Yard sale is a family affair in Suisun

From Daily Republic // Monday July 11, 2005

By Brad Stanhope // staff writer

SUISUN CITY - For Samantha Lee, the pricing part is easy.

"I decide by how much I use it and how many times I use it," the 10-year-old says while sifting through her items at a yard sale. "The less I've used it, the more I charge."

Samantha lives in Henderson, Nev., but is visiting her grandparents. She hopes to raise as much as $20 in the yard sale - "so I can give it to my grandpa, so he can fix up the house to sell," she says.

Samantha, her brother and three cousins are helping out in front of the home once owned by her great-grandmother, whose sons - Allan Sammons of Vacaville and Richard Sammons of Suisun City - are preparing the house to be sold.

Samantha's 11-year-old brother, Anthony Lee, is working at the sale, as are three cousins - 13-year-old Daniel Chavez of Vacaville and his brothers, 9-year-old Cisco Chavez and 8-year-old Gabriel Chavez.

Each of the kids has a blanket on the front yard with their wares. It's the third day of a four-day sale - and the best transactions so far were a laser tag set and a lava lamp, each of which brought $4 to Cisco. David says he sold a box of his stuffed animals for an undisclosed price.

Samantha is offering teddy bears and dolls, as well as some knickknacks.

"I decided on them because people like to have funny stuff," she says, smiling.

Samantha enjoys the annual trip to California - and the Chavez brothers are enjoying seeing their cousins. That they're in business together makes it even more fun.

People come and sift through the items. There are books and clothes for the adults, but kids are interested in the things Samantha, her brother and cousins are offering - dolls, teddy bears, toys.

On Samantha's blanket, the price structure is fairly rigid: "It only goes up to $1.50," she says.

And that's for things she hasn't used much, she adds.

Reach Brad Stanhope at 427-6925 or bstanhope@dailyrepublic.net