Garage sale culture in Golden Bay
Anita Lopp enjoying her garage sale experience. Photo: Jane Bellerby.
“They seek them here, they seek them there, they seek them everywhere...”.
Bargain hunters, those modern day hunters and gatherers. They’re a dedicated bunch, those who mix up their retail spending, their grocery shopping and their market-going with a large dose of second-hand acquisitions. They’re out there trawling through the For Sale columns, Garage Sales, Buy Sell Swap Sites, on line, on foot, in the early hours of the morning and in the heat of the day. The thrill of a good deal is not to be ignored. Nor is the awareness of the recycling element in a culture awash with “stuff”.
Garage sales throughout Golden Bay are a regular weekend outing for many people. They read the paper on a Friday and plan their visits carefully. In Patons Rock a tradition is now established—the whole settlement synchronises their garage sales for the same day.
In Golden Bay we are well catered for with second-hand clothing and garage sales. If our tastes get a little jaded, there is always the wider scope of hunting “over the Hill”. In the environmentally aware climate of this first part of this century, the second-hand, buy local, recycle, re-use ethic is well to the fore. Alongside savvy and positive use of new technology, this mindset seems to be spreading throughout our culture. Go to any other town in New Zealand and it’s also alive and well.
For some it’s been a lifelong part of how they live, and for others it’s a new enthusiasm that makes a lot of sense. Add in fashionably chic words like retro, toss in the collectors of specific items such as china or books, and the following widens. The range is huge in the second-hand market. There are couches and chairs, tables and teapots, material, toys, sporting goods, books, clothes, cars and trucks, weird unidentifiable “objets d’art” and antiques. All, plus more, for sale.
“Well, I don’t seem to have grown out of doing this,” said Anita Lopp as she braved recent freezing wind and rain to inspect a shed full of clothes, kitchenware, great pushbikes, a box full of stickers and plenty of toys. “I have this cheerful bowl now for serving a salad to friends this evening,” she says, holding it up. “You just never know what you might find.”
That sentiment echoed is by newly elected Tasman District Councillor Martine Bouillir. She has long been a purveyor of second-hand goods.
“I’ve had garage sales, been to garage sales, rummaged in old dumps, worn second-hand clothes all my life and equipped my house and garden with preloved goods. It’s been a definite case of needs must as a single parent household, plus the allure of a good bargain, and I hate waste.”
Martine says it’s something she would do even if she was really wealthy. She likes her version of comfort and style, having fun using her creativity and the satisfaction of not spending a fortune. “It’s fun to receive a compliment on some item of clothing and be able to say ‘Thank you. It was a dollar from Trash Palace.’”
Second-hand clothing shop Trash Palace is entirely run by volunteers. It fills a need for its customers and then gives back to the community in the form of generous donations to organisations in Golden Bay. Committee member Nikita Meares says “We really appreciate people bringing in their clean unwanted clothes, or their cotton rags, which we then sort and sell to garages. Our main worry is that we don’t like having to spend money to dump useless items, so ask people to think responsibly about what they give us. We can then use our funds on our main purpose.”
Last year Trash Palace made a profit of $23,000, all which was returned to the community. They also make contributions to Victim Support in Motueka for training new volunteers, the Blood Bank and Altrusa House.
“By supporting us it means the money directly helps Golden Bay,” says Nikita.
Jane Bellerby
