here is a huge industry on the Island that never appears in any economic data, is never recorded and massive amounts of money change hands behind closed doors.

But this is no illicit drugs trade or people dealing in black market goods ? it is the vast quantity of house and yard sales held every week in Bermuda.

Signs declaring ?leaving the Island sale? and ?yard sale? with fluorescent arrows pointing the way magically spring up every Saturday morning, and hundreds flock to the doors of the departing and the yards of the thrifty looking to get rid of surplus household items.

House sales have a huge following and many of the same faces go forth early every Saturday to hunt for a bargain ? or simply a nose around somebody else?s home. And one woman is cashing in on the rounds of never-ending house sales while at the same time helping the clueless householder price, label, display and ultimately sell their goods. It all started five years ago when a friend asked Lela Stearn if she would help her organise her house sale. Mrs. Stearn?s friend?s husband was ill at the time and the couple were downsizing to a more manageable home out of Tucker?s Town ? and had a lifetime of knick knacks, bric-a-brac and treasured heirlooms to dispose of from a large family home.

Mrs. Stearn, a fan of house sales for many years and an avid collector of china and glass, threw herself into the task at hand found that she not only thoroughly enjoyed it, but was good at it.

?It was one of the hardest things I had ever done,? she said. ?There was so much to do and so much to sell, but we did it, and did it in one weekend. Everything we did not sell we boxed up and gave to charity ? and it wasn?t that much to be honest.?

nd it was from this small kernel that Mrs. Stearn?s business and The Good Riddance Girl was born.

What she offers, for a percentage of the takings (usually 20 percent), is to come into a house, condo or apartment and sort everything out for a a variety of sales including leaving, moving house, house contents sales, or estate sales.

?Everything has to be clean, in good condition, labelled and displayed properly,? said Mrs. Stearn. ?It is important how things look to make people want to buy them. Also you want to make sure that you don?t over price or under price things.

?It is hard for people to do this sometimes. There are things that people price too high and you will never get your money back on. Things like custom made drapes or large cabinets made for a specific space. And it is hard for people to realise it and swallow a realistic price. On the other hand there may be people who have pre-blight cedar furniture and don?t realise what it is or how much it is worth and sell it off for $50.?

The full Good Riddance Girl service starts with an appraisal, where Mrs. Stearn comes in to assess the value of items to be sold. And she said she brings friends in the antique business when she is not sure of what the exact dating or valuing of an object is.

?I have to read and read and read to keep up to date with prices and what is popular and what is not. I have a huge library and lots of friends in the trade who help me out if I am unsure,? she said.

The service also includes making up an inventory of the sale items, advertising and publicity for the sale as well as the laborious and much hated job of putting up signs leading the way to the house sale. All the items for sale are price and tagged and the sale area organised, and Mrs. Stearn brings in extra tables to display goods on.

?It is important to set like items with like items, to put all the lamps in one place, ornaments in another and we fold up linens neatly with ribbons. Everything has to be individually tagged make sure everything looks as good as it can.?

She will then come along, either on her own or with staff, depending on the size of the sale and make important decisions about when to lower the price of goods ? before the sale winds down too much.

?You want to get rid of everything, so there is a point at which you need to start knocking down the price, and you have to know when to do that.?

Then she will cash all the cheques and make sure that the client gets their money quickly following the sale.

She said: ?There are a lot of people who don?t know what to do, or dread the idea of having a house sale. And it can be very difficult selling your own goods, things that you are attached to... having people come into your home and haggle over your possessions. And there is the pricing that stumps a lot of folk. And then there are people who are leaving in a hurry, and just need to sell everything, and need someone to do it as quickly as possible, and have a cheque sent on to them.?

Mrs. Stearn said she does not take on as much work as she could as she does not want it to be a full time job. Instead refers to her work as something she loves and gives her ?pin money? to buy what she likes without having to ask her husband for hand-outs.

?You could definitely make a living out of it though,? she said. ?There is the scope to do it that way. But I enjoy being able to decide when to work and to take time off to visit relatives in the US when I want.?

Mrs. Stearn moved to Bermuda over a decade ago after meeting and falling in love with her Bermudian husband while in New Orleans. She had everything she wanted, a beautiful house, loving husband and enough money not to work. She learnt to paint and draw (her colourful pictures are hung across her house) and had a large family ? but she missed working. Before moving to Bermuda she been a real estate agent in the States, and loved the art of selling. ?And I am good at it,? she said. ?Some people just are.?

Collecting and house sales became a regular feature in her life, and the job of helping others set up for them seemed to come naturally to her.

Her husband, however, has put a ban on her buying anything else for their house and can come back to find strange objects in his garage.

?He is supportive of what I do. But he does get annoyed sometimes when he can?t park the car,? she said laughing.

But she would not change what she does for the world, and hopes to be able to continue with her business for a long time to come. ?You have to be a people person and enjoy coming into contact with people all the time. I love doing what I do, and would not change it for any other job.? Mrs. Stearn has a website at www.goodriddancegirl.com.