Lost: Simple Basic Yard Sale

Recently, I was asked by a reader to write about the absurd and out-of-control regulations regarding yard sales. Turning to Google, I found a bewildering array of requirements from all over the country, and could NOT find any consistencies other than relentless roadblocks and someone with their hand out.

Some locales don’t require anything at all except for ample parking that doesn’t interfere with normal traffic for the area. Other locales require a multitude of layers of things, starting with permits and inspections, and ending with the sign dimensions, number of signs allowed, and the placement of such. Some of these requirements leave you in the hole before the sale ever gets started, and the proceeds may not be enough to pull you out of the red!

Now I believe I know why we donate to thrift stores—it’s much easier, although money-losing. Besides, we live in an out-of-the-way apartment complex where merchandise display space and parking seem to be big issues we can’t overcome.

I have to ask this question: if there are so many hurdles involved with getting rid of stuff, how come there aren’t just as many for GETTING the stuff in the first place? Nobody requires permits, inspections, specific dimensions or locations of anything, or restricts you to indoor or out-of-sight shopping! Now that I think about it, maybe that’s what the businesses who sell to us have to contend with.

Uncle Sam, or rather his state or local cousin, has found a way to profit from the booming underground economy. Harmless, innocuous things like yard sales and babysitting once roamed freely without regulation—and raked in bucks for the effort. Now, someone wants a cut or demands a hoop be jumped through in the name of conformity and uniformity. Someone smells money!

It gets much worse when there’s food involved—another layer of bureaucracy, another government agency, and another layer of risk. Lawyers salivate like Pavlov’s dog when there’s risk of any sort around! Food is probably best left out of the sale unless you have found low-restriction regulations (unlikely with the Health Dept.), or can abide by regulations regarding the resale of pre-packaged or pre-manufactured foods. Otherwise, it’s a food prep safety class, plenty of site inspections of equipment and methods, plenty of sale day inspections for food storage temps, etc.--all to sell a few hot dogs or brownies at a yard sale! At some point, you have to ask yourself if it’s worth it.

The same can be said for said for the yard/garage sale: is it all worth it just to sell off some junk? Would it be easier (and possibly more profitable) to donate it, sell it on E-bay, or give it away instead? Cities and localities get you coming and going—they tax and hurdle you to death trying to sell it, and charge dump entry fees just to get a look at what others have thrown out!

This is why so many of us now go curbside shopping or dumpster diving—as gross as it may sound, it’s about the only way left to shop-n-swap without incurring expenses or encountering regulatory hurdles. As for me, there’s never room for Uncle Sam or his cousins to ride in the back of my pickup, especially the night before or morning of trash day.

All I can recommend is this: get to know your area’s regulations regarding yard sales, estate sales, and any other method of selling off junk from one’s home—there are many classifications, including rummage sales, porch sales, garage sales, estate sales (be prepared to prove someone died), and bazaars—and find out which one would be least restrictive (in terms of money and hoops), or find out where loopholes exist.

Some examples: in Olympia, WA, an “estate” sale is free for 1 weekend, but a yard sale has permit requirements (so Aunt Minnie died years ago—who’s asking?) In Norfolk, VA, a church can hold two one-day yard sale/bazaar sales a year without permits or sign regulations because of their tax status (and members take ample advantage of this loophole). All that’s charged is a small table fee, because the church uses this event as a fundraiser. In south Texas, we got lucky enough to encounter lax rules—no food, no signs on city property (including utility poles), and all signs must be removed promptly when the sale ends.

Other than working within rules or loopholes, you might want to look into flea market stalls. There, you might not even need so much as a business license—check the rules first.