Estate Sales Nightmares!

[Kevinpreston3]

Almost all my antiques and collectibles I have purchased from antique or vintage stores, or specialty sellers. Most of the toys I have collected were from EBAY.

That said, neither venues have proven effective for finding my dream hi fi. So, I decided to go the estate sale route. Many other writers have been very successful in doing this. I figured I would try a mix of neighborhoods, since something like this may turn up just about anywhere.

This weekend was my third weekend trip out. To say that I came up short is a great understatement.

I don't know how this is in the rest of the US/Canada, but here in Southern California, people have started using "Estate Sales" as another word for garage sales. I can't stand garage sales. In every area and neighborhood around here on Saturday is huge for them...everyone in their front yard with broken baby items, old clothes, and crappy veneer particle board furniture. People swarm to these, amazingly. So, evidently, people have started using the Estate Sale name for garage sales. In fact, the one I went to today had signs in front proclaiming "Garage Sale", even though it was advertised in the paper as an Estate Sale. WTH?

I picked three for today. Two in Upland, and one in the nice part of Pomona. Perfect neighborhoods in that they are older and could very much have older folks unloading their (hopefully) mint Zenith console.

The first one we rolled up to was the one that was advertised as an Estate Sale. We get there and it has "Garage Sale in Back" written on signs.

I took my son with me, and as we got out of the car, this middle aged lady came out of the back yard with a huge smile carrying two reused WalMart bags jammed with whatever. She was positively beaming..."Alot of goodies in there" she exclaimed. My son was doing a spot on impression of her for the rest of the day, and I am still looking for goodies.

Anyways, we went into this tiny back yard and there was just piles of clothing on the ground. People were rooting through it like cattle grazing in the fields. One of the ladies running this was explaining to another couple that she had "the advertised vintage fridge" in the garage. She stated that it just needed a new handle, and that it did not get cold, but it ran. She wanted a couple of hundred dollars for it. Translation: I am going to charge $300 for a fridge that rattles and smokes when you plug it in, doesn't work and the door won't open. I passed.

I was half expecting one of the women to make a special deal on the clothes that the poor owner died in. (Hey they just need a good cleaning!) colostomy bags (hey, they are almost new!) or maybe a pile of dirt that you can haul away (perfect for backyard projects!). There was a big bucket of assorted intact and broken ceramic skulls...at least I hope they were ceramic.

The next one was a "Huge Estate Sale!!!, with alot of vintage electronics, fashions, and antiques". We got there early, so it is doubtful the good stuff was sold. What we did find was a broken early 90s RCA TV (sound works though!), a bunch of old clothes hanging on a rack (rack itself was labeled "not for sale"), a 286 Computer (monitor doesn't work) and part of a "classic beer can collection". There was an amazing assortment of old sneakers, each one had a hole in the same place on the left foot. Perhaps that was the cutout to accomodate the "sixth toe". A whole stack of VCRs for one low price, with a taped-on note that stated "all need work". There was a nice glove, note, glove. An extra roll of roof tar paper. There was a large clear pickle jar of used baby bottle nipples too.

The last one today was one I went to by mistake, it was for Sunday but I misread it. Thought I would knock on the door, apologize, and just ask if they had a hi fi. The door was wide open, as was the back door. It was a small house that you could practically look through. There was no one in the house or anywhere around it. I left before looking for someone who might have hung themselves in a closet, or before I got shot. But they didn't have a hi fi anyways.

Ok, I'm done. Think I will just stick to EBAY even if it takes a year or two to find what I want. I love a bargain too, but not going to waste a whole day on a crapshoot. The Rose Bowl show is coming up, and I am there for the next one...that is always an interesting place and maybe I can get word of mouth going.

