Is There Anything That Is Illegal to Sell At A Yard Sale?

The short answer: yes.

The long answer: yes, and it’s kind of complicated. There are obvious things that can’t be sold at yard sales, of course, like regulated weapons and other illegal items. Other technicalities, however, are a little bit more difficult to navigate. Let’s break down what these illegal yard sale items might look like.

Firearms

Obviously illegal, right? Maybe not. While there has been plenty of discourse on the “loophole” around background checks when firearms are purchased from private sellers, this loophole is technically not illegal—at least not always. What the law has to say about private firearm sales varies by state, and while sales are fairly regulated in some states, Wyoming has no regulation at all. Many states only prohibit private sales to minors and individuals who are legally barred from owning firearms.

Of course, this does not mean you’re off the hook from checking your own state’s legislation. Even if you and your community are generally cool with selling guns, you don’t want to get caught up in legal problems down the line.

Food and drinks

What’s more dangerous than guns? Cupcakes and lemonade.

Well, not exactly, but when it comes to legal technicalities, food and drinks can actually be more illegal to sell at your yard sale than firearms. There’s a reason food and drink vendors across the country are generally required to hold the right permits and comply with certain regulations. Food safety is a serious concern, and poor food safety can have serious health consequences.

That being said, yard sales are probably not what the government is looking to crack down on regarding unlicensed food vendors. Furthermore, Cottage Food Laws might protect your selling of food items you’ve made in your own home, meaning your cupcakes and lemonade might be fair game (legally). Also, unless your yard sale food makes someone critically sick, you probably aren’t going to run into any legal trouble, anyway.

CPSC Regulations

Another legal obstacle: the Consumer Product Safety Commission. Turns out, reselling anything can be pretty tricky business, and the lengthy CPRC reselling guide points out that nearly everything at your yard sale could be incriminating, sort of.

It is true that just about anything might be illegal to sell if you don’t do your homework. Regulations make it illegal to sell anything that has been recalled for any reason, and especially with older items, most of us don’t comb through corporate recalls to know if our old baby toys are still in legal selling condition. In fact, baby and toddler products are especially tricky territory, as bath seats, strollers, and infant walkers that aren’t in perfect condition might be considered a health and safety hazard.

The CPSC guide says that when in doubt, throw it out. Again, however, the fuzz probably isn’t going to show up on your driveway for violating CPSC resell regulations. We wouldn’t say to throw it out, but when in doubt, do check the regulations! Long live the yard sale!