New Jersey Man hosts a garage sale and posts about it on Facebook. Then a man shows up at his door and says he can avoid 10 days in jail for $5

No one planning a garage sale should have to worry about being served a notice, fined, or even jailed for holding one. Unfortunately, that became a reality for Ralph Escava (onedayiturnedgreen). In a video posted to his TikTok account, Escava said a man showed up at his house a couple of weeks after he hosted a garage sale and accused him of a “town violation” for holding it.

The man even had proof: a photocopy of the ad Escava had posted on Facebook to announce the sale. Escava said that the man threatened him with a fine and even jail time, specifying a possible ten-day stay in a cell.

Wanting to know if there was a workaround, Escava asked. According to Escava, the man said he could “make it all go away” if Escava paid a $5 penalty. Escava paid the amount, but he was left thoroughly confused about the circumstances of the incident.

The curious case of the $5 fee

Worried he might have been “scammed,” Escava said he called the town to confirm. From their conversation, he learned the town had “sent some pencil pusher to his door” to collect exactly what he was asked to pay. “I mean, come on, what are you doing? The guy, the guy’s getting his car, driving around. He’s making photocopies, and then they got $5 out of it. What is going on? I don’t understand how the town works,” Escava said.

Escava wasn’t the only one questioning the nominal fee he was charged. Commenters on his post raised similar issues, with some noting that the person who took the money from him may have spent more on gas and the photocopy he brought along.

A few others suggested that Escava may have been charged a permit fee. A Reddit thread also discusses the issue, though in the context of Colombia rather than Dumont. Some users said local governments sometimes charge people a fee for holding a sale on their property, reportedly around $5.

In his video, Escava says he is in Dumont, New Jersey. While the video doesn’t address the town’s rules, a circular from the Government of Dumont, dating back to at least 2020, outlines the requirements for holding a garage or yard sale. 

According to the document, one requirement is that individuals must obtain a permit. Another requires posting public notice at three locations on the private property. The circular states that no fee is required to hold a garage or yard sale. However, since it dates to 2020 and it is now 2026, these guidelines, including the no-fee provision, are subject to change. Nevertheless, they are still worth noting when considering Escava’s case.

The Mary Sue has reached out to Escava for comment.

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