New trends in the tag sale arena—the splintering of the universe from on-land to online, and the movement to town-wide tags and flea markets.
By Terry Rosen
The roads of these mountain towns were encrusted with homemade, hand-painted signs, many in Day-Glo paints for tag sales, garage sales, yard sales… that was only five years ago. The listings for these sales expanded to more than a two-page spread in the local Shoppers’ Guide.
Then came the pandemic, which increased the use of online marketplaces such as Facebook Marketplace, Craigslist and eBay local pickup.
On weekends these days, the roads are dotted with signs for tag sales and towns including the Empire State’s Hillsdale, Germantown and Valatie have organized town-wide tag sale days and flea markets. Forty-five booths were parked on the Hillsdale Hamlet Park to take advantage of the beautiful weather and weekend tourists’ Memorial Day weekend in the town-sanctioned annual flea market. Germantown, NY had its annual town-wide yard sale on May 15 with maps of all the participating homes. Coming up in Valatie, NY’s Village-Wide Tag Sale is Saturday, August 3, where maps of the tag sale locations will be downloadable.
What can be had at these sales? Partially done needlepoint kits, commemorative plates, saws, ornamental planters, bikes, dollhouses, Halloween decorations, Victorian day dresses, pop-music T-shirts, loads of tools, Mason jars, cameras, skis (snow and water), fly-fishing gear, books, records, CDs, posters, paintings, busts of Beethoven, decorative succulent plants in tea cups, chairs and other furniture… Everything from the practical to the hilarious. And who doesn’t love being practical and hilarious? Win-win.
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