A never-ending yard sale? While this may be the dream of bargain shoppers, a daily estate sale at 38 Townsend Avenue in Boothbay Harbor has raised eyebrows and caught the attention of town officials who look to define what is an acceptable amount of time for casual sales of tangible property. 

As it stands now, the estate sale could require a license, said Planning Board Vice Chairman Bill Hamblin.

“There is a license required for peddling and soliciting,” Hamblin told the select board July 26. “A license for a year is $500 or a license for 10 days is $100. If activity is going on for 10 days, perhaps there needs to be a license.”

He read the board this statute: “No person shall hawk, peddle goods or merchandise at retail within town without a license therefore shall be construed to mean all persons or agents  who engage in temporary or transience business in this town either in one locality or traveling from place to place selling goods, wares, merchandise and who for the purpose of carrying on such business hire, lease, or occupy any property building or structure for the exhibition and sale of goods, wares and merchandise who sell goods, wares and merchandise from a car, wagon or conveyance such as a steamer or vessel.”

“A continuous yard sale strikes me as being a business and should have a license,” Hamblin told the board.

Curiously enough, there are no codes which specifically address yard sales, said Hamblin.

Every weekend across the U.S., there are about 45,000 garage sales, according to TagSellIt.com, and with the state of the economy, the number of those sales appears to be growing in popularity.

Due to this, across the country, cities and towns are looking to limit the number of sales homeowners may have each year.

In Augusta, a yard sale ordinance was drafted for city councilors to consider in an effort to put an end to long-term, ongoing yard sales by limiting their duration and frequency.

Ward 4 City Councilor Anna Blodgett raised the issue, saying she was prompted by seeing yard sales that don’t end, and where the homeowners leave their lawns covered with stuff for sale, 24 hours a day, seven days a week, for weeks, months or even, in a few cases, years, according to the Morning Sentinel. 

On Townsend Avenue, the goods for sale have ranged from desks, to bed frames, lobster buoys and even what appears to be a wagon wheel. Is this a temporary sale done in good faith or an attempt to subvert the retail process? According to the property owner, it’s simply a yard sale. 

“I had some things to get rid of after my mother died,” said Dan, who declined to give his last name. “My grandsons are usually the ones who run it every day.”

In addition to the items on the sidewalk, numerous goods are for sale inside the first floor of the residence which was formally occupied by an Asian nail salon. As for the long term, Dan said he is trying to free up space to create an art gallery.

For now, the ongoing estate sale will continue as the town further defines its position.

“We don’t want to prevent anyone from having a casual sale,” said Selectman Wendy Wolf. “When it extends on and on, that’s a different entity altogether.”