Earlier this week, I posted on Facebook that I was so ready for yard sale season because I had so much stuff that I wanted to get rid of. I didn’t want to take it to Goodwill. Although I had stuff that I wanted to get rid of, I also had stuff that I wanted to buy.
A few friends commented that they were ready to have yard sales, too. I replied that I wanted to hurry and get this stuff out of my house because I could use the extra space that my vanity and all this old baby stuff is taking up.
To my surprise, one of my friends asked me to post pictures of the vanity for her, so I did. Of course all of my other Facebook friends would’ve thought I was either crazy or arrogantly showing off my beautiful furniture (probably the first), so I titled the photo album “Vanity For Sale”, with “There ya go, Jenn!” underneath it.
Then, the comments and messages flooded in! I didn’t realize at first that it appeared as though I was just randomly selling something to anyone interested, but after the comments, I saw that that was certainly how it looked.
I had so many people asking how much I wanted for it, but I didn’t know what to say. I didn’t want to ask too much and seem greedy, but I also didn’t want to ask too little and practically give it away since there were things that I wanted to buy with the money I earned from the sale of it. I finally just announced that I’d sell it for “best offer”. To be honest, I was figuring I’d get offered between $50 and $75. In this economy, with money being tight for most people, I didn’t think I’d get a lot for it. Boy am I glad I didn’t know what it was worth! I’ve gotten offers from $90 to $120!
I may not have known how much it was worth to me, but my friends sure knew how much it was worth to them. It’s so hard for me to put a price on something because I realize that what it’s worth to me might not be what it’s worth to others. If the situation were reversed, and I offered one of my friends $50-$75 for a solid cherry vanity, I think I may have offended them with such a low price. I wouldn’t be purposely low-balling them, I’m just not god at putting a value on material possessions.
As my grandfather says, “It’s only worth what someone’s willing to pay for it”. Whether high or low, value is in the eye of the beholder. I’m glad I let others put a value on my vanity because now I’ll be about $100 (after tithing) closer to the Nutrimill I want to buy!
Article by Randi Millward
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