Labels:text | font | screenshot | document OCR: Garage sale, yard sale, basement sale, patio sale, porch sale - whatever they're called and wherever they're held, Americans are having them in ever- increasing numbers. The variety of things put up for sale is astonishing - dishes, books, used clothing, tools, tires, old wigs, empty bottles, bicycles, kitchen gadgets, furniture. A man in Atlanta, Georgia, even sold a full-size replica of a 1931 Ford automobile. Why would Americans want to shop by rummaging among someone else's castoffs? Rising living costs are mentioned by almost everyone as reason both for holding sales and attending them. The seller makes a little extra money and the buyer saves quite a lot, since garage-sale items usually are priced at a fraction of their original cost. But beyond that, they're fun. Garage sales have become suburban social events, drawing people of all ages. Neighbors enjoy chatting and meeting new people, and some families even serve refreshments. One psychologist suggests that the garage sale is the modern descendant of the ancient street bazaar. Many of the younger salesgoers say they are turned off by the shoddiness of modern merchandise and are looking for remnants of a sturdier era, when things were built to last.
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