How to Safely Conduct a "Yard Sale" Out of Your Apartment

At this time of year, many families are preparing for their annual garage or yard sale. For those families who live in an apartment or condominium, though, facilitating a garage or yard sale is virtually impossible. To create the most safe and profitable garage sale, out of your apartment or condominium, there are several factors to consider.

With home garage or yard sales there is some degree of risk in terms of criminal activity and violence, primarily due to the wandering eyes of "shoppers" who have come onto your personal property. For those who live in an apartment or condominium, this risk is even greater as there is almost no way to avoid allowing these "shoppers" into your home rather than limiting to a garage or yard.

The key to a successful, and safe, sale out of your apartment will lie in your ability to move items to the breezeway or front lawn area of the apartment, thereby reducing traffic into your actual home. But, because many apartment and condominium managers do not approve of such activity, you will need to advertise your sale early to drive business within a specified number of hours.

Creating a flier is a great way to attract local garage sale and yard sale shoppers to your apartment sale. Creating the flier with appealing graphics, and then limiting the hours of the sale to, say, two hours, will drive the traffic from within your own apartment complex during the limited time you are holding the sale. The ideal day to distribute the flier is usually on or about Wednesday, if you plan to hold your sale on Saturday or Sunday. Also, be sure to limit your hours to those times when your fellow apartment and condominium residents are likely to be moving about; usually between 9am and 11am or 4pm and 7pm.

If you must allow garage sale shoppers to enter your apartment or condominium, the best way to control the risk of criminal activity is to limit the space used for the sale. Closing off all bedroom and bathroom doors and limiting the sale to, say, the living room or dining room is your best solution.

Additionally, if shoppers must enter your apartment to gain access to your apartment sale items, be sure to cover or move expensive electronics and collectibles so they are out of view from the clients who will be entering your personal space.

While garage and yard sales can be quite profitable, those individuals who live in the major metropolitan cities, such as New York City, Chicago and Dallas, may find some difficulty in conducting a similar sale out of an apartment. To reduce the risk of becoming a victim to criminal acts during, and after, your apartment sale, use these simple techniques, limiting hours and space.