News from

Patricia F. Doering, Editor,

SECOND HAND NEWS

Fall-Winter, 2006     

-- Patricia F. Doering, Editor

        Rummaging Around San Diego County: Remember that old song  "Don't Get Around Much Anymore?"   Well unfortunately that fits because we can no longer cover the entire County of San Diego in the manner we were accustomed to.  The reason?  This is a one-woman show (with major help from my wonderful Arizona webmaster) and as I near seventy years of age, my body just isn't as mobile as it used to be.  Therefore, we are grateful for the news we receive from our web site visitors -- those avid thrift store, estate sale and rummage sale aficionados who do manage to get around town--many of them to ALL of the large sales! I remain astounded that we welcome over 250,000 visitors per month!  When we placed much of the printed format for Second Hand News  onlline in 1998, we had no idea that we'd achieve that kind of audience and yes folks, those are mostly San Diegans looking for bargains and second hand goods in our fair City.

       Rummage sales remain (in my opinion) the very best bargain in town other than one or two truly great estate sales.  Everything you always wanted and more can be found at the best sales -- all at one location! And most of it is in super condition -- what we call "barely used." Some sales go so far as to check electronic items to be sure they are working before the public buys them.  That takes time, energy and expertise on the part of the host rummage sale. Think about it.  Churches and organizations who host large sales must encourage quality donations.  Then they must be able to store all of it until the day of the big event.  Then everything has to be sorted and someone has to decide whether an item is worthy of putting out on the floor.  Then there's advertising and P.R., to get the word out to the general public.  Signs have to be created in most instances, letting everyone know what is being sold where.  Most items need individual pricing and in the case of valuable books, online research now occurs to ascertain whether a truly antiquarian or valuable book is priced correctly, to avoid selling it for a mere twenty-five cents when it could have brought in $200! Then, following the last day of the sale which may or may not offer 50% of the original prices, someone has to clean up the area and decide what to do with unsold items.  What a headache! 

        In my 20+ years of covering rummage sales personally, I often see seemingly tireless older men and women working these sales, always smiling (well, usually smiling), trying to help for the benefit of some cause or charity.  But how long can these stalwart individuals carry on without being replaced by younger church volunteers?  Certainly not forever.  And this brings us to two major changes regarding rummage sales in the County of San Diego.   Mission Hills U.C.C. Church and La Jolla's St. James By-The-Sea have consistently held very good rummage sales although St. James By-The-Sea is now the second largest in this area. Unfortunately, the 2006 Mission Hills Rummage Sale was their last sale, although I am hopeful we'll convince them to put together sales every two years or so. And again, the reason relates to older workers and an inability to recruit younger volunteers.  St. James By-The-Sea changed the scope of its annual sale, yet volunteerism also played a part.  Rummage Sale decision-makers decided to scale down the quantity of items, removing all electronics and almost all household goods, instead increasing the quality by going "up scale."  No longer called a rummage sale, the church refers to this sale now as the Golden Elephant Sale at St. James By-the-Sea.  When we heard of this change, we immediately thought revenues would drop substantially as occurred with the Junior League several years ago when they too went "upscale."  Yet, the layout of the St. James sale and the high quality of items sold negated what we believed would be a big loss in revenues.  This year at St. James one could actually move around without bumping into tons of stuff piled high on tables.  The antique furniture was well displayed inside the main entrance and the collectibles were easy to see in the former book room (we recommend a different place for these items next year, though). While the book area was a little larger, one couldn't get to the books easily enough due to people lined up in front who were already pouring over them.  That, too, needs changing in 2007.  We are estimating that this sale dropped in quantity by fifty percent.  But guess what?  Revenues decreased by less than $5,000 which indicates the new format will prevail in 2007.  By developing this format, the Women of St. James may very well be onto something as all other rummage sales carry everything under the sun, including downright junk!  Therefore, if you're after quality furniture, collectibles and clothing, this is where you'll find it.  St. James will now earn a reputation of high quality as long as the prices are fair and do not move toward antique dealer pricing.  (We thought many of the items were overpriced but after all, this is La Jolla, isn't it?)

       This leaves only three large bonafide rummage sales in the County: the unparalleled (and largest) Thursday Club Rummage Sale, coming up on March, 2007 in Balboa Park, the 1st Unitarian Universalistic Church Rummage Sale in Hillcrest (next sale Oct. 2008) and the San Dieguito Methodist Church Rummage Sale, set in Encinitas for Nov. 3 and 4th.  There are many other medium-sized good sales as well; check our calendar at http://www.bargainlink.com under rummage sales in 2007. But we sadly predict that eventually all of these sales may disappear as new ways of buying and selling appear on the horizon. In the meantime, visit as many of these rummage sales as you can and go very, very early!