sale.
The neighborhood
association put up signs about the yard sale day throughout
the neighborhood and created a map listing the addresses of
all of the yard sales being held that day, said Susan Comfort,
Takoma D.C. resident and coordinator for the sale.
On the
day of the sale, shoppers picked up the map at the Takoma
D.C. Library, which held its own book sale that day.
The association
also got out word of the yard sale by publishing in the calendars
of community publications and taking out a classified advertisement
in the Washington Post on the day of the sale.
Registration
fees were donated to The Caring Network, a Takoma DC neighborhood
group with a mission to assist community members experiencing
a crisis.
Nearly
30 households participated in the yard sale day, including
Comfort's.
"They
benefit by knowing they have contributed to a good cause,
and coordinated publicity that included flyers, classified
advertising, signage on the road and the maps at the library,"
Comfort said. "All they have to do is put out stuff and
wait for people to come."
If it
doesn't appeal to residents to take out classified ads, put
up signs, or have a joint effort with their neighbors to get
rid of their unwanted treasures, they might consider putting
their goods on consignment.
Silver
Spring's Pennyworth Shop on Bonifant Avenue allows residents
to put clothing, small electronics, and furniture on consignment
for five-week periods. The owner gets 60 percent of the item's
purchase price and Pennyworth gets 40 percent, which supports
capital improvement projects at Grace Church in Silver Spring.
If residents
are interested in completing their spring cleaning with the
help of the Pennyworth Shop, they should hurry. Pennyworth
only takes consignments on the first and third Wednesday of
the month, and will not take consignments from June 19 through
September 16.
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