Pawn-Mart Economy

Posted by Milos Sugovic

 A Memorial Day Weekend yard sale was always about spring cleaning and bringing family and friends together. This time it was about making ends meet.

Faced with the toughest times since the early 90s, Americans are unloading precious belongings at upsetting rates to pay for bills as debt and commodity prices rise. Conversely, second-hand good prices dropped 25 percent to 35 percent since last year and part of that is due to an increase in supply.

The trend has been developing for months. Internet sites like Craigslist and AuctionPal.com are seeing higher traffic and sales. Craigslist for-sale listings increased by 70 percent since July, with the fastest-growing for-sale goods tied to gas, while AuctionPal.com sales more than doubled in the last couple of months. On the flip-side, the Salvation Army saw donations drop 20 percent from January to March.

The boom in offline and virtual garage sales suggests the economic downturn is gaining momentum. Evaporating consumer confidence is drying up consumer spending, which drives economic growth. Relying on garage-sale cash is unsustainable, and the desperate consumers know it, while the fortunate ones are waiting for evidence that the economy’s worst troubles are over.

In the meantime, retailers like Wal-Mart will have to adopt the pawn-shop model and turn the U.S. economy into one large garage sale.