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Show WriBwdaT. November Wmm PROVIDENCE, R.I. (UPI) -The lady supervising several sales tables vat summoned across the room by a customer who wanted help with merchandise. Before she returned, the "customer's" accomplice disappeared with the cash box. Such "booster" or shoplifting teams are commonplace in retail department stores across America. You don't expect them to pop up at friendly neighborhood yard sales a growing institution in cities and suburbia. The incident, which happened to a neighbor, was relayed by my mother, Ann, who has been accused of running the tidiest garage sales in DeDnar, N.Y. ives Yips on How "It's sad to say, but all so true. Some thieves work in pairs and prey on lax security," she said. A veteran of her own successful garage sales and visitor to scores more, she passed on the following tips to minimize has- an enclosed porch rather than outside. "Weather is no factor. You can set up a day or two ahead, in orderly fashion and not be rushed to arrange tables as customers pounce on items." DISPLAY Arrange items neatly, mark the prices on all of them. Table cloths will make your items appear more attractive. Silver looks especially nice on dark cloth. Group your expensive items sles and losses and maximize profits. TIMING The best part of the year to hold a sale is in the spr-in- g. "People have been housebound, itching to get out. The merchandise is fresh." If you advertise the sale to begin at a particular hour, stick together, "junk" Bundle magazines, like on Reader's Digest. Yankee, Popular Science, by the year and sell them 12 issues for $1 or $1.50. whatever the market will bear. Don't split out individual magazines for someone or you'll be left with all the un wanteds. Nothing is worse Mom said, than going to a yard sale and watching the sponsors bring out boxlots of items that aren't marked or sorted. "It's not worth the time and hassle to wade through it and ask about prices," she said. another table. Place attention getters near the front. Put delicate items in clear plastic bags so they can be seen but not damaged. PRICING Don't overprice, but don't underprice. Visit a few other yard sales a few weeks by it. It isn't fair to other customers if you give earlybirds a head start. LOCATION It's better to hold the sale in your garage or on - mm m lm. THE HERALD Provo, Hah-Pa- ce 29 9q H ahead to see what comparable items are going for. "Don't be afraid to dicker, but don't give the stuff away. If it's a good buy, you don't have to come down " - 5 DRAWING A CROWD -- let strangers into your house to use the phone or bathroom. They can case your house for a future Advertise in as many local newspapers as possible. Descriptively list a few "comeons" that will attract yard sale buffs, and even speculators Most yard sales are hekl over two days, and the second day can still draw a brisk business even though your merchandise has been picked over. HELP Have enough assistance on hand to keep an eye on all items and deal with customers. Save up enough bags break-i- n "It may seem hard-hearte- d, but just say you're sorry." Mom said. As you set up the sale, put item numbers as well as prices on all merchandise. Then list it. by number and price, in a notebook. Check off each item as it is sold. It helps prevent shoplifting and price switching, and leaves you with a quick total of what you made for a weekend's work. - and newspapers to wrap breakable items for the buyers. SECURITY Never leave as in your cash box untended the incident that got this tip sheet rolling. Under no circumstances - - WHAT SELLS? Everything Bedding, draperies, furniture and some clothes are usually gooa sen en. Even shoes. Mail Shopping Risky Shopping by mail can be a risky business, despite the best efforts of consumer protection agencies to prevent ripoffs. This is the time of year when mail order shopping peaks. An estimated 70 percent of orders are placed in the last quarter of the year, as people look for ways to save time and money on Christmas gifts. Nobody can guarantee satisfaction with every purchase. But you can protect yourself to many cases against everything from unintentional human errors to blatant ripoffs. Shopping tips from Hada Lugo de Slosser, of Cornell University's Cooperative Extension Service office in New York City, come partly from personal experience. In an interview Mrs. De Slosser said she and her husband have filed suits in federal court against two companies they ordered from last year that filed for reorganization before the De Slossers' orders were filled. Under federal law, she said, a company that files for reorganization can get a court order allowing It to keep customers' payments for unfilled orders for a courtdetermined period of time while the merchant uses whatever funds he has to pay off creditors. So, Mrs. De Slosser's first rule for mail order shopping is: Write the nearest FTC regional office to ask if any complaints are on file against the company you're thinking of