As a safety and risk management professional it’s only fitting that I spend some time to discuss some basic safety rules that apply to yard sales.  Lets face it, if someone gets hurt at your sale it will not only ruin your yard sale but it might cause you a whole lot of problems including financial loss.  For convenience and organization I have broken these safety tips up by subject area.  In each topic I have addressed tips related to your safety, your customer’s safety, the public’s safety and the security of your valuables as each may be appropriate to the subject.

As always, we would love to receive safety tips from our visitors.

Setting up and Conducting the Sale

1. Safety for your customers- Always remember you are liable for any injury that may happen on your property so make sure there are no objects that are laying around where someone can trip or otherwise get injured. 
• Check for tripping hazards
• Check for things sticking into the path or areas where people will be
• Particularly if you are selling from a garage or barn, be aware of overhead hazards
• You shouldn’t allow your own children to play where you are setting up the yard sale or in the driveway as they may leave bicycles or other toys around that someone could trip on.
• Walk around constantly and take care of anything that customers might have left out of place. 
2. Make sure there is nothing hanging in the walking path of your yardsale where someone is looking at something while walking and has something hit them in the head. (I’ve seen this happen). Don't let your kids play in the immediate area of your yardsale as they will usually leave their toys or bikes in an area for someone to slip or trip

Putting Up Signs

Never put signs up alone.  You should always go out in pairs where one person puts up the signs and the other drives.  This serves several purposes.  First, safety in numbers.  Second, if you get hurt there is someone there to help you, third, if the passenger is putting up signs they are exiting the car on the shoulder of the road rather than the driver exiting on the traffic side.  It is also a matter of convenience. If someone else is driving you don’t have to shut the car off if you have to walk a distance from the car to the location that you will be putting up your signs.

Pick safe areas to put up your signs.  Try to avoid roads with no shoulder or areas near bends in the road where cars may not see you.

Always pull fully on the shoulder or off the road when possible.  Park before the location of the sign and before getting out of your car, turn your steering wheel in the direction of the road.  This will do a couple of things.  If you are putting up signs in the dark, the lights will help you see what you are doing and avoid a possible injury.  Drivers – especially those that have been drinking or are falling a sleep tend to drift in the direction of cars or people on the shoulder. Your car being left between you and the on coming cars will offer some protection and if someone goes off the road and hits your car, having the wheel turned towards the road will send the car back out into the road rather than into you. 

Signs should never block visibility for drivers.  They should be set far enough back from the edge of the road and far enough back from intersections to avoid blocking visibility around corners.  See our sign tips for more information to help avoid having your signs being the cause of an accident.

Staples and nails in utility poles should be avoided.  If used, you should be sure to remove all of them when you take down your signs.  These sharp objects left behind can puncture a utility worker’s rubber gloves and result in electrocution of the utility worker.

Strangers in Your Home

It is generally a bad idea to take people into your home.  If you are showing furniture, you should not take someone in alone.  If you don’t have an extra person with you so that someone can stay with the sale and another can come with you, ask the customer to please come back later.  Take a phone number and tell them that you will call them when the sale is over or when you can break away from it.  If a customer asks to use your bathroom, tell them that someone is in the shower and suggest a local store or restaurant.  Never let someone show themselves into your home to use the bath room while you are outside at the sale regardless of how bad they have to go.

Parking at Sales

Yard sale hosts should always consider parking.  If the street allows it, it is generally better to block your driveway off and force shoppers to park along the road.  This avoids customers having to back out of your driveway where they may run over another shopper or child that they can not see.  It also avoids having people back out in to traffic where other drivers might be distracted by the sale and access cars in the area.

Shoppers should always use caution when approaching or departing from yard sales.  Be aware of children running out from between cars or the driveway into the street or for car doors suddenly opening.  Try to park as far to the side of the road as you can.  As mentioned above, avoid pulling into driveways so that you don’t have to back out of them.

Your Children

You are going to have a hard time watching your customers and your children at the same time so it is a good idea not having them play where you are having the sale or in the front of your house.  Small children can be struck by a car or even be abducted when no one is paying attention.  They can also knock things over or leave their toys where a customer can get hurt.

Perishables

I have mixed emotions on selling foods at the yard sale.  I have been to many sales where food is being sold and consumed.  Many yard sales have lemonade stands, sell hot dogs and soda and of course, most charity sales combine a rummage sale with a bake sale. 

If you are going to do this, there are some things that you need to consider.  Local health codes may not allow the sale of food in these environments or may require permits.  It is probably a good idea to check with your local heath department for guidance and permits requirements and be sure to follow their requirements.  At the very least, keep things properly heated or cooled, clean and use gloves when handling food.

The above applies to canned or jarred foods as well.

Counterfeit Money

Spend a few cents and purchase a counterfeit money marker.  These are available through most stationary stores and we hope to have them available here once our shopping cart is up and running.  Anytime you receive bills in $10.00 or larger denominations you should check them.  After all, I couldn’t think of a better place to pass counterfeit money than at a yard sale and if you accept counterfeit bills it will be at your loss.