Couple couldn't pay even $1

debodun

debodun

SF VIP
Location
way upstate in New York, USA
I had a garage sale this weekend. Today an older couple stopped. The woman picked up a small wooden trinket box (see photo) and asked the price. I said $1.50. The man asked if I'd take $1 and I agreed, but said he'd have to go to his car and get it. I wanted several minutes while he fussed around in the back set. He came back and said he couldn't open the "door" where he kept the money in his car. She went back to his car with him and I saw them looking under the seats and more fussing around.

The woman finally came back with her purse and dug around in it for a few more minutes and fished out two dimes and a nickel and asked if I'd take 25¢ for the trinket box because that's all she had in her purse. I was a little miffed by this time and refused to sell for a sixth of what I originally wanted and considering I already reduced the price for them.

This begs the questions - why would people stop at a garage sale when they knew they didn't have any money? and why the man couldn't get any money out of his car? I wonder if this this some kind of "act" they pull at every garage sale?

box 7.jpg
 

Maybe they are like me, and don't carry money. I could probably come up with a dollar out of the bottom of my purse. But you're right -- why would they stop at such a sale and not have $$, unless they're just doing it for entertainment.

I doubt they'd do an elaborate scam over a $1.50 item, though.
 
People will try anything I have found. I'm not sure what their intentions were but it sounds fishy to me. :)
 

I agree, sounds fishy. Perhaps this couple makes the yard sales circuit to get whatever they can for free, and then resells it online. If it was me, I would not have been shy about asking them why they'd stop by and try to buy with so little money.
 
bluebreezes said:
If it was me, I would not have been shy about asking them why they'd stop by and try to buy with so little money.
Click to expand...

I did after making me wait 20 minutes for them to scrap together what they had, and they didn't answer the question. All of a sudden they became hard of hearing. They said they were going to get some money and be back - that was 5 hours ago.
 
once I went into a store and bought something at cost something like a dollar and a half, i checked my pockets and was short (thought I had more with me) I asked the fellow who worked there if he would take bottles (we have return bottles worth ten cents each) he said sure why not so I went to my truck and found six bottles and paid my bill with them, plus the change I had in my pocket.
 
We had a garage sale ,Easter weekend a bit over a year ago ..We live in a small country area so you tend to know people who live in the area.This family was not "local ,as I've never seen them since
On the first day we had a family of two adults and two children about 7 and 8 years old came in for a look ..The children came in first and picked up a couple of hands full of small items one being a small hand size radio ..they gradually left the area with the items in their hands ,and slipped out while we were not looking ........it appeared the parents who were deaf and they distracted up with trying to "talk" to us while the kids slipped out with what they wanted ...Well, trained kids ....
:grrr::grrr:
Our area is very popular for garage sales as we call them ,on long weekends ....when the next big GS long weekend came up there was an article in our newspaper warning about ,being on the look out for a very similar sounding family we encountered
 
I'd have sold it to them for .25 cents. Some seniors ARE that poor and it doesn't sound like they were trying to scam you. It's hard to make ends meet when social security and pensions keep moving the ends.
 
Oh I'd probably just give it to them...I don't usually carry much money but can scrape together at least four or five bucks in change from the car. Garage sales around here are known for "Free" boxes at the end of the day. It's considered in bad form to haggle the price during sale hours. But by night fall the leftover items are often boxed and left curbside.
 
Just when I was packing up yesterday, an older woman stopped. I had already packed away about 75% of it. I told her that and she insisted on going in the house. "You don't mind if I just look, do you?" she cajoled.

Hey, any perspective sale is welcome. She then proceeded to paw through each box and pull out every little knickknack and geegaw. "How much is this?" she would ask for each item. Whatever I said, she responded "That's too much!" After about an hour and half of this she left without making one purchase.

Right after that a 30-something man stopped. Never said anything, just stood by the corner of the porch with a lecherous grin. I asked him twice what he wanted and each time his grin would widen. I carried a box of thing into the house and when I came back out he was gone.

One older couple stopped just to asked directions to an antique fair about 20 miles away.

The weirdos were out in droves yesterday.
 
If the couple could afford to put gas in the car to drive around to garage sales they could afford to pay what you ask. I cannot buy into the fact that they were that poor as when you are that hard up for money you don't buy trinket boxes, you buy something more useful....like food.
 
I would of just accepted what they had, I am a true believer in Karma. BUT..........living in the Seattle area, capital of the homeless, I have learned what folks will do for money and/or drugs..........there's a problem with folks driving through neighborhoods and stealing lawn decorations from the front yard to sell or, better yet, some folks will play the 'no money' game, go to yard sales, have no 'money', only to play on others sympathy and then hold their own yard sales on the good deals they got. Am I harsh? I am. I just go with my gut instinct nowadays.
 
I guess let me clarify. Sometimes you just have to go with your gut feeling. If somebody is being intentionally cheap that does make me mad. I've been in line at Whole Foods just to purchase an overpriced health drink. The person in front of me has done her weeks shopping and could probably afford to buy my whole family...she's loudly quibbling over a fifteen cent discrepancy on her receipt. Those kind of people should be stoned.
 
Shalimar you are a very kind person.

However, I think they were trying to get it for almost nothing and if they
were that hard up they should not be going to yard sales.
I have had a few yard sales and the people who show up amaze me and have to
be watched.
One time someone took a CD out of the plastic container and left it empty.
They got the CD and paid nothing!
 

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