A geographical analysis of garage sales in Jonesboro, Arkansas

Abstract

During the past few decades several scholars have studied garage sales. Recent works focus on certain time periods and/or gender issues, while others have examined the social implications and economic dimensions of sales. This study is a unique contribution to garage sale research because it is the first to analyze garage sales geographically. The project begins by offering a number of definitions for what is a garage sale and examines their connection to material culture. It also addresses why garage sales are held and who typically attends those events. Next, following the pattern set by other scholars the Jonesboro, Arkansas data are used to calculate new estimates for the number of garage sales held annually in the United States and the amount of money that changes hands at those venues. Chronologically, the greatest number of sales in Jonesboro occur in the late summer/early fall which coincides with the national garage sale season which peaks in early fall. Finally, the geographic distribution of garage sales in Jonesboro reveals a number of significant socioe-conomic trends—sale locations are positively correlated with income and negatively associated with race.