5 Things You Should Buy At Estate Sales (And what To Skip)

[mattl]

Came across this on HuffPo, interesting for folks here, very good advice for those that don't covet older appliances --leave them for those that do...

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/02/01/5-things-you-should-buy-at-estate-sales_n_4705169.html

 

[vintagekitchen]

well....

I suppose the article may be good advice for some, but my entire home has been outfitted from estate sales, with the odd flea market or thrift store item tossed in here and there.

All my appliances, large and small, estate sale items, except for the 2nd hand store stove and the 2nd hand washing machine. Gramma didn't keep that toaster because it was pretty, she kept it because she used it to make her toast! Lol. I have never bought a non working appliance at an estate sale, some of them were a bit ragged out, like a rather Loud mixer I bought, but they all worked.

Linens? Spot on! You can't buy the quality today of those vintage sheets for any price. All my linens are older than me, and in far better shape than a lot of people's that are only a few years old.

Furniture? Again, quality quality quality. The don't build sofas like they used to. I still regret parting with my Austin Powers style curved solid oak sofa done in burnt orange velvet, but it was solid oak, and actually too heavy to move for cleaning and rearranging without at least one extra person, preferably 2.

cookware? You'll pry my vintage enamel ware out of my cold dead hands, chips and all. Chips are fine. Cracking and flaking are not and again, new cookware just isn't made as well.

My house may be unconventional and old fashioned, but it feels like a home and everything in it works and is paid for. If my mixer gives up the ghost I will grieve because it may be several estate sales before I find a replacement, not because I paid 200 dollars for it and it's only a month out of warranty. And chances are if anything does break, it can be repaired, another thing you don't get with modern stuff.

 

[norgeway]

You Got That Right!

Every new thing I have bought I have hated, I tried a new range, I used it a year and sold it and went back to vintage, and im going to do the same with a refrigerator, my washer is 31 years old and my dryer is 41, I do not own a microwave, and the newest thing in my kitchen is a pressure cooker I bought at a yard sale...40.00 instead of over 200.00!, it is a Kuhn Rikon made in Switzerland, and it is quality, but my mixers are all old, same for blenders, my food processor is from the 80s but I bought it new in the box at the Goodwill for 15.00, its a Kitchen Aid, but I think its really a Cuisinart...Estate sales are my best resource!

 

[polkanut]

I confess to being an estate sale junkie.  It's my "drug" of choice. lol  I've found so many quality things over the years that it's hard to even think about buying something new anymore.  My latest purchase was an oval shaped side table identical to one my mom's parents bought new when they got married in 1932.  You'd never find something like that at IKEA.  90% of our everyday bed & bath linens are estate sale purchases.  The colors and patterns may scream 60's and 70's but the quality can't be beat.  And, the article is right about having cash in hand.  I've gotten some really good deals because I was cash ready, and the other person wasn't.  It also helps to make friends with the people who run the sales.  You can sometimes get even better deals.  I've even been invited to shop a sale the day before it opened to the general public.

 

[paulg]

Agreed

The article has good advice.
We too are estate-sale junkies. We don't buy every time we go out but we do notice quality. And I too don't buy new so often anymore as the good stuff is so inexpensive at estate sales.
My advice to kids getting their first apartment.... visit estate sales. You can get way farther, cheaper and better than buying new every time. I am still shocked at how much brand-new-in-box (or nearly new) quality merchandise for pennies on the dollar we've stumbled upon.

 

[yogitunes]

its all part of the adventure and thrill of finding stuff at estate sales and thrift shops......

some may be used, or need a little cleanup, but as mentioned, will most likely outlast most of us....

and who says you can't find "new in the box" at sales like this.....many of us have!.....although the warranty may have expired by more than a month....dag, to think, 30 years out of the warranty, and a belt snapped.....lol

http://www.automaticwasher.org/cgi-bin/TD/TD-VIEWTHREAD.cgi?23042

 

[epixstar128]

I have ok luck with esate sales you have to show up very early before the good stuff gos. We also around here have a few good estate sale companies and a few that just overprice everything

 

[carmine]

They missed A LOT, but that's OK with me, I don't need competition.

1) Cleaning products (certain kinds): $.25 for a gallon of bleach or a bottle of Windex? I'll take it!

2) Tools: High quality wrenches, sockets, etc. For the same price as Chinese junk? Yes please!

3) Lawn/Garden: Shovels for a few bucks, lawnmowers, leaf blowers and $2 hoes.

4) Garage items: Oil, carb cleaner, paint thinner. Same logic as the $.25 gallon of bleach, and every ounce I use is one less to dispose of an manufacture again! The earth smiles.

5) New, unused anything: I've found kitchen sinks still in the box, garage door openers, ceramic tile, plywood sheets, etc.

In fairness, I probably build, remodel and maintain more property than the average Huf Post reader. I just consider the old TVs, stereos and appliances to be icing on the discount cake!

 

[polkanut]

Around here any chemicals that are worth putting out are usually free items with a disclaimer to use at your own risk.  I've acquired some great stuff that way.

 

[yogitunes]

Look what I got!...Look what I got!...Look what I got!

better than anything, is coming back here to "Show and Tell" us all about it!....

 

[sarahperdue]

...and attics, oh my.

I recently attended a sale in a nineteenth century home that had been continuously occupied by the same family. The attic was open to the public. It was beautiful. The original, still in use knob and tube wiring was visible and in pristine condition. I wanted the bare bulb pendant lights with turn keys more than anything else in the sale although I did find some $2 gems up there.