Some timely tips for garage sale holders

We are well into the garage sale season and as a devotee, I become frustrated with the difficulty to read an ill-thought -out garage sale sign.

They can become unsightly and hard to read when out in the elements, and if made of flimsy card stock, bent over and downright raunchy looking after a good rain. A cellophane wrap or clear tape over the lettering can help preserve the sign.

Trying to read them from a moving car can be dangerous, so please don't put them up real high on a post.

Does it make sense to have "Garage Sale" in 4-inch high letters but the address is a half-inch tall? I think not. An 8 x 10 computer-created sign is neat looking but hardly has enough space to include that all important easy to read address.

Bless those who use large arrows to point directions. Remember, not all seekers live around the corner or even in your town. I once had a woman drive all the way from Wisconsin to my sale because she was told by a local relative that what she was looking for was listed in my newspaper ad. She appreciated my large, dark, easy to read lettering and arrows. Please! Yellow or green magic markers are pretty but letters are almost impossible to read on manila cardboard. Black lettering is good.

If your sign on a main intersection is an iridescent orange, try to be consistent by using the same color sign throughout.

Dates and times of the sale are nice, if there is enough room not to squish out the address.

If you begin to wonder where the customers are, check your signs periodically to see if they are still upright and have not fallen over. No one can read them if they are laying on the ground.

Please take your signs down after the sale. Please price the items or have a generic sign posted for like items. Color coded stickers designating prices are also helpful. Rather than ask prices, I'll just leave.

Thanks and happy bargain hunting to fellow garage sale devotees.

Joan Creevy

Schaumburg