Don’t underestimate the value of shopping at yard sales — it might be a very worthwhile venture!

What does a yard sale, a garage sale, a tag sale, a rummage sale, and a sidewalk sale have in common? Everything! They are actually different names for the same thing. All across America, different names are used for an event where people sell their old items. And you can find some really cool stuff at some of these sales, whatever you may call them. As they say, one man’s trash is another man’s treasure

Humble Beginnings

Yard sales actually started in the shipyard. Just like today, years ago people and companies shipped goods across the ocean from one country to another. It was after the ship docked and the products were unloaded that the problems began. While almost all the goods were claimed by their owners, there was always some merchandise that was damaged, or whose owner never showed up to claim it at all. What were the ship owners supposed to do with all that stuff? Sell it, of course. This random assortment of items was laid out, and people could come try their luck and see what they could find. Of course, since it wasn’t in anyone’s yard, it could hardly be called a yard sale. Instead, they called it a “rummage sale.”

Okay, so they sold some random stuff in a dockyard. How did we get from there to the classic American yard sale? It would take two more steps and some help from historical events to get where we are today.

Rummage sales popped up in residential neighborhoods in the form of charity drives. Did your school or neighborhood ever host a toy drive and then sell the toys they collected to make money for tzedakah? That’s exactly the next step yard sales took. People in a neighborhood would donate their old things, and a charity would sell them to raise money. Women even did this during the Civil War to raise money for the army. With time, people began selling old household items on their own. They weren’t just raising money for charity, now they were making money for themselves — just like people do today!

When the Great Depression hit America, people needed lots of things, but no one had the money to buy them. Buying used items was the only way many people could afford basic necessities. At these sales, people sold clothing, housing goods, and even shoes. Used shoes are better than no shoes, don’t you think?

Decluttering Deal

As business developed, it became cheaper to make new things. In the 1960s, people started buying new items all the time. What should they do with all the old things that were cluttering up their attics or taking over their garages? Sell them, of course!

Today, yard sales are a combination of practicality (people have too much stuff) and nostalgia (yard sales give people a warm and fuzzy feeling). And of course, there are people who love visiting yard sales just for the fun of it. It can be thrilling to hunt through a pile of junk, and find a valuable item at a huge discount. Even some wealthy people make a hobby of checking out what they can find at a yard sale.