 

[whirlcool]

A lot of people on Ebay state that the goods they have come from Garage Sales/Estate sales. I wonder how they do it? Most of the garage sales I have been to have been the same as the previous post, junky, broken, dirty items.
I have a freind who has an estate sale business where when an elderly person passes on, her company comes in and takes over for the family, packing, transporting and arranging the items for an estate sale. She gets some great stuff, sometimes. There was a set of Baccarat Crystal in one house, a woman came in and offered $5.00 for ONE glass of the set. She was told the price was $400.00 for the entire set. She walked out. My freind said they are in business to sell the items, not give them away! Their job is to get the max $$$ for the items for the surviving family members and the estate.
Usually on the first day of the sale at opening at 7:00am are the Ebayers. Always trying to get something for nothing. Companies that do estate sales have some idea of how much each item is worth. A glimpse at Ebay & "Completed Items" show you approximately what people are willing to pay for an item.
The only estate sales I usually go to are the ones that are run by large auction houses. You can get some good deals there, but more than once I have looked at an item or two, only to have it "grouped" with a bunch of other items at auction time and sold as a lot. Then it gets expensive!

 

[jetaction]

Here in MN......

That is a sad story. In Minneapolis, St. Paul there are many estate sales every weekend. One time not so long ago I counted 23. We have several businesses that deal strictly with estate sales, and regulars come to recognize the name associated with the sale. Every so often you see a hand written sign (like I did today) for an estate sale and it turns out to be a garage sale like you mentioned. I am always tempted to walk inside the house and start looking around.... and when I am told that the sale is not inside, I say,,,, "but you advertised an estate sale!:" Not sure why we have so many, any thoughts about that by others????

 

[whirlcool]

My freind who has the estate sale business has a newsletter she sends out each month. In this newsletter it has a schedule of where each estate sale will be for the upcoming month. So if you go to these you know it's going to be a true estate sale rather than a simple garage sale.
I met this woman one time who actually thought the following:
She thought that an estate sale was like a garage sale for the rich. She said that rich people don't live in houses like you and I, they live in these huge homes called "estates". And like any house an "estate" will only hold so many puchases. So when the rich fill up (and clutter up) their homes, they have these estate sales to clear things out so that they can then go out and buy all new stuff for their estates! I wish we had bold print option here, but this woman really and truly believed this is the way things worked!

 

[petek]

Kevin what you should do is call up a few auction companies and ask them to email or fax you flyers for their upcoming estate sale/auctions. They're usually advertized in the classifieds section of most newspapers in fairly large ads listing many of the items, not those little ads like people holding garage sales (fake estate sales) use.

A pickle jar of nipples hahahhaha

I hear ya.. ooooh and all that baby stuff,, nuttin gets me more excited than broken Fisher Price.

 

[kenwashesmonday]

I was at an estate sale a while back. Prices were high, so I came back during the last hour hoping for some bargains. An announcement was made "We will bring more merchandise in on Wednesday". Imagine using a dead persons home to sell your wares. I should have reported them to the town.

Ken D.

 

[retromom]

OY!

Kevin:

I am still roaring with laughter about your post! :-D

It's true. There are so many people out there advertising "estate sales" when in reality it's just a big, junky garage sale! I really have a pet peeve about those "professional garage salers" who try to dispose of their junk every weekend. Geez, is this a business or what?

A couple of my beefs about estate sales out here are:

Prices that are absurd - I went to an estate sale where they had a little handy hot portable washer marked at $200.00 and a vintage Osterizer for $20.00. Oh please!

Bringing other crap to the sale - Some of these people that handle estate sales bring items from previous sales that weren't sold. While there may be a treasure in the rubble, it is usually garbage that should have been tossed out after the last customer was gone.

Limited access - I understand that you can only fit a certain amount of people in a house, but these folks treat these places like museums; or worse, like an exclusive disco where you have to wait in long tortuous lines for the "bouncer" to let you in.

No negotiating - I find that the "professionally held" estate sales don't want to be flexible on the price like garage sale folks. C'mon guys, you are going to mark it down half price the next day anyway! A token couple of dollars isn't going to ruin your profit!

Ebayers - Those who push and shove their way into the already cramped quarters hoping to find an original Picasso with which to make their fortune for retirement!

Ok, enough complaining. Genuine estate sales held by family members and not professional handlers are much more fun!

Venus - still laughing about the colostomy bags!

 

[whirlcool]

I agree about the family

handling the estate sale themselves. They usually know the history of the items for sale and that makes it much more fun to know about something when you buy it!

 

[Kevinpreston3]

And it makes no sense either.....

Before we moved, I threw alot of stuff out.

