Comments on Marty Nemko: Making a Living at Garage Sales, Yard Sales, Movin...

I've been burned by such movies too often. For exa...

2009-10-21T00:09:13.988-07:00

I've been burned by such movies too often. For example, the legendary Stand and Deliver speaks of a great teacher who got inner-city kids to pass the AP exam--what they didn't tell you was that he creamed the very best students from across the entire Los Angeles Unified School district for his classes. They also didn't tell you that soon after the movie was made, he quit teaching and went on the lecture circuit.

Marty, I encourage you and any of your interested...

2009-10-20T21:32:48.617-07:00

Marty,
I encourage you and any of your interested readers to go see the film "The Providence Effect" now playing at the Landmark Shattuck in Berkeley. It is a remarkable documentary on two schools educating poor, disadvantaged students from the poorest neighborhoods in Chicago. It shows what can be accomplished when standards and expectations are high for students and teachers. The high school seniors go on to some of the best universities in the country and boast a 72% college graduation rate. It's a fine, uplifting movie that shows one model of what can be done to close the achievement gap.

I think that your last sentence makes the most imp...

2009-10-20T16:11:38.516-07:00

I think that your last sentence makes the most important point but I don't think it's emphatic enough.

The most important point is that your profit margins (on the items you successfully sell) have to be large enough to cover the purchasing prices of the items you fail to sell. Only after you recoup the cost of the things you can't sell--or sell at a loss--do you begin to make money for yourself.

Marty - my wife and I used to do this. It was a l...

2009-10-19T21:07:01.681-07:00

Marty - my wife and I used to do this. It was a lifetime ago and we couldn't find work. We made enough to put food on the table. One gold mine for yard salers: auctions at public storage facilities. They auction stuff off when people don't pay their bill.

A tangentially related story: I met a 91-year-old...

2009-10-19T10:06:02.777-07:00

A tangentially related story: I met a 91-year-old guy on BART a few weeks ago. He was carrying a trumpet case. He buys used instruments at flea markets, repairs them, and sells them. He does it as a hobby, not for a living, but clearly enjoys it. Clearly there are gems to be had out there if you know what to look for.