Over the past 4 days, I have made trips to many family members houses and I noticed one abnormal thing. There were quite a few garage sale signs out on display. Many of these signs did not have dates on them so I cannot confirm that these houses had their sales open over the weekend but I still find it a bit odd to see these signs. I understand that many people do not celebrate Christmas and that is fine but I cannot imagine many people wanting to go garage sailing over the holiday weekend.

I did notice that over the past few weekends, a large amount of garage sales around me. This may be people trying to get rid of things to make some extra money for new gifts, or maybe they are trying to free up some room in their house for their new gifts.

If I had a moment, I would have checked out these sales and figured out if they were in fact open but due to the holiday rush, I was unable too.

You may drive out on a Saturday morning and see 10-30 different garage sale signs. The majority of them may say yard sale or garage sale but there are the few that may say something different. There is truly an endless amount of ways to tell people you are having a sale but only about a handful that you will commonly see. For sellers, the choice is yours on how you want to word your sale but sticking with the more common names will likely not confuse your potential customers like some of the others. For buyers, be aware of the signs and know your limitations. If you don't feel comfortable going into someones home or backyard, stay clear of these types of sales.

I have laid out these names in order of how common I see them.

• Garage Sale - Outdoor sale of used items held on the seller's premises
• Yard Sale - Similar to a garage sale however may be located on a yard rather than a drive-way
• Rummage Sale - A sale of donated items, commonly seen at a church.
• Estate Sale - The sale of property left by a person at his or her death.
• Back Yard Sale - Again, like a garage sale except setup in the owners back yard.
• Car Port Sale - Just like a garage sale except may be located within a car port.
• Jumble Sale - A British term for a sale.
• Car Boot Sale - A British term for a sale.

With Christmas nearly here, I have noticed a lot of people talking about whether or not it is acceptable to give away items that you find at a garage sale as a Christmas gift. Many people are going to immediately say no while others may think about it and say sure. I believe that it would certainly depend on what the item in fact and the person who would be receiving the gift. If you have a sister who loves antique Coca Cola items, and you find a great antique clock, would it be acceptable to give it to her as a gift? I would say definitely. On the other hand, maybe giving someone clothing that you purchased from a sale would not be acceptable.

The answer to the question is solely based on your opinion and the opinion of the person who would be receiving the gift. One person made a good suggestion which would be have the 2 types of gifts separated so there is a pile of "store bought" gifts and "garage sale" gifts. I certainly think that this would be a good idea for families who are big into garage sales. Families who understand the great items that are possible to purchase, new or used.

I am curious to see how others feel about this topic. Please leave a comment with your opinion. Thank you.

One thing that many people overlook when setting up a garage sale is safety. While it may be unlikely to happen, people may get hurt at your sale and attempt to sue. This is certainly something that should be on your mind when you setup your sale and look for tripping hazards or other things that may get someone hurt.

In Australia though, the High Court cleared a woman of responsibility for an injury to one of her garage sale visitors. The woman broke a bone in her foot and originally was awarded more than $24,000 in compensation. However recently, the High Court ruled that the woman was not ultimately at fault.

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Suggestion: Put up warning signs stating that you are not liable for any injuries.

In many parts of the country, garage sale season has been pushed aside for the winter season. While in many states, you no longer have to fight off a crowd at a sale, you would have to fight off the inches of snow. In Arizona however, while it is cold in the mornings, garage sales are still readily available. Despite the weather though, many garage sales are pushed aside so people can focus on other things. What do you do during this time however? Here are some suggestions on what you can do to possibly cure your garage sale blues during the holiday season.

For Buyers:

• Try your hand at a Thrift store.
  
• Look for an indoor swap meet or church sale.
  
• Sleep in.
  

• Get everything ready for your next sale.
  
• Sell some of your items to a Thrift store.
  
• Give any unwanted items to a charity.
  
• List your items on EBay.
  
• Sleep in.

I am curious to see how others get through the off seasons? Please leave a comment.

Sleepy Hollow signs off on garage sale sign ordinance
The village of Sleepy Hollow, IL has begun placing restrictions on garage sale signs and number of sales each home owner can hold per year. The ordinance was unanimously approved on Monday that requires signs can not be larger than 6ft square and cannot be put more than 15ft off the pavement. Neon and motorized signs have also been prohibited. Have you ever seen a motorized garage sale sign?

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Burns votes to regulate yard sales
Burns, TN has also recently passed an ordinance to regulate garage sales. The ordinance allows only four 3-day sales per year and a permit must be obtained prior to each of the sales. In addition, each sale must be at least 2 weeks apart and can only be performed during daylight hours. When was the last time you saw a night time sale?

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Most garage sales are setup to either make some extra pocket cash or to simply get rid of the clutter throughout your house. However for a family in Australia, they are having to setup a garage sale to help pay for the funeral of their late father and husband. To add salt into the wounds, their house was burglarized the same day as he died. They hope to raise as much money from the garage sale to pay for the $2500 in funeral fees.

It certainly is a bad time of the year to lose a family member as well as having your house broken into. I can only hope that people will understand the reason for the sale and purchase an item that they may not have necessarily purchased otherwise. A small price to pay to help a family that certainly needs the help.

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