My son had outgrown his brand new Graco baby swing. He rarely used it. I mean, this was mint, I had the box and all the instructions. My neighbors across the street were having a garage sale, so I asked if I could put the swing there, along with a never used baby changing table (we ended up not having the room and just changed him on the bed!) for $10 each. That's right, $10. I told the people I would split it with them.

The place was mobbed. People mostly bought their old clothes. Yech. And my items? Saturday and Sunday, mobs of people, no one bought them. So, I took them to Goodwill, which refused them, citing baby item safety standards change and they could not accept them. Can you believe that? So, I just set them out by the trash and wouldn't you know it, someone took them. Too cheap to pay a few dollars, but hell, they'll take them for free. I am glad I am not the kids of parents who take baby items out of people's trash.

I also set an old TV out that did not work. I don't mean a cool old TV, but one of those cheap $100 China jobs for the kids' room. This guy pulls over, "Hey, you gonna throw this away?!" I told him it didn't work, and pointed out that one side was mysteriously, and disturbingly, bowing outward. He asked if he could have it anyways. I said knock yourself out.

It is amazing what people will go for out of your trash. These are not curious Beaver Cleaver kids just looking for something to play with, but grown adults. I started out too when I was young with a $1200 a month job and literally a bed, one lamp (which was moved from living room to bedroom at night until I could afford a second light) a TV and a card table and 2 chairs. So, I had basically nothing too...but going through people's trash? Passing up something brand new and perfect in the box for $10? You get the feeling that these people are not poor and desperate (all the cars at the garage sale that I saw were nice and the people were dressed well) but just people out to get anything they can for free. Do these people have any real interests for the weekend, or is this just what they do? Is there a big market for used 60 year old women's clothing?

It never ceases to amaze me. Oh, and get this. The neighbor who had the garage sale? Two items were stolen from him. Can you believe that? Going to a garage sale and stealing from the people. Un-freaking-real.

Some day I am going to take a box for a nice item, fill it with a few rocks and scrap metal to make a jingling sound, seal it up like the factory and leave it out in front of my house. Someone will take it and have a nice surprise when they get home, dump out rocks and sand on their carpet, and read my little note: "Have a nice day!"

 

[hoover1060]

Here in the Chicago area:

I have noticed the same thing with the Estate/Garage sale confusion.
I don't hit every estate sales every weekend, but when I do they are fun. Its about a 50/50 shot on stuff being a bargan or over priced.
Garbage: The garbage picking trade is unbelievable. Trash in Roselle goes out on Tuesday night, and usually by 8pm the "pickers" are out. I see the same ones every week. Usually some small/medium box truck, and one guy in a Buick Roadmonster station wagon, who goes thru people's trash with a flashlight.
I suspect the stuff they are finding winds up at the flea markets on the weekends.

 

[dalangdon]

Seattle Estate Sales

are nowhere near as cool as the Minneapolis estate sales, which I loved going to (except for that one in Brooklyn park where the bad decor gave me a headache ;-)

I think part of it has to do with the midwest: People tend to stay put there. When I was growing up we did not get a new neighbor on our street until I was 18, and two of the six houses still have their early 60's owners.

Here, hardly anyone is from here, and the people that are tended to cash out their houses early in the real estate boom - or lost their houses in the 70's Boeing Bust.

That's not to say that we don't have the occassional good sale, but nothing like the twin cities.

We used to have a great "swap meet" in an old drive-in theatre, but that got taken over by "sample sales", which is are far worse than the worst garage sale.

 

[Cybrvanr]

I have made good with the appetite for people to rummage through trash in my neighborhood to take things. I noticed that articles would start dissapearing before the trashman would get them. I figure it is nice that someone else can use the items, instead of letting them go to the landfill and pollute.

I made up a sign that I put out by the street near my trash that says "FREE, TAME ME HOME". I will put that out by the street corner by something I need to get rid of. I have gotten rid of old computers, broken electronics, building material scrap, dumpy furniture, etc. I don't like going though the hassle of attempting to sell something I'll only be getting a few dollars for, so it's nice knowing I can get rid of things, and give them to someone that can.

We are so wasteful in this country, buying things we don't need, on money we don't have. Then we realize we don't need whatever it is anyways, so we throw it in the trash! It's nice to know that some people out there are not afraid to buy something second hand just because it's secondhand, or a little out of style

 

[spiralactivator]

I've never been to a typical estate sale, but I did attend two "public sales," or estate auctions. I'm never going to another one. Watching a roomful of 40- and 50-year-olds fighting like bratty children over (often literal) junk kind of erodes one's faith in humanity. Not to mention the "professional bidders" hired to drive the prices up.

