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Yard sales / The key to riches could be right at the end of your driveway
Yard sale permits up as residents look for quick cash
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Shelee McIlvaine lined her driveway Saturday with items for sale, as she thought the best way to finance her trip to North Carolina's Outer Banks in hard economic times would be unused clothes, outdated electronics and boxes of old basketball cards.
"I knew I could do well because of that," the Galloway Township resident said. "People are looking for deals, and I'm giving them deals."
That train of thought seems to be shared by many of the region's residents, who, having accumulated heaps of stuff in good times, have turned their front yards into temporary businesses more often since the recession hit.
One measure of the trend is the number of permits municipalities are issuing for yard sales.
Barnegat Township issued 139 of the $5 permits in 2007. It issued 187 in 2008, after the recession began in December 2007, and so far this year has already issued 202.
Likewise, Lower Township issued 781 permits in 2007 and 825 in 2008. So far this year, residents have requested 517 permits, about 20 more than at this point last year.
"I would tell you that we probably have far many more that have yard sales than came in to get the permits," Lower Township Clerk Claudia Kammer said.
For that reason, the permits are an imperfect indicator, especially since many of those people who were spontaneously inspired to have yard sales are not likely to be aware of the permits.
Some municipalities do not regulate yard sales at all. Some ask residents only to not hold them on consecutive weekends, and others limit them to a certain number per year per residence.
Barnegat mayor Jeffrey Melchiondo said the township's spike in permits over the past two years may have been caused by increased awareness of the permits as much as the economy.
This year the number of yard sales may actually be lower than it otherwise would have been given how unusually rainy the beginning of summer was.
But both buyers and sellers agree there is a keen interest in them this year, since people are looking to make and save money.
"It's a consummate shopping experience because it's good for the buyer and the seller," said Marie Clark, a director at the Heritage Point senior community in Barnegat, which saw higher than normal participation at its communitywide yard sale in June. "I can purchase things I would not otherwise be able to purchase, at a great price."
At McIlvaine's house on Great Creek Road, some of those things included an old telescope, a six-CD changer with a tape deck from her previous car and an aquarium her sister, Nenia Weaver, has been trying to unload.
Weaver, of Ocean City, said she normally would have just given it to a thrift store or put it on Freecycle.org, a service in which people can offer things they do not need to others for free rather than throwing them out.
"My friend's like, 'Did you put it on Freecycle yet?'" she said. "I said, 'No, I'm going to try to make some money off it first.'"
On Saturday afternoon, the Leeds and Sikora families sat in the shade during their joint yard sale on Ridge Avenue in Egg Harbor Township, which at one point had attracted a crowd of more than 20 cars along the road.
Danielle Sikora had just cleaned out her mother-in-law's house and said she was trying to sell off "37 years worth of junk," while Leah Leeds was getting rid of some furniture and clothes her children outgrew.
They said the hot items seemed to be random knick knacks, kitchen items for students going back to college and electronics, such as a scanner and Playstation.
When traffic slowed toward the end of the morning, a box of free items set up close to the road served as a lure for more customers, and by about 1 p.m., they said they had made several hundred dollars.
They also already had practical ideas about what they would do with the money.
"A vacation in Ocean City," Sikora said.
"All the way in Ocean City," said Leeds, laughing.
"I'm going to just totally relax," Sikora explained.
Leeds said she was in no rush to part with her cash.
"It's going in the bank," she said.
E-mail Lee Procida:
Yard sale permits issued
Barnegat Township - 2007 - 139; 2008 - 187; 2009 - 202 (150 at this point last year)
Galloway Township - 2007 - 298; 2008 - 294, 2009 - 134 (117 at this point last year)
Lower Township - 2007 - 781; 2008 - 825; 2009 - 517 (495 at this point last year)
Upper Deerfield Township - 2007 - 76; 2008 - 89; 2009 - 49 (35 at this point last year)
Posted in ATLANTIC on Sunday, August 9, 2009 3:45 am Updated: 7:19 am.
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