How to make things as complicated as possible

Girls, who among us has had a garage sale? I think it's safe to say that if we haven't hosted one, we have been to plenty. Otherwise, you wouldn't be reading a blog entitled "One Gal's Trash" now, would you? You'd be on the Pottery Barn site or Anthropologie or something. But I digress.

The point is this: When you have a sale, you have spent so much time getting ready; sorting, pricing, making signs, etc. that by the time the sale actually starts, you just want the whole thing to be over as quickly and painlessly as possible.

I went to a sale recently that had the most confusing pricing strategy I have ever seen. They must have wanted to make sure that people would have to stand in line 10 times longer than necessary in order to count nickels. Here are a few examples:

Microwave $31.25

Green clear glass dish $3.75

Set of 4 shot glasses $1.35

Crashing coastal waves oil painting $6.25

I was just about to stomp out of there in bemused frustration when I found a package of vintage wrapping paper. Price: 30 cents. I paid the cashier with a dime, 3 nickels and 5 pennies.