An innovative way for people to get rid of things they do not need anymore as well as to earn some quick money at the same time is to organize a garage sale. But what is beginning to happen is that some towns are increasing their rates for organizing yard sales, thus reducing the profits of the residents.
Bloomfield in New Jersey hiked its permit for garage sale by more than two times the original permit this year which was initially $10 but now $25. And what might happen to residents who don’t pay is even more interesting.
They might not only get fined up to $150 but also land up in prison for 10 days, the duration of course varies from town to town. But in most cases, people are not really prosecuted for acts like these, as stated by Glenn Domenick, director of community betterment in Bloomfield.
Local governments often raise the fees for garage sales because that helps to bring slightly more revenue but in many instances this hike is nothing considerable and the profits are quite insignificant. Last year, in the town of Bloomfield the garage sale rate was $10 and that itself helped to raise $2340 and this year it is being estimated that if the town was to organize the exact number of garage sales as last year, it could generate up to an extra $3510.
Even though this increase in fee has annoyed some of the residents of Bloomfield, others have been sporty and accommodated the innovation in the daily life. Some other communities have charges that are in proportion or actually higher than that of Bloomfield’s but what is unfortunate is that attempts to generate more revenues in this manner doesn’t always give the desirable results.
Residents were not as cooperative at the time Texas City suggested a $10 garage sale fee accompanied with another $25 for the purpose of putting up signs and placards. Hence the town had to decide to reduce the number of sign boards in order to not require that extra bit of fee from the residents.
There are also cases where people hold garage sales without seeking a permit despite the rules and where they reside. There are also several cases where garage sales that are not authorized are organized under the tag of official state business. A few months ago, through a series of bad event we learnt that it is a bad experience to acquire a garage sale permit when a local policeman drove up our lane with all the signs we had put up around town.
To tell you the truth, we really were not aware that we needed permission to do so. Incidentally while making regular rounds of a number of garage sales, which I gathered when I chanced to see all the other sign boards in his car, he gathered ours as well.
We have recently moved in to our new house and I have already gotten in touch with the town office to check details regarding garage sale permits, this time the lady on the other side of the call laughed at me and said nobody had enquired about something like this before.
I was more than excited to learn that I could organize my yard sale without a permit and absolutely free. Personally I would advise you to ask about garage sale fees and permits beforehand because it surely is a better option than to get dinged an extra $100 unnecessarily.
