Yard sales can be a fun way of getting rid of your unwanted items in exchange for a little cash, while also helping other people score some great deals. Before putting your stuff out in the driveway, however, you may need to consider some legal issues first. Depending on where you live, you might need to get a permit before having a yard sale. Some localities require a permit only if you plan on holding several sales in a year, or if you intend to have them regularly to supplement your income. The more your activities look like a business, the more likely it is that you will need a permit. There may also be rules on how and where you post your yard sale advertisements. Where local governments require permits, the cost is usually minimal. The cost of a fine for operating without a permit, however, may not be. You should check your local requirements to avoid any unpleasant surprises. Do you realize that federal law regulates the safety of items sold at yard sales? The Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act of 2008 (CPSIA) strengthened requirements on manufacturers and sellers of consumer products to ensure that the goods they sell are safe.
Under the CPSIA, manufacturers who sell products in the United States have to conduct more testing on their products, in particular on children’s products, for hazardous chemicals such as lead. Congress passed this law in response to the 2007 recall of millions of lead-tainted toys made in China. The law’s purpose is twofold: The interesting part is that CPSIA applies not just to manufacturers and primary sellers, but also to resellers—and a garage sale merchant falls within that definition. Therefore, individuals holding yard sales are legally responsible for the products they sell under the CPSIA. It’s unlikely that federal agents are patrolling neighborhood yard sales for items that violate the CPSIA. However, you have an obligation to check if any items you offer for sale have been subject to recall—especially if you plan to sell children’s items, such as toys, car seats, cribs, playpens, or highchairs. Lists of recalled items are available on manufacturers’ websites, or the Consumer Product Safety Commission website.
If you find out you have a recalled item, do not sell it or give it away. Instead, explore returning it to the manufacturer for a refund. Even if you can’t, you wouldn’t be a good neighbor if you passed on a problem item to an unsuspecting customer. (For more information, see Consumer Law Product Recall FAQ.) As a general rule, the Internal Revenue Service might treat any money you obtain from any source as income. However, unless you plan on holding yard sales regularly or as a business, the amount you earn will likely be so small that the IRS won’t require you to pay taxes on it. Additionally, the IRS assumes that you're selling household items you bought and used for personal use—as well as selling them for less than what you paid. Once you deduct the original cost of an item from the amount you received at the sale, the number left over is almost always negative. If there’s no profit, there’s nothing to tax. Many states don’t require you to collect sales taxes on items sold at a yard sale, particularly if you don’t have more than a certain number of sales per year.
, unless such article is plainly labeled as provided in this law, and prescribed by the department. No person shall, at wholesale or retail or otherwise, directly or indirectly, sell or have in his possession with intent to sell any filling material or other component parts to be used or which can be used in upholstered furniture, bedding or stuffed toys, unless such material is plainly labeled with a tag or other marking as provided in this law and prescribed by the department. No person shall, directly or indirectly, sell in this commonwealth, at wholesale or retail, any article of upholstered furniture or bedding or any stuffed toy, or any filling material or other component part to be used or which can be used in upholstered furniture, bedding or stuffed toys manufactured out of the commonwealth, unless it is labeled in accordance with the provisions of this law and fully complies with all the requirements of this law. All labels required by this law shall be securely attached to the article during the process of manufacture at the factory.
Such labels shall be fixed in such position that they may be conveniently examined and shall be in accordance with the rules and regulations pertaining to labeling promulgated under authority of this law. For the purposes of this section, possession of any article of bedding or of upholstered furniture or of any filling material not labeled as provided herein, by any person engaged in the business of manufacturing, selling or offering for sale any such article shall be prima facie evidence that such article is being manufactured, repaired, renovated or is offered or exposed for sale in violation of the provisions of this section. The label shall show or state:? (a) Whether the concealed materials are new or secondhand. If the materials are wholly new, the heading shall read ''All New Material''. If the materials are in whole or in part secondhand, the heading shall read ''Secondhand Material''. (b) An accurate description of the kind of material used for filling including an accurate statement as to the percentage of the components of said filling material in accordance with the regulations of the department.
In the case of feathers and mixtures thereof or articles containing such mixtures, the label shall specify the kind of fowl from which the feathers were obtained and the physical condition of such feathers. If an article contains down, the term down may be used without further description if the contents consist wholly of said material. If, however, the article is labeled goose or duck down it shall consist wholly of down derived from said fowl. If the article is labeled as containing a mixture of goose and duck down, the label shall specify the percentage of each. In the case of mattresses, upholstered furniture or stuffed toys containing hair, the label shall specify the animal source of such hair. In all regulations requiring percentages to be specified upon the label, the department may include generally accepted tolerances. (c) If sterilized, the statement ''Contents Sterilized''. (d) The serial number of the manufacturer, assigned by the department. Every person who repairs or renovates bedding, for any owner or customer or for his own or tenant's use, upon receiving each article for such repair or renovation, shall immediately securely affix a tag of identification showing the owner's or dealer's name, address and date upon which it was received, and when completed, shall attach the ''Owner's Material'' label prescribed by the department.
The department is hereby authorized to prescribe the wording, form style, size, material, lettering, tolerances, requirements or any changes on labels in order to carry out the provisions of this law. The department may issue regulations permitting reciprocity of registration or permit numbers with such states having such a requirement. It shall be a violation of this law to use in the description on any label any false or misleading term or designation, or term or designation likely to mislead. Every person, except the purchaser for his own use, or an inspector in the performance of his duties under this law, who attempts to remove, or does remove, deface, alter, or causes to be removed, the label or any mark or statement placed upon any upholstered furniture or bedding under the provisions of this law shall be guilty of a violation of this law. No person shall manufacture for purposes of sale, sell, offer or expose for sale, or have in his possession with intent to sell, any article of bedding, consisting in part of metal which has previously been used, or any upholstered spring bed, box spring, studio couch, davenport, day bed, bed spring, metal bed, metal folding bed, metal couch, metal cradle, metal bassinet or similar articles designed for the use of persons when sleeping or reclining