John - are you passing on the $200 labor savings to the customer? I doubt it as you'd still be working for wages and it'd be unusual for someone with that mentality to garner the knowledge you have. Most setters are going to charge a set "fee" for a shower pan or per sq. foot of tile. If they do it faster they pocket more, if slower they make less. Just the business. Not a lot of TQM studies in the trades. So for the consumer, it's just not a selling point. Cheaper material cost is something they get behind frequently. Another problem I have , more of a reservation with these products is they are not "time tested" like 20 years real world tested like a mud job over tar paper. Don't get me wrong , I like these things, spec and use them all ( except the Laticrete) , just have that little feeling in the back of the mind like: Am I going to be the guy that touted polybutylene or GP siding. Those were "the latest and greatest" until they weren't 20 years later. Another thing consumers need to be aware of with the liquid applied membranes is that strict thickness guidelines need to be followed for them to work and I rarely see enough of the stuff applied in the field by mechanics. Another issue of concern is with hybrid methods. I'm sure you guys are all upstanding and care about you rep, but you are providing the warranty in these systems as the manuf. will only step up if you use the complete system. That's fine as long as the end user is aware of this.

Lots of good advice here and it sounds like you have some of this stuff already covered but here's my advice. I go to a lot of garage sales. Signage: I would definitely put your address including number on the signs. Garage Sale - 1234 Elm Street - and an arrow is all you need. Definitely go with a color theme on the sign. A bright color poster helps people follow the signs from far away. Make your signs two sided so that people coming from either direction can read it. Starting time: Whatever starting time you advertise, be out there at least 30 minutes earlier to put your stuff out. By the time the starting time rolls around, everything should be set out. You'll have early birds no matter what but when I arrive at a sale at or after the starting time and they are still putting stuff out, it's annoying. I'm not going to stand around waiting to see what's coming. There are lots of other garage sales waiting for me and the good stuff is going so I don't want to waste time. Oh! and start somewhere between 7 & 8. Any later is too late and you will lose the early customers. Pricing: Price everything. I won't ask for a price. If nothing is priced, I leave. Be willing to haggle but the haggle should be simple. Will you take $1 for this? Yes, no or a counter offer. I don't care what you paid for it, what price it would be if I bought it in a store, how meaningful it is/was to you or any other information EXCEPT if you are willing to take the amount I offered or if you have a counter offer. The money you paid for the stuff you have is GONE. You will never have that money back. Now it's about what you can make today. And that is based on what someone is willing to pay. Price your stuff according to that, not according to what you paid. When people make an offer, depending on the time of day, consider whether you want to have it left over. First thing in the morning you can afford to be more steadfast, depending on the item. As the day wears on, keep in mind that the person making the offer may be the last person to be interested. Do you want to be stuck with the item or have the money? Haggle but don't argue. Once you've gone your lowest, if the customer doesn't want it at that price, that's the end of the conversation. Don't get into an argument even if they try to. It's a turn off to other customers. Smile and walk away. Lemonade: I wouldn't do lemonade, can drinks and bottled water sell much better. Put a bunch of cans in an ice chest and sell them for 75c. They go. Books: don't make me paw through stacked books in a box. Put them spine up so I can easily glance at the titles. Don't bother individually pricing books either. Hardbacks $1 and paperbacks 50 cents. Done. Put up multiple signs with those prices, depending on how many you have. Magazines, 25 cents. That's what they charge at the used book sales at the library so that's what I'd do too. Oh, one more thing, Please take your signs down after the sale is over. Won't make a bit of difference to your bottom line but it's the right thing to do. It's frustrating to follow signs to a sale that doesn't exist. Good luck!!!

