The Brooklyn Stoop Sale

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The "stoop" sale is a true Brownstone Brooklyn tradition. Basically, you drag every unwanted item out of your house, display it on the high steps or stoop leading to your front door and wait for passers-by to express an interest in an item. It is the Brooklyn version of the garage sale.
My friend Eunice and I have a sale on a regular basis, to " keep the shit moving" as her husband Joe likes to say. So two week-ends ago, we convened in front of her house and fused our sale items into a pleasing sales display. When I saw the content of our impromptu store, I really thought that we had some quality stuff. And the prices were great. Most of the items could be yours for a buck.
Since I am mother to a college-age daughter and a techie 15-year old son, there were lots of clothes and electronic gadgets. In addition, I was selling the never-ending supply of nice old tablecloths and napkins my mother had collected during her lifetime. Don't worry, I am keeping the nicest pieces from her linen collection (and her doll collection, her old leather glove collection, doll house miniature collection......you get the picture.) In other words, there was some great stuff stacked on that stoop. And did I mention that the prices were cheap?
Well, it was a hard sell. As Eunice and I sat there, many people walked by, stopped and picked up an item. Sometimes, they asked for the price, put the item back down and continued walking. Others tried to haggle over $1. Now I like to bargain as much as anyone else, but there are limits. My favorite bargain hunters were the 20-Somethings who came down the block with Razr cell phone in left hand, Starbucks paper cup in right hand and white I-pod earplugs dangling from their neck. By my estimation, they dragged a couple of hundred dollars worth of accessories around with them. I guess that set of linen napkins was too expensive for a dollar.
After about two hours, Eunice and I were frustrated. Joe mumbled something to the effect that these freaks don't mind spending a dollar for a bottle of water even though it comes out of the faucet for free. Frustrated and cold, we packed up by late afternoon. I had made about $25, but my house was a bit emptier and that was a good thing. Just as I dragged the last bag into the house, my daughter dropped in with two friends. They had made the trip expressly from the Upper West Side of Manhattan to go to "Beacon's Closet" the Williamsburg second-hand hipster shopping heaven. (Rumor has it that new Brooklynite Michelle Williams shops there). Proudly, the girls opened their plastic shopping bags and fished out some "gently worn" t-shirts. " Can you believe this was only $7, Mama?" my daughter said. I could have cried. I guess Eunice and I have the wrong idea. The next time I need to get rid of some extra stuff, I am hiring a publicist, create a celebrity buzz, and raise my prices.