NationStates Jolt Archive

My daughter and I had a yard sale today. I made the following observations.
1. If the car has one person in it, they won't stop.
2. More cars with women stop than cars with men.
3. 99% of the people who stopped were from Mexico and did not speak much English.
4. Women are not willing to bargain, men are.
5. I sold more to men than to women.

So, even though more women look, more men buy, and men are more willing to try to bargain with you. Why is this?

So, even though more women look, more men buy, and men are more willing to try to bargain with you. Why is this?
It's like any other form of shopping.

Men either intend to buy something, or they don't intend to buy anything at all. And if they do intend to buy something, chances are they will know roughly what it is, and will know its value.

Whereas women just kinda go where the shopping experience takes them. :rolleyes:

It's like any other form of shopping.

Men either intend to buy something, or they don't intend to buy anything at all. And if they do intend to buy something, chances are they will know roughly what it is, and will know its value.

Whereas women just kinda go where the shopping experience takes them. :rolleyes:
love it...

I was going to say that usually if the man is there, so are their spouses, sisters, daughters... and so is it really them buying it or is it just them shelling out the money. :D

I was going to say that usually if the man is there, so are their spouses, sisters, daughters... and so is it really them buying it or is it just them shelling out the money. :D
If the man is haggling over a set of drill bits, chances are, no.

My daughter and I had a yard sale today. I made the following observations.
1. If the car has one person in it, they won't stop.
2. More cars with women stop than cars with men.
3. 99% of the people who stopped were from Mexico and did not speak much English.
4. Women are not willing to bargain, men are.
5. I sold more to men than to women.

So, even though more women look, more men buy, and men are more willing to try to bargain with you. Why is this?
I had a garage sale a few weeks ago. Here were my observations

1. If the car has one person in it, they will look out the window, but keep going.
2. More women will stop to browse.
3. 70% of the people who stopped were from Mexico, and 29% of them were white trash
4. Women, mexicans, and white trash always try to get something for half price. If you say no, they go get something whose price will add to half of the price of the object they want to buy to make the full price of the object they want to buy, then come back and try to buy both at the full price of the object they want to buy.
5. It's not that the women aren't getting it, it's that they are making the men buy for them.
6. At least one box of things will be stolen. Even if you have the Secret Service watching your sale, at least one thing will be stolen.

My observation of yard sales. (I love yard sales even though my list might look like I do not).

1. I won't stop if the sale is not clearly marked. I also wont stop for sales that are half assed thrown together because the neighbor has one. They make nice signs and take out ads while you write SALE and hang it on your mailbox piggy backing the neighbors work and taking advantage of the ad they placed.

2. I am a guy with no small children. Therfore the 1000 pieces of overpriced, stained baby clothes do not appeal to me.

3. If you want a guy to stop...put the tools out front. That is what we want. You can bury the baby clothes in the back of the garage. Women will find them. You could bury it under a pile of dog shit and the women will still find them.

4. I don't really care why you are having the sale. Keep the stories to yourself.

5. Don't tell me how great your PII 500mhz Compaq computer is. If it was so great, why are you selling it?

6. I don't take candy from strangers and I dont buy bars from yard sales.

7. If you really must sell your VHS tapes...take them out of the sun.

8. Does anything you own have a battery cover on it? I mean...seriously...anything at all?

I've told the women in my life for years that my male friends and I do NOT go shopping. We go to LOOK AT something (recon, figuring out what we might want to buy) or we got to BUY something (we know what we want and merely have to sort out the details). Though it is possible for the scope of the operation to change, or to combine the two, we still have clear goals in mind.

My lovely fiance has tried to explain the vagaries of shopping to me, it usually makes me want to go BUY something from the liquor store.

This has close ties to haggling. Most men have decided if they are going to buy something or not and at what price they will pay for it. We are not fishing when we haggle, we are attempting to reach a goal. Sometimes we get there, sometimes we don't, but it is clear when it has be reached or missed.

If the man is haggling over a set of drill bits, chances are, no.

OT but related, one does buy a drill(bit) because he wants a drill(bit). One buys it becuase one wants a hole.

OT but related, one does buy a drill(bit) because he wants a drill(bit). One buys it becuase one wants a hole.

I can't help but wonder if I'm supposed to have taken that as innuendo...

I've gotten some good stuff by driving by yardsales near sundown with a pick-up truck.. most people are willing to let you take burdensome items for free if you can haul it away. That's how I got my Hammond Organ for free.. seriously, free of charge, because the lady couldn't move it. It was heavy as hell but it was worth the effort.

My pile of yardsale loot (off the top of my head) includes:

- The Hammond organ

- Bagpipes

- An antique cash register (I keep loose change in it)

- My manual typewriter (very nice, Swiss made)

- Various books

- Loads of other stuff

I probably could've spared the list, but everyone was doing it, so.. :)

3. 99% of the people who stopped were from Mexico and did not speak much English.


3. 70% of the people who stopped were from Mexico, and 29% of them were white trash



The wonders of southern california?

The wonders of southern california?

You should see the swap meet down in San Diego.. that's where all that stuff ends up.. a quick 15-minute hop over from Tijuana. Some relatives of mine have a couple stalls there. :p

Hooray for cheap second-hand stuff!

Thats because men, do not "shop".

We Purchase.

"Shopping" is wandering aimlessly through a mall, or department store, comparing prices, and generally seeing whats on sale, and where.

This is soley the action of the woman.

Men, enter a store, usually already knowing wich item they intend to purchase, and could usually care less if its a few pennies cheaper across town.
They enter the store, grab the item, and proceed directly to the cashier, and back to the car.