Important and Fun Tips by Suzi & Speaking Live in Naples, Florida April 27th

"Hello and welcome all you garage sale shoppers and mystery readers,

Springtime heralds a big surge in Community Garage Sales when many housing
areas plan "neighborhood" participation. This win-win idea benefits shoppers (who reach more sales with less driving) and sellers (because the lure of many sales in one place attracts eager buyers.) 

IMPORTANT TIPS FOR ATTENDING COMMUNITY YARD SALES:

    

- Cash and Carry. Most garage sales are cash only so prepare for action. Beforehand, change your $20 to $5's, $1's and quarters. Not all sale givers provide bags for your purchases, so take along your own light-weight "green" bag (the woven reusable ones). After each sale, unload bagged items into your car and use the same bag over and over. 

    

- Strap your money in a fanny pack around your waist. Your money is attached to you as you jump in and out of the car and you won't risk losing your purse which might be put down to examine merchandise. 

  

- Crowds Equal Caution. A competitive frenzy may develop as many cars converge into narrow community streets. Others may seem determined to reach that next sale ahead of you to snap up the very treasure you've been waiting for. Careening cars, congestion and careless parking that blocks roads all require defensive tactics. Drive carefully and park sensibly to be part of the solution, not the problem. Fender benders ruin garage sale fun!

  

- Always lock your car, even if the sale is in sight of your car and you only hop out "for a second".  Police crime   prevention says training yourself to do this curbs opportunity-theft wherever you go. I learned the hard way when my purse (left in the car because I wore a fanny pack instead) was stolen from my unlocked vehicle at a community sale. 

- Keys, Please. With a fanny pack of cash around your waist and your purse in the car, when you exit and lock your car you must safeguard those car keys (to which house keys may be attached). Train yourself to repeat the same technique every time, such as always putting them in a pants pocket or a your fanny pack or wearing the key ring on your finger (if it fits). When several sales are clustered so close together that you park and walk, frantically retracing your steps to find lost keys is a loser. 
 

ALSO If you are in southern Florida, please join me when I discuss my mystery thriller "Garage Sale Stalker" on April 27th at 2:00PM at the South Regional Library, 8065 Lely Cultural Parkway, Naples, FL 34113. For more information contact Patti DeGroot at 239-252-7559. This presentation is part of the library's "Money Smart Week".