Thanks to the Advertiser for Making my Garage Sale a Success

I had a garage sale on the weekend. I rang up the Advertiser, our one and only daily local newspaper, to put in an ad. I'd intended to include a URL to a website to give more details and pictures of the stuff I wanted to sell. I had a lot of large items like some music gear and a digital camera that most people who go to a garage sale aren't generally looking for.

I was tartly informed by the Advertiser that putting a URL in a classified ad isn't allowed. The reason given was that “we're trying to run a business too”.

What the fuck? I thought their business was publishing people's advertisements. Last time I checked, I could put whatever I want in the ad I'm paying for. (Oh, the irony: a newspaper called “The Advertiser” won't let me advertise something.)

Instead of potentially attracting people who might have been interested in what I had to sell, I got a bunch of people who want to buy power tools or crates of books for five bucks.

So, thankyou The Advertiser for making my garage sale such a non-success. I know which newspaper I won't be advertising in again, because of their spectacularly bizarre and anti-competitive restrictions on trade.

While I'm on the topic, the “traders” who invariably turn up to garage sales (usually an hour before the advertised time) give me the shits as well.

They come in, offer bullshit amounts for stuff, and then get stroppy when you won't sell it to them. Once I work out someone is a trader I up what I'll accept, just to thwart them.