Anatomy of a Bag Sale
During my residency, I attended many workshops. At one such workshop, we took a quiz to see how well we could navigate in the various classes- poverty, middle, and wealthy. One of the quiz questions was something about bag sales...and I was the only one in the group who knew what they were. Happily, I explained what they are but no one else seemed nearly as excited. ;)
In case you don't know, a bag sale is held at garage sales and thrift stores when they want to move merchandise quickly. Typically in garage sales it's at the end of the day and at thrift stores it's between seasons; however, not all thrift stores have bag sales. Finding a bag sale is like finding a unicorn- a rare occurence but pretty darn awesome. The reason they are so cool is because you can reduce your price per item to mere pennies if you do it right. Tip: Rolling your items means you can fit more in your bag!
Let's look at a bag sale that I attended last summer. This was the last day of a church sale in my neighborhood. Things were definitely picked over but I found some absolute gems for my vintage shop as well as a few contemporary pieces.
I spent a grand total of $4 ($2/bag).
Hmm, what's in here?
Two maxi dresses that I sold in my Etsy shop for $20 each, a knitted throw, pink gingham fabric for crafting, denim dress that I tried to modify (THAT went terribly, terribly wrong), red robe that was donated back to a thrift after I decided to narrow my shop's focus, and a ceramic fork and spoon for my kitsch-y kitchen display.
Polka dot tie-neck blouse that I sold for $15, leopard scarf that I sold for $7, mint nightgown that sold for $15, mod print scarf that is still in my shop, green tank top for round-the-house wear, other miscellaneous items.
Ugly new old-stock oxfords. Remember how ugly oxfords were "in" last fall? Well, mine were vintage and cost less than a quarter. If you really think about it, any ugly trend should be CHEAP.
Cute little jacket for work. It looks much better ironed.
If you're keeping track, I spent $4 and (so far) have made $77 and scored a few items for me. Not too shabby!! Next time you hear of a bag sale, I highly recommend checking it out.
To see another good post on bag sales, go read this oldie but goodie at Like Merchant Ships.
In case you don't know, a bag sale is held at garage sales and thrift stores when they want to move merchandise quickly. Typically in garage sales it's at the end of the day and at thrift stores it's between seasons; however, not all thrift stores have bag sales. Finding a bag sale is like finding a unicorn- a rare occurence but pretty darn awesome. The reason they are so cool is because you can reduce your price per item to mere pennies if you do it right. Tip: Rolling your items means you can fit more in your bag!
Let's look at a bag sale that I attended last summer. This was the last day of a church sale in my neighborhood. Things were definitely picked over but I found some absolute gems for my vintage shop as well as a few contemporary pieces.
If you're keeping track, I spent $4 and (so far) have made $77 and scored a few items for me. Not too shabby!! Next time you hear of a bag sale, I highly recommend checking it out.
To see another good post on bag sales, go read this oldie but goodie at Like Merchant Ships.
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