Finding Treasures at Estate Sales
Save Money Buying at Estate Sales; How to Find Bargains
Feb 11, 2008
Have you seen estate sales advertised in the paper but didn't know if it would be worth your while to attend one? Get great deals and make money at estate sales.
If you think estate sales are full of old junk and aren’t worth your time, you might be missing out on a treasure trove of antiques and collectibles, or just stuff you could resell on e-bay and make a profit! Either way, you need to know what to look out for and what to avoid.
Navigating Estate Sales
- Arrive early and often. You can’t just visit an estate sale, circle around the place once and call it a day. Plan to put on your walking shoes and make a day of it. First, scout out all the merchandise and take notes. If you see something that looks halfway valuable or an item that is so cheap you are sure you could sell it on e-bay or Amazon for a profit, take note. Don’t make a mad dash through the crowd and grab it, not yet anyway. First go out to your car and look up the item on e-bay and see how much it’s going for. If you can’t get a wireless connection there, connect at the nearest Starbucks. If you see the going rate is at least 20 percent higher than the estate sale price, go back and grab it. Don’t skip this step. Because even if you think you can make a killing on a certain item, you might be wrong. And then you’re stuck with it.
- Comparison shop. Make a list of all the estate sales you want to visit in one day. Set a budget and stick with it. Don’t blow all your money at the first sale. You might be missing out on a treasure trove of merchandise at the next one. Remember, you can always come back. These events usually last two or three days. And no, the good stuff is not always gone in the first hour. A lot of people don’t know a valuable item when they see it.
- Line up transportation ahead of time. If you’ve been searching for a cherry wood dining set for ages and suddenly come across one at a Saturday morning sale, you’d better have a way to get it home. Estate sales don’t offer set up and delivery.
- Negotiate! Unless there’s a line of people fighting over the same item, you have negotiating clout. Estate sales usually involve an entire house full of stuff. And the folks often want to get rid of it fast. So try and get the best deal you can. But come prepared with information. You don’t have to be as knowledgeable as a Price Is Right contestant, but you need to have a good feel for the market, so you can make a thoughtful offer. And if you’re buying a lot, it wouldn’t hurt to ask for a quantity discount.
The copyright of the article Finding Treasures at Estate Sales in Consumer Education is owned by L. Marie Dubuque. Permission to republish Finding Treasures at Estate Sales in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.
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