Self Serve Garage Sale

[Jerome Tews]

This is a first. The sign read "Self Serve Garage Sale". They had a table full of odds and ends. A sign read "Everything is $1. Put money in cash box". There was a wooden box with a slot on the end of the table. No one was around.

I have never seen this sort of thing before.

The items were mostly all old Christmas decorations and some junky clothing. But there may have been more there earlier..... I did not find anything I wanted, but this was one of the stranger things I have been to.

Apparently they are quite trusting, since anyone could have taken the cash box. And I did wonder what to do if I had bought something and needed change????

[Ed Pawlowski]

Around here things like that are often done. I can buy farm fresh eggs, vegetables, fire wood. If you need change, you are SOL, but most people may short 50 cents this week and leave an extra buck next week.

You won't see that type of thing in the city though, even the table would be gone.

[Ralph Mowery]

They probably had a bunch of junk that would have been hauled off to the dump. I have posted several things on bulliten boards for free just to keep from taking them to the dump. Some good items, some junk. Most everything got taken. One thing about charging a miminum price for things people may pay a dollar or two for something they would not take for free. People are funny.

I live in a rural area and during the growing season it is not unusual for many farmers to put out a table with produce on it, a scales and price listing with a box to put money in. I have stopped at several during the season.

[Terry Coombs]

  There's a produce stand like that on a winding back road near here . If you don't live in the area you'd never know about it .

[Frank]

Guy sells tomatoes on a main road. He charges per pound and has a scale and old plastic bags and box for cash. It is near his house and he can see out a window if anyone cheats badly.

[gfretwell]

We saw that in New Zealand. A guy had a table full of shells by the side of the road and a cash box. We paid him. I assume most folks do.

[hubops]

The danger isn't someone not paying or cheating on their payment - the bigger danger is someone stealing the whole day's profits. I've seen where the vendor will have a steel cash-box bolted down and locked - not to stop a resolute thief but making it more difficult than the cash is likely worth. John T.

[Jerome Tews]

I am in a rural area, and I do see the farmer's markets run like that. This "garage sale" was just outside a small town, so it's rural, but I've never seen this done except for farm produce.

Considering what they had, I think most of it should have been sent to the landfill, so I doubt there was much cash in that box. Interesting concept though....

[Wayne Boatwright]

On Wed 27 Jun 2018 03:12:54a, Jerome Tews told us...

When we lived i Ohio we lived in a semi-rural area where there were many small farms or people with substantial gardens.

I did occasionally see a table or two where people offering used items for sale. Mostly, however, it was food from the garden or fresh baked bread, pies, etc. The cash box was on the honor system. It seemed to work okay because it was the same people year after year that things for sale. Apparently pleople in those areas were more trustworthy.

I usually bought eggs, bread, an ocasional pie, and certain fresh vegetables.

[hubops]

The most common road-side, self-serve, stands in our area of southern Ontario are : : fruit & veggie : firewood - for city-folk campers $ 5. : fresh cut flowers : coolers of cold pop & bottled water

The Mennonite / Amish will often have a nice veggie garden - integrated with a good variety of flowers. I suspect that the shelf-life of the flowers makes for a good daily road-side venture - if market day is only once per week. John T.

[Meanie]

I took a bike trip to the Upper Peninsula in Michigan a few years ago and came across a small town with similar method. We were walking into a restaurant. Outside of that restaurant was a big table with misc CDs, books, etc. and price tags on them and a box to put money in. There wasn't anyone around and just thought how trusting these people must me. So I took the money and ran....LOL....just kidding. I think it's pretty cool that type of integrity still exist.