White elephant sale
Encyclopedia
A White elephant sale is a collection of used items being sold by a non-professional group of individuals second hand, much akin to a yard sale or garage sale
Garage sale
A garage sale, also known as a yard sale, rummage sale, tag sale, lawn sale, attic sale, moving sale, or junk sale, is an informal, irregularly scheduled event for the sale of used goods by private individuals, in which "block sales" are allowed, so that sellers are not required to obtain business...

, usually as a fund-raiser.

Description

White elephant sales are typically organized by non-profit organizations such as churches or schools to raise money for a charity cause. The name stems from the type of items often sold, which are often referred to as White elephant
White elephant
A white elephant is an idiom for a valuable but burdensome possession of which its owner cannot dispose and whose cost is out of proportion to its usefulness or worth...

s. They operate in a manner not unlike the Salvation Army
Salvation Army
The Salvation Army is a Protestant Christian church known for its thrift stores and charity work. It is an international movement that currently works in over a hundred countries....

 thrift shops. Members or friends of the organization holding the White Elephant Sale will donate old items which they no longer use, or otherwise no longer care to own.

After amassing a sizable number of items, a sale will be held, usually lasting more than one day. Volunteers often run checkouts, and organize the items to be sold. Items are sold at low prices, as many are obsolete or useful to only certain people, and would not otherwise be sold.

White Elephant Sales are often useful to buyers, because they provide a way to purchase older and harder to find merchandise. In the days before eBay
EBay
eBay Inc. is an American internet consumer-to-consumer corporation that manages eBay.com, an online auction and shopping website in which people and businesses buy and sell a broad variety of goods and services worldwide...

 and similar online auction and trading websites, White Elephant Sales, along with thrift stores, yard sales and pawn shops were popular ways to procure collectibles and odd items not available in retail stores.

Problems

Problems can arise with White Elephant Sales in that a great deal of space is required to hold items to be sold. Even more problematic is many items will not be sold one year, but in the case of an annual sale, will be retained to be sold the next year. This requires a large amount of space to be dedicated to the extended storage of the items.

Other problems include the inability to move merchandise, or the little money produced by the sale, despite its low (or nonexistent) initial investment. Additionally, many items donated are often not worth selling, as they are broken, or clearly worthless, and donated only so the previous owner can dispense with them.

White Elephant Sales also often carry the reputation of selling kitsch
Kitsch
Kitsch is a form of art that is considered an inferior, tasteless copy of an extant style of art or a worthless imitation of art of recognized value. The concept is associated with the deliberate use of elements that may be thought of as cultural icons while making cheap mass-produced objects that...

items.
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