Talk about a "sign of the times" story. To meet higher food, gas and prescription drug bills, Americans are selling valuable belongings and parting with heirlooms.
The Associated Press reports:
"This
is not about downsizing. It's about needing gas money," said Nancy
Baughman, founder of eBizAuctions, an online auction service she runs
out of her garage in Raleigh, N.C. One former affluent customer is now
unemployed and had to unload Hermes leather jackets and Versace jeans
and silk shirts.
At
Craigslist, which has become a kind of online flea market for the
world, the number of for-sale listings has soared 70 percent since last
July. In March, the number of listings more than doubled to almost 15
million from the year-ago period.
Craigslist
CEO Jeff Buckmaster acknowledged the increasing popularity of selling
all sort of items on the Web, but said the rate of growth is "moving
above the usual trend line." He said he was amazed at the desperate
tone in some ads.
It would be interesting to tour yard sales, flea markets and antique malls to see what is motivating people to sell these days.
Recently, I have noticed what seem to be higher profile ads in the paper from people wanting to buy jewelry and coins and such.
