Beginners.
This is a busy time in the US for many people, especially for those who celebrate Christmas. It is a time for buying, buying, and buying. After we have bought or received presents, we realize that our homes will have more stuff in them. Do we need all of this stuff? Will the children play with their new toys for more than a week? How about selling somethings? There is a buy and sell website called Craig's list where you can sell all kinds of things. A friend of mine told me about it. She sold many things. She even sold a broken sofa! " You can sell anything on Craig's list," she said to me. So, I tried it. I took a photo of a tv, a microwave, and a pair of roller blades. A few days later I had sold the first two things. I couldn't believe it. That was fast. I am still waiting to sell the roller blades, though. You are not interested, are you?
Grammar notes.
Verbs: to buy - we buy, we bought, we have bought, we had bought.
To receive - we receive, we received, we have received, we had received.
To need - do we need this stuff? Do you need all of this?
To sell - she sells, she sold, she had sold, she was selling.
Advanced.
What do you do with your spare things? After you have outgrown certain objects, after they have served their purpose, where do they go? In this country, if you don't want to throw the object away, you have a few other options. You can give the item to one of many charitable shops, such as Goodwill, or the Salvation Army, where they will be sold inexpensively to whoever is not too fussy about buying second-hand goods. Another thing that a lot of people do here is to have a yard sale. Yard, here, means garden in England. And so a yard sale is an informal sale of household, garden, sporting, and craft goods. Usually they are laid out on tables, the clothes hang from racks, and miscelaneous objects are here and there in boxes or propped up against the walls. Treasures can be found, actually, but you must be willing to search and be patient. Hosting a yard sale requires some work and forethought. Sometimes it is worth it, if you advertise sufficiently. I have been to some yard sales where I have been able to load the car up with wonderful finds. At other times, I have walked away empty handed and disappointed. Craig's list is now very popular, and in many ways, easier than having a yard sale. I have already managed to sell a few unwanted things from my home, and so, I've caught the bug. The roller blades that some friends gave me are still hanging around; nobody seems to want them. Perhaps if I take a super attractive photo and ask for just a few bucks, I will some day be able to sell them. There must be somebody out there somewhere who desperately wants them......insn't there?
Grammar notes.
Related vocabulary: to outgrow, charitable, second-hand, yard sale, forethought, treasure, unwanted, to catch the bug, to hang around, a few bucks.