Garage Sale Security Issues

Article Written By: Lisa Payne

A Coach purse, a dvd, and a piece of costume jewelry mysteriously disappeared from the last yard sale a friend of mine held. Truth is that the garage sale seller was willing to give them all to charity, but felt "puny" (as they say in the Midwest, on the prairie) nonetheless, because she did not have an opportunity to sell, consign, donate or otherwise deal with the goods stolen.

It is not unusual to hear an exchange like this at a garage sale. All too often a theft occurs and the garage sale seller is surprised, if not flabbergasted, by it. Even at a garage sale, where the monetary stakes tend not to be high, folks do not want to be taken advantage of or duped. It rarely feels good to be tricked or subjected to theft.

The best and most basic advice is to take simple precautions. Use good, sound judgment when dealing with people who come to your garage sale. Most of your shoppers are strangers to you and you should deal with them as such.

There are some specific garage sale security tips, to make you feel more secure at your yard sale:

* Keep money issues to yourself. There is no need to discuss your garage sale proceeds or to show your cash during the sale. Do not count your cash while there are people at the sale. As tempting as it may be, do not talk about or brag about the money you have earned during your sale. Do not ever leave your garage sale money unattended. You should take the money with you at all times, placing the money in a secure place, like deep pockets (pun intended) or a fanny pack. Once in a while you should remove the large bills out of your pockets or fanny pack and place them in your locked house.

* Secure your home during the garage sale. Your home should be locked. Make sure all entrances to the home are secure. Resist the urge to allow anyone access to your home. (It is a common scam to claim to need to use a bathroom, for hygiene or a fitting room. However, you are allowing someone potentially to "case the joint," to see what you have inside and how to access it a later date.) By the same token, it is unwise to tell anyone about you, personally. Strangers are not entitled to identifying information about you just because they are at your sale. Be careful about what you say in a conversation. (No one needs to know where you work, whether you live alone, which car you drive, etc.). A shopper could be a potential intruder.

* In that vein, remember that there is safety in numbers. You should always have a helper or two with you. This is especially helpful when you are busy and when you need to go into the house. Most people do this anyway, no doubt, but as a reminder, keep a cordless phone or cell phone if you need to call for help.

* Limit any chances a shopper may have to steal from you, during this sale or later. Lock your car and hide any garage door opener. Put your most valuable merchandise where you can watch it most carefully. Keep stuff that tends to disappear (CDs, DVDs, clothes that can go over/under street clothes, etc) furthest from the street. Sales should occur before it gets dark or after it gets light in the morning.

Watch out for garage sale scams as well. Some of the more common ones include a shopper paying with a fake $100 bill, a shopper pretending a $20 bill was tendered when it was not, and a shopper carrying stuff out to the car as if it has been paid for when it has not. There is no need to compromise your physical security at a garage sale. As always, do your research and it will turn out quite well. You will make money and de-clutter in the process.

About the Author

Lisa Payne is the country's leading Garage Sale Guru. On TV, Radio, and in the Newspaper, Lisa is now publishing a free garage sale tips newsletter. Want to Earn More Money and Sell More Stuff? Subscribe today!

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This Article Has Been Published on Mon, 14 Feb 2011 and Read 324 Times

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