Hurricane Sandy Recovery This link has a lot of information Get Help Register for Assistance: Survivors in declared counties in New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut can register for assistance. Learn more information and FAQs before you apply for assistance. Business Loans - Your business may be eligible for disaster assistance from the Small Business Administration. Government Contracting - The General Services Administration helps federal, state, and local governments get supplies, equipment, and services needed to support disaster relief. USDA Offers Food Assistance to Those Affected by Hurricane Sandy State of New York, USDA is working with the state, the Food Bank of New York City, and partner agencies to distribute approximately 1.1 million pounds of USDA Foods. Food will be distributed through nearly 1,000 designated emergency feeding outlets to affected households in New York City, Long Island, and Westchester and Rockland counties New Jersey, USDA worked late last week with the State of New Jersey and the Community Food Bank of New Jersey to coordinate the delivery of 39,000 pounds of USDA Foods to support congregate feeding efforts. The food bank will combine USDA Foods with existing food stocks to produce 15,000 meals per day for 5-7 days to be distributed in cooperation with the Red Cross and Salvation Army at shelters. USDA is working closely with states and industry partners in affected states to remind Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) retailers of the procedure for manually processing SNAP transactions during power outages, in order to ensure that SNAP recipients living in areas affected by power outages continue to have access to food. In certain areas in New York, USDA has granted a waiver to allow SNAP recipients to purchase hot foods using SNAP benefits. Under normal circumstances, SNAP benefits cannot be used to purchase hot, ready-to-eat foods. USDA has granted this waiver to accommodate individuals that have lost homes, are affected by power outages, or are otherwise unable to prepare food due to damage caused by the hurricane. USDA has approved requests from the states of Connecticut, Maryland, New York, Rhode Island and Virginia and to issue automatic, mass replacements of benefits to SNAP households in certain areas affected by the hurricane. USDA has also approved requests from the states of USDA has approved requests from the states of Connecticut, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Virginia and West Virginia to extend the time SNAP recipients have to report loss of food purchased using SNAP benefits and to request replacement benefits. *or more information about disaster nutrition assistance, visit direct PDF link. Visit this link for the latest Hurricane Sandy Response information and resources available from government agencies.

After posting on a couple of more messageboards, I received information from someone who claimed to have worked for the IRS. From information on his post, I looked up information on bad debts from the IRS site and this is what it says: Topic 453 - Bad Debt Deduction If someone owes you money that you cannot collect, you may have a bad debt. For a discussion of what constitutes a valid debt, refer to Publication 550, Investment Income and Expenses, and Publication 535, Business Expense. To deduct a bad debt, you must have previously included the amount in your income or loaned out your cash. If you are a cash basis taxpayer, as most individuals are, you may not take a bad debt deduction for income you expected to receive but did not because the amount was never included in your income. For a bad debt, you must show that there was an intention at the time of the transaction to make a loan and not a gift. There are two kinds of bad debts  business and nonbusiness. A business bad debt, generally, is one that comes from operating your trade or business. A business deducts its bad debts from gross income when figuring its taxable income. Business bad debts may be deducted in part or in full. All other bad debts are nonbusiness. Nonbusiness bad debts must be totally worthless to be deductible. You cannot deduct a partially worthless nonbusiness bad debt. You must establish that you have taken reasonable steps to collect the debt and the debt is worthless. It is not necessary to go to court if you can show that a judgment from the court would be uncollectible. You may take the deduction only in the year the debt becomes worthless. A debt becomes worthless when the surrounding facts and circumstances indicate there is no longer any chance the amount owed will be paid. You do not have to wait until a debt is due to determine whether it is worthless. A nonbusiness bad debt is reported as a shortÂterm capital loss in Part 1 on Form 1040, Schedule D (PDF). It would be subject to the capital loss limitations. A nonbusiness bad debt deduction requires a separate detailed statement attached to your return. For more information on nonbusiness bad debts, refer to Publication 550, Investment Income and Expenses. For more information on business bad debts, refer to Publication 535, Business Expenses. -------------------- I'm going to use this route. At the very least, as coolvt indicated, it will make the IRS aware of this person and hopefully they will probe into his business.