Parachute for Sale: Used Once, Never Opened — Small Stain….

This past weekend, Deerfield Village, where we live, had a community-wide yard sale — everyone put things in their yards and driveways and (lots of) people toured the community looking for bargains.

The sign in front of the village distinctly said, “Yard Sale” but I’m sure that not one “yard” was sold. I don’t know if this is misleading advertising or not, but it seems to be a trend. A couple of years ago, we visited the Slave Market in Charleston — guess what — not one slave was for sale. Shepherdstown has a Farmer’s Market — and — you can’t buy farmers there…. I’m not saying there should be an investigation, but this seems more important than a lot of things under investigation by Congress.

But, back to yard sales — they seem to be events for selling (usually) used items by individuals. So far as I know, sellers are not required to obtain a business license or collect sales tax, although I do remember reading that several states and the IRS are considering legislation to make income from yard sales reportable.

Yard sales are often called garage sales, attic sales, basement sales, rummage sales, lawn sales, moving sales or sometimes estate sales, but they all pretty much serve the same purpose — an attempt for people to unload unwanted items from their household.

The origin of the modern day yard sale isn’t really known, but it seems to be an American custom, habit or tradition, although I’ve heard that these sales are gaining favor in Canada and Australia.

The yard sale may have evolved from the rummage sale — in fact, I don’t remember yard sales when I was a kid, but I do remember rummage sales. “Romage” entered the English language as a nautical term originally relating to how cargo was packed into the hold of a ship and evolved to mean bustle and commotion. Years later, the term would also refer to an exhaustive search. As the word continued to evolve, it came to refer to a great amount of miscellaneous cargo stashed away in the hold of the ship.

The first actual “rummage sales” were held at the docks. Cargo that was unclaimed or damaged would be hauled out of the hold and put up for sale. Soon this practice was being called a rummage sale and it also referred to the sale of damaged or unwanted goods from warehouses or storehouses as well.

As time passed, the rummage sales would be held at communal locations such as a park or a church, usually for a charitable cause or to raise money for the church. People would donate items to be sold. Although not quite as common, these events still take place today.

It’s just speculation on my part, but I’d guess that the yard sale evolved from this practice and probably picked up steam after World War II when people had more money and spent it on all the new products that were being produced after the war. With all the new “stuff,” the yard sale became a great way to pare down the clutter and make a little extra money.

So no matter what you call it — the name of things does not really matter, what matters is what something really is — these “sales” will be around and popular for a long time. Another person’s trash, might very well become your treasure….
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