Are you freaking kidding me? A warehouse permit? What planet was that guy from?

I"m in Florida, of course you probably are not...but just the same:
Unless you have MASSIVE, MASSIVE , let me just clarify, MASSIVE (ie multiple "PODS" at your house, etc. )quantities...I don't think your inspector guy has a leg to stand on... As a homeowner, you can stockpile til your windows fall out and you don't need a $#@# permit to do so. LOL! I'd like them to tell me I need a permit to warehouse my weekly steals/deals... what a crock of shirts.

Selling, on the other hand, could be an issue. Permits can/do pertain to not just "having the sale", but also include proper food storage (if you are selling frozen, cooked, etc.), cleanliness, proper housing/stoarage of the food(esp "cereal boxes that could get wet in a sudden rain storm, et.c), and the building in which you are doing the selling. etc. An occasional YARD sale does not warrant a permit: a once-a-week-yard/garage/basement-sale may raise eyebrows and bring in the big guys for the reasons previously mentioned.

If you think about that logically, who are you to run a business out of your home, and not jump thru the hoops that other legit store owners have to jump thru-for items like fire inspections, fire extinguishers, exit signs, etc...? You never did mention where your sale was held... garage? basement? Yard? So, yes, you would be in violation of selling if you did it quite regularly "inside" a building, without that building meeting all the fire and life safety codes.

Yes, I am a retired fire inspector/fire marshal.
Yes, you MAY need a permit to do the sales, depending on where you are selling (state, jurisdiction, etc.); and inside vs outside, etc.
No, you don't need a permit to warehouse all your weekly steals/deals. (unless you have rented a local warehouse rental unit and are trying to do your sales from your leased space that is owned by someone else.)

If he come back with a permit app...(try not to laugh in is face, as I would have a hard time doing!) and do your own checking into the state/jurisdictional guidelines. There are parameters in place that protect you against such non-sense, like meeting the requirements for commercial sales: type of items sold, quantity stored, hours of operation, etc.

First stop- local fire dept to ask your fire inspector/fire marshal for the fire and life safety codes pertaining to residential yard sales. (And you won't find any.) But you will find the definition and requirements for commercial sales operations. (In a commercial building.) Since you are residential, they are going to be hard put to have you file any permits other than a "yard sale" perhaps. Depends on how stiff your jurisdiction is on that.

Oh, and I sure hope you asked for ID and verified it before allowing a stranger into your home. Here in Florida, we've had some pretty unscrupulous folks posing illigitimately in one "formal" fashion or another just to get into peoples homes. They just pull up, flash a business card, and are welcomed into your home. Well, NOT my home. But you get the message.

Good luck, and keep us posted on what the permitnazi comes back with.....HTH

He had a copy of my Craigslist ad w/him. I think that when it was flagged on Wed. that it was sent to his dept.? Who knows, maybe the WAGS manager that I don't get along w/flagged my post, JK!!!!
Steph

wow, you were so calm!

I'm in NY state, I bet they are strict about selling even OTC meds at garage sales or if you have frequent sales. But I didn't think this would happen to someone until after their garage sale. Like a neighbor or some jerk would turn you in after seeing all you had. Kind of scary that they take the time to check out garage sale postings on Craigslist. Plus, doesn't the government have more important things to do then check people out before they even have the sale? Sheesh

He stated that if you keep food for more then 24hrs w/the intent to resell, you need a warehouse permit. I think we were in such shock, that we didn't ask any questions that we have now, I don't even know what I would ask??? When I called to verify him, he was sending off an email to his boss stating that everything was clean and such. BUT he stated that is I were to continue in doing this and I did need a license, he would recommend putting a self shutting door in my basement, and having the food contained in one area w/nothing else!

We love in a house, how am I supposed to do that? I don't think it would be worth the hassle to permit myself. He said that if I choose not to do this again(if I needed to be licensed) I would have to sign a statement pertaining to the fact that I wouldn't do this again.

PHewwww,
Steph

wow newbie im so glad that u r in fl..just as i am..this thread did frighten me at first..i am going to throw some stockpile stuff out for a once a year yard sale at my moms this saturday..and this will be my first time selling such items..now i am only selling hba (no meds or food)..as i did have some concerns about that..but i dont see any bad in selling shampoo and razors that i bought and already paid tax on.

Wow...............
This is kinda scary actually. All the fines.
I have been told you have to be careful as not to look like you have a "store front" look to your sale I assume all the stockpile stuff we get from the deals makes it look that way.
Also be careful putting out food stuff and medicines alot of that stuff is regulated by different states and you could get into serious trouble.
I guess we need to be careful with listing on craigslist.............you could be raising your own red flag to state inspectors and the likes of folks like them, probably would be wise to know the limits for your sale from your city, township or the like.

Yeah, better to research the rules/laws/codes and be in compliance than inadvertantly break them and be fined.

Steph; My hubby was sooooo impressed at the way you handled yourself! (We have to give God the praise)....That's why we have to have patience, humility and respect to do what we do!...God Bless

Ok a suggestion...my suggestion for your yard sale. Advertise it as a yard sale with great deals on cleaning products and other household items. Put in your craigslist ad that they can email mail you and request more information. Also I would have BIG, BIG,BIG Posters at least 3 of them. Requesting to sign up by email to be notified of any other sales. Then privately sell to them separately,s ending out a weekly spread sheet list. Then you won't have to worry about the permits ect. My friend Ruth had a weekly list she use to send out but she is moving so has had to stop but she ended up with 200 people.

I'm afraid that I'll be "watched" from now on you know? If I "sell" to other people after I signed(assuming I need a license)the statement and someone is "under cover" then what?

What a mess! Here I am a SAHM, thinking I'm pulling my financial weight around here and get chopped off at the knees, potentially, KWIM?

I'm trying to stay positive, the guy saw my setup, and I guess we'll just wait and see.

Steph

I would just stop selling food, personally. If you attempt to do it again w/o the proper permits, there is a good chance that they will be 'watching' you, waiting to slap you with that fine. Better safe than sorry.

They are just doing their job, of course. After all, food items that get returned to, say Target, have to be destroyed and may not be re-sold for fear of possible tampering. Obviously I'm not saying that you would do anything like that, but how does Joe Consumer (or the Health Inspector, for that matter) know that? Plus, what if someone were to get sick from a food item that they bought from you? It wouldn't be your fault, but how would you prove that you didn't do anything to the food? This could potentially be a huge liability issue.

As far as food goes, I would just stockpile for my own family and the food pantry. That's just me, of course. Good luck with whatever you decide on.

Ditto!

its better to be on the safe side and not have to worry when the next visit will be. the food inspector may be on your side now, but you never know how the wind blows.

that's true about Target and SWM throwing any food item returned to them even if these food items have not been opened. they'd rather throw them away than ran the risk of dealing with possible lawsuits from tampering/food poisoning. I think all stores does that on food returns.

just think of possible fines and penalties they may slap on you later on so that what you earned from your yard sale may not even be enough.

Good luck and keep us all posted!

i work in retail when the inspectors come in anything that is digested has to be 6in off the floor including pet food no cans can have dents all dates have to be 3 months before expire date and eggs can't be stored above milk. Someone may have seen the food & other stuff and was concered if it was good.

Very interesting, crazy and scary all at the same time!