ordering from and also ask the nature of the complaint(s). Better Business Bureaus can also tell consumers if a complaint has been filed against a particular company in its area, and the nature of the complaint. Mrs. De Slosser said she herself wouldn't order from a company against whom a formal complaint had been filed. ; Even if you restrict your orders to catalogs received within the past one or two months, she said, "Check to determine if the company is still in business. "If possible, order COD." That way you can't lose your money. Ask friends if they are familiar with the company and whether their experience's) with it were satisfactory. Another way to avoid problems is to deal only with companies that have a local catalog office or store or that you can reach easily by telephone, she said. A Federal Trade Commission regulation requires mail order companies to live up to their advertised delivery promises. If an ad or brochure says, for example, that the merchandise will be "rushed" to you in less than two weeks, federal law requires the merchant to ship it within that time. Even if no shipment or delivery date is stated, the law says: A customer's order must be shipped within 30 days of receipt by the seller or the seller must card send the customer a postage-pai- d to use for cancelling the order and obtaining a refund. If you choose not to use the cancellation card, the law says the seller must fill your order within an additional 30 days or get approval from you in writing for a further shipping delay. If after all this a problem develops IRS are There 10 le for kids nationwide: D.C., New York City, Boston, Cleveland, Ohio, Atlanta, Chicago, Dallas, Denver, Seattle, San Francisco and Los Angeles. Each has jurisdiction over a region usually covering several states. Hawaiian com- should be directed to the San Elaints office, Ms. Hotson said in an interview, and Alaskan complaints to the Seattle office. consumer telephones," she "If said, "we take the name and address, send a claim form and directions for filling it out." They also Include a copy of a free FTC brochure, "Shopping by Mail," that tells consumers their rights under the federal regulation. "Shopping by Mail" is also free to any consumer who requests it. A letter is preferable to a phone call, she said, because the staff is already hardpressed to handle the mail and telephone calls it gets from New York area consumers alone. Her office has jurisdiction over New York state, New Jersey, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. When a consumer returns an FTC form, she said, the complaint is evaluated. The type of action the FTC takes depends on such factors as the nature of the complaint nondelivery or faulty or dangerous merchandise, as examples; the number of complaints against the company and the company's size. "We take action only if a consumer requests it specifically," she said. If 'they simply send copies of correspondence without a request for action, the letters are filed. Copies are not shown anyone else without the writers' permission. Any letters the FTC writes in response to consumer complaints ask for the sellers' side of the story. A copy 'of the company's reply is then forwarded to the dissatisfied customer. "We are not authorized to resolve individual complaints," Ms. Hotson said, but added that a letter from the FTC usually helps tremendously in persuading companies to respond to the consumer and the problem. Ms. Hotson said some consumers are told their complaints should be sent to the U.S. Postal Service's mail fraud division via their area postal inspector. Another helpful brochure is free from the Direct MailMarketing Association, Inc., a trade organization representing 2,000 member companies in the SO states and 30 foreign countries. The companies range in size from shops to giant multinational corporations. DMMA maintains a Mail Order Action Line (6 East 43rd St., New York, N.Y. 10017) to act as consumer advocate for people with complaints. It also publishes a free "Consumer Guide Guide to Shopping by Mail" that answers the 10 questions most often asked about that subject. Washington, t ft ur nursery coordinates 1 off selected 20 diaper bags and infants' needs 20 off all playsuits, crawlabouts 20 off Disposable Diapers one-pers- Refund Checks Are Awaiting 467 LAKE (UPI) - The Internal like to return more than Revenue Service SALT El for example, or defective merchandise, write the FTC office nearest your place of residence, says SydeU Hotson, supervisor of the complaint unit of the New York regional office of the Federal Trade Commission. 30 off selected outwear 20 off Boys' for girls and boys sweatershirt sets m Bffl CITY would $158,000 to 467 individual Utah taxpayers and 56 businesses. But it can't find them. Utah IRS Director Roland V. Wise said refund checks are owed for the 1980 filing period, but " can't be delivered because the taxpayer has moved and left no forwarding address with the post office." 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