 

[tolivac]

I will be glad when I am transfered to the "midnights" shift here at work-on the way home can catch the yard-garage sales-they can be interesting around here.One sale I caught the person was selling a Ford N tractor with a new Bush Hog for $200.Too bad I couldn't use it-was in nice shape.He also had a couple of Snapper riding mowers-and some appliances-no boring broken baby furniture and clothes there!The yard sales in the DC area had the baby clothes and furniture.One did yeild a Vita-Mix though.Will see what they bring when I am on my new Shift!-these can even be held year-round out here.

 

[westytoploader]

WOW, a Ford 8N/9N/2N with a new brush hog for only $200? Can't believe it...not only would I have fainted right there, I would have grabbed some cash and taken that baby home on the spot...even if I had to borrow a trailer!!

I have mixed luck with garage/estate sales here. I have found a commercial Osterizer and several other smalls, as well as my '83 Zenith console that I can't do without, but I have yet to find a vintage vacuum or W/D set in good shape...

 

[tolivac]

If I bought that tractor-I could have "motored" it home-the sale was just near my house at that time.I just couldn't picture me mowing my yard with it-would have been fun to use it to chop down the brush in the woods behind my house!!Come to think of it-I did get an Osterizer,and another Vita-Mix at a yard sale in my housing district.And a Kirby Heritage vac complete with the pair of air powered hair shears-Flo-Bee eat your heart out-the Kirby one works well-and like the Flo-Bee-vacuums up the clippings.As I say-Yard sales in the NC country are interesting-now if only another Ford tractor??-just would be fun to have.I also got a Grundig Hi-Fi console at a yard sale out here as well-had to sell it when I moved-was nice though.Grundig made some very nice consoles.Put them up there with Magnavox,Fisher,Scott and Packard Bell.

 

[tomturbomatic]

Jason and I went to an estate sale from hell more than 2 years ago, I guess. The outfit running it was famous for hauling truckloads of strange stuff to palm off as the "estate." So their crap is spread out everywhere, but downstairs in the sorta finished "wreck" room, underneath tons of stuff is an old BOL Westinghouse range, early 50s if not 1950 because it still had 5 heat surface units. Neighbors across the street when I was growing up had one of these because they needed a stove and found this one in an old house and the hubby, so tight he squeaked when he walked, offered the landlord something for it and they became the owners. It was a beautiful range that the nieghbors had and this on was like it, but they did not have a price on it so I asked about it. Well, I was asked to make an offer. They probably had not planned to sell it. I should have told the people I was not at an auction, but I made an offer that was laughed at. I can always hope they got several strangulated hernias removing the now "antique" range from the house.

 

[retromom]

One man's trash.......

REx: I have to laugh! Everybody gets the good stuff and we get the crap! Truly, the grass does look greener on the other side! I always run into smutzy bol Kenmores. FEH!

As far as the garbage scavengers are concerned: Have at it! I am more than happy to let someone have what I have thrown out. Our trash service can be picky, and they often leave things behind that they consider too bulky or heavy. These resourceful people that have taken my shelving, bicycles, etc. help me out. If not for them, I would have to haul it to our recycler and pay for the disposal!

Tom: Don't you hate people that don't really want to sell the stuff they are supposed to be selling?

Have fun estate sale-ing all!

Venus

 

[Washinsheen]

Fake Estate Sales!!!

When I lived in Dallas, my friend and I were addicted to estate sales. We would absolutely HATE it when we'd arrive at an advertised "estate" sale, only to find it to be a garage sale. We always wondered if the culprits intentially advertised the sale as an estate sale in the hopes of drawing in more people. If so, very rude!!

Speaking of, I had a friend who advertised his garage sale as having things like a washer & dryer, baby & children's clothes, etc., none of which was true. This was a ploy to attract more shoppers to the sale, which worked. When people would arrive and ask for the fictitious items, he was say something like, "We just sold them! Someone came in the first thing this morning and cleaned us out!" And then the people would look at what was actually available. Isn't that horrible?!