Stoop Sales Go Professional and Link to EBay

Today the New York Times ran a story about people in Brooklyn, New York, who sell their castoffs on the sidewalk in front of their homes. What elsewhere would be known as yardsales in dense New York are "stoop sales." The article, by Melissa Clark, is accompanied by a slide show that she narrates. Both are available on the New York Times' web site at http://www.nytimes.com/2007/09/06/garden/06stoops.html and http://www.nytimes.com/slideshow/2007/09/06/garden/20070906_STOOP_FEATURE.html

Ms. Clark reports that stoop sales have been a longstanding seasonal practice in parts of Brooklyn for years. Recently, however, these open air markets have gone upscale with the surrounding neighborhoods. As the quality of goods has increased, so has the sophistication of the buyers. Some buyers make a point of showing up early, snapping up the best deals, and reselling them on ebay.

One thing that is interesting about the stoop sales' article is that it shows how internet sales via ebay have not replaced face to face sales of used goods. Instead internet sales how given stoop sales a shot in the arm-- a shot they may not have wanted or needed-- but a shot all the same. And of course the benefits flow the other way, too. Stoop sales take used goods from folks who can't be bothered with ebay to folks who live on ebay, and thus to the world.

Another question raised by stoop sales is how the neighbors feel about them. From time to time one hears about homeowner associations that limit how frequently a home owner can host a yard sale. I wonder how the neighbors to the stoop sales feel about sales happening every weekend during the warmer months. Is their attitude that this is part of urban living? Has the professionalization of stoop sales changed their laissez faire attitude?