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Perhaps redaction is just in the air. At work today, a girl brought her pet capuchin to her audition, a charming three year-old named Chanel who promptly attacked the Wite-Out tape; when she left, the office looked like we’d just held a ticker tape parade. It won’t be pretty to clean up, but I do appreciate the monkey’s joie de vivre in disassembling our instruments of it-never-happened. And then, driving home, NPR was talking about yard sales, and seller’s remorse, and of course it was impossible then not to summon something I regretted putting on the block. I’ve definitely stood in pawn shops with my violin before, just because it was my version of trying to be existential. I think I wanted to have some watershed moment where I gripped its neck and whispered goodbye, but the offer was always such an insult that it ruined the moment. Haven’t had a garage sale in awhile, and not sure which item’s value I’d debate at the last minute…What about you?
Just always have regretted the move to the mainland from Hawaii. Don’t know why, here in Hawaii they always tell you you should go to the mainland for a while, and then there it is always a dream to live in Hawaii. But why the regret anywhere?
posted by Keanu on 8-8-2007 at 2:17 am
Pawned a guitar once. Not because I needed the money, but because I had no way to transport it. That was a sad day - and I got a repulsively bad price for it.
posted by Bill T. on 8-8-2007 at 6:25 am
I sold my trumpet to a pawn shop. Got a great price and never regretted it. Right now, I have a ton of stuff that I would LOVE to get rid of. We just had a huge yard sale and we’re still left with a bunch of stuff we don’t need. It’s too much work to have another garage sale, so any advice on how to get rid of all this stuff would be greatly appreciated!
posted by Tru on 8-8-2007 at 8:15 am
A good way to get rid of stuff/get stuff is freecycle. Check out Yahoo groups to see if your city or county has one. I got rid of my old tv that way. It’s great because someone gets something they want for free and you don’t have to worry about transporting it anyway since they pick it up.
posted by karen on 8-8-2007 at 9:39 am
Tru- Look into Freecycle. I do it all the time. Google it. I’m sure there’s a group in your area. You just post what you’ve got, and it gets emailed to all the members and people who want it come and get it. Works great for everyone involved (without VERY little effort required).
I have yard seller’s remorse occasionally from a yard sale I had almost a decade ago. I’d moved into a tiny apartment and felt suffocated by all of my belongings in such a small space. So, one day, out of frustration with the crampedness and clutter, I just had a giant yard sale and sold tons of stuff (and had the left overs hauled away by a charity shop.). At the time I felt freed to be downsized, but in retrospect, I’m not sure why I sold some of the things I sold. Some of it wasn’t even taking up that much space. It was as if I just randomly sold stuff. The item I miss most is a very cool radio that I sold at the sale for 5 bucks (that I saw a while back on the antiques roadshow appraised for like 500 bucks)that I really liked and wish I had back.
posted by Melissa on 8-8-2007 at 10:50 am
A Galaga arcade game that I got rid of because I thought it was time to grow up. Little did I know what a futile endeavor that would become.
posted by DW on 8-8-2007 at 1:03 pm
My Mom had a garage sale while I was away on summer vacation. When I returned, all of my Star Wars cards were gone. I still tear up whenever I think of the loss…
posted by Johnny Cat on 8-8-2007 at 3:02 pm
I’m a pack rat, so I regret getting rid of almost everything. It’s the exceptions I remember. A couple of cars I’ve owned, I won’t miss. (Don’t ask me which ones because I’ll prove myself a liar.) I was happy to see most of my high school clothes go away (”most”, because I still have a few). And I sold a futon for a dollar, which still strikes me as one of the best deals I’ve ever made.
posted by JHaydon on 8-8-2007 at 3:30 pm
I gave away two old radios before finding out they were worth $$$. One was a very early model clock/radio.
As a kid, I saw an ad for a used bike. The woman at the house said her son was away(it was camp,vacation or???) but here’s the bike that he’s selling. The thought occurred to me that it might be the mom and NOT the kid who’s selling the bike, so I passed on it.
posted by Tdave on 8-8-2007 at 11:40 pm
p.s. I liked those old radios too.
posted by Tdave on 8-8-2007 at 11:50 pm
My Mom sold my trumpet at a yard sale for just a few bucks. Breaks my heart because my Grandmother had bought it for my Dad when he was in school. Played my first solo on that trumpet, “Edelweiss.” Even though it was years ago, still makes me want to cry.
posted by CPHALL32 on 8-9-2007 at 7:20 am