Having A Garage Sale In Sedalia Just Got Easier

Did you know you needed a permit to have a garage or rummage sale in Sedalia? Until now that is.

At their Sedalia City Council meeting on December 18, 2023, the City Council voted to do away with the permit requirements for garage and rummage sales. According to a short news release from the City of Sedalia, the Council decided the permitting requirements were overly bureaucratic and burdensome.

Moving forward, any resident may hold a garage or yard sale up to three times each year, and each sale can be up to two days in duration, with no permit necessary.

So, now you may be reminded of all that stuff you want to get out of your house and may be thinking, yeah a garage or yard sale might be the way to make some cash and get rid of stuff. Here's some tips on making sure your sale is successful from HGTV:

• Put items aside for your garage sale all year long, when you have enough for a sale, that's when you schedule yours.
• Clean your stuff. People want a bargain, but they don't want dusty, dirty, toys and glassware.
• Get the word out early. HGTV suggests a Craigslist listing a week or two in advance. You might also post in Facebook groups for your area if the group owner allows it. Also, post photos of the best you have to offer and detail what kinds of items you're selling.
• Decide the price of things before your sale and be realistic about what someone's going to pay for it. Remember, the goal is to get rid of your unwanted stuff, profit is just gravy.
• Think like a merchandiser. Big ticket items are front and center where people driving by can see them and have their interest piqued. Also put an interesting, bigger ticket item at the back so folks are more likely to walk through your sale to check it out. Re-arrange items throughout the day so your sale doesn't look picked over, picked over equals not very attractive.
• Put everything on tables. The less bending and stooping people have to do the better. Toys can go on lower tables, yaknow, so maybe a kid who's there with his or her parents get interested in a toy or two. Clothes should be hung on portable clothes racks. And items should be grouped. Lamps with lamps, furniture with furniture, clothes with clothes, etc.
• Put up signs on the day of your sale. These should get people to your sale and be easily readable from a car. Don't put too much detail about the sale on them.
• Finally, HGTV suggests having a box of stuff people can take for free. They suggest items that you'd probably donate anyway. People don't expect that and like the idea of getting something for free. Additionally, they suggest setting a time during your sale when anything unsold goes for 50% of what you wanted to get for the items. If it's things you want out of your life, you can offer it for free in the last hour. That might get people to take things they wouldn't buy.

Follow these tips and have a great garage or rummage sale, with no permit needed here in Sedalia.