"Professionally" run Estate Sales...

[bigcaddy]

The posting above me, with a few other reasons why i go to sales!! Tucko hit the nail on the head.

You never know what you are going to find buried in the house or garage or were the search is going to take you. I live in an area that has no real rural section, Greater LA Area, so its rare to find a barn to rummage through but i've been in them before. I've also checked out factories, werehouses, old mansions in the Valley, new mansions in Malibu and one house in Glendale with a 4 level basement. That house was killer and one of the scariest places i've ever walked through.

Some of the Pro companies can be a pain and i have a short list of ones that i will never frequent but the rest, once they get to know you, are pretty accomodating if you are a buyer.

The private sales are usually hit or miss like others have said. Sometimes they are outrageously expensive and other times they are almost handing it away. Some of my best finds are from the private sales or companies i've built good relationships with.

My last reason for attending sales is because rooting in a garage for stuff is my new hobby. I get to go out early, see some friends, dig in a garage for great "junk", watch adults act like children over particular items and further my collections all while spending a fraction for what the stuff would cost new.

 

[Jim_No_Garage]

Re: "Professionally" ran Estate Sales...

Yeah, sometimes the sales are for people that are still alive.

Those are the creepy ones. You pick something up and they look at Grandma - how much? She gives a price and you decide if you want it.

I've seen people buying half empty food boxes out of the kitchens. Not sure I need THAT much of a bargain.

Cheers

Jim

 

[bczygan]

One thing I like to do, at some of the best sales, is to take note of the interior decorating of the home. Some are extraordinary.
And the best sales companies also are great at staging, and also re-staging, as items are sold.

 

[jpickar]

As far as auctions go they run prices up way higher than the standard going rate. It is the hype of the "auction experiance" that makes them go so high. I went to a estate sale a couple of weeks ago and people I knew were bidding on stuff and paying prices that they normally wouldn't buy. It is stupid, UNLESS you are selling, then it is good. Just like Ebay or any other auction site. The prices that things go for sometimes are just because two egos got interested in the same item at the same time. And THEN everyone thinks that is the new normal price!

John

 

[G_P]

We have "professional garage sales" here. People who go to yard sales and buy all the cheap **** then sell it in their front yard for near full retail.
I got thrown out of one this summer. Asked how much for a well used Cman 3/8" breaker bar, guy said $30!!! I laughed and showed him the faint .50c in sharpie he tried to wipe off from when he bought it. He threw me out.

I have driven by several more weekends and he has all the same stuff and zero customers. He also leaves all the stuff out in the rain.

He must be running a tax scam or something.

Sent from my BNTV600 using Tapatalk 2

 

[anothervice]

I can actually speak from experience on this one. As you may or may not know, I was in charge of getting rid of over 100 vises in Golden Colorado for a friend of mine that had passed away. He had a TREMENDOUS amount of everything! We called a local pro estate sales company to come do the job. Major thing that hit me wrong right away was they wanted 50% of the first $10 of every item, and then 40% above that. WHAT A RIP. Because we were pressed for time, We still were going to go with that company, and asked them back a week later to sign the papers. At that time, they noticed that some of the friends wives had taken some dishes, pots, pans,etc.
They had the balls to say they no longer wanted to do the sale because it had been "cherry picked" already.
We ran the sale ourselves the following week. All the vises sold, as did an Anvil, 6 job boxes, 7 tool boxes full of tools, a welding platen, 2 welders, over 100 winter coats, 12 stand up metal cabinets, 6 metal work tables, numerous metal shelving units, two computers, a car, scrap steel, and much, much more.
We sold it reasonable, fast, made a ton of money for the family, and all the buyers were thrilled! All I can say is for 50% those pros can kiss my .............

 

[woody 73]

just this past week I went to a "TAG" sale run by a pro; I missed the first day and was told the first fifty people in the door with their #'s got all the best deals but...

On the second day Saturday I met that women running the show and she was a real knock-out as they say, she was dressed to the nines in one crazy outfit,and she stood tall at 6'2' in all those clothes.

well to make a long story short I did find a few goodies among the last pile of junk that some tool hunters overlooked, like 5 hammers,2 crow bars and a set of 5 bonney wrenches, so all in all no complaints, only wish I could have seen what the guy had the day before.

 

[Hootbro]

Re: "Professionally" ran Estate Sales...

It's hit or miss. Some are legit, and some are blatant scams.

I've been to "estate sales" where the house was so full of brought-in **** there is no way anyone ever lived like that . . . like beds everywhere, trinkets and knick knacks out the kazoo, etc. One had an entire basement full of new tools and such still in packaging . . . not believable.

Heck I was at one "estate sale" and they were still hauling in **** when I got there early. I thought it was fishy but still bought dining room set that was well-made mahogany furniture. Just after I paid for stuff and was loading up, they abruptly shutdown Sat afternoon even though sale was scheduled through Sunday. Dropped by later Sat and Sun and crew was loading up stuff to haul to the next "estate" sale. Also they were pitching dishes and glassware that didn't sell into a dumpster . . .ie no attempt to save. Guess they made enough money on Friday and Sat morning to shut down and go setup the next scam.

Always have to think Caveat Emptor . . . buyer beware.

I would not call it fishy but that is a common practice for auction houses to bring in goods from other estates to give better variety and floor traffic.

When my Grandfather died, my Grandmother went minimalist and wanted 90% of hers and his stuff sold because she was moving into assisted living. She hired an estate auction house and they basically told her it could be handled two ways:

1. They let it go to an actual auction setting were everybody and their dog came traipsing into here house and she got 50% of everything that sold with the possibility of still be stuck with what did not sell.

or

2. The auction house offered her a buy out estimate right there and they haul everything away and she gets the cash immediately.

She opted for option 2 which maybe at best gave her 25 cents on the dollar of value. While this was low ball, it saved her both grief and time of dealing with it. With the option 2, the auction house told her specifically that they would be hauling all her other stuff to another estate auction to lump it in with 100% going to the auction house.

 

[Flatintoone]

There are a number of sale companies around here, most seem to price tools reasonably (craftsman, so, etc higher). There is one notorious company that does all the shady stuff mentioned here, but i've learned to avoid that one. sometimes all the good stuff disappears instantly, other times i've cleaned up on day 2. I avoid the big cities, and try to be there at or before start time.

A good estate sale is a great time with great deals, a 'bad' one is a waste of time.

 

[justanengineer]

Estate sale companies are like auctioneers, 1% are good, 99% are overpriced side businesses run by morons. It takes time but you only have to discover a few good ones and it will well be worth the effort. The company first and foremost should be dedicated to selling EVERYTHING, which means using common sense to bundle or be willing to work with folks on prices. If theyre not willing to sell a pile of junk for $1, theyre not worth dealing with. The smart companies realize that theyre working for the BUYER not seller, as the buyers are the ones that pay them week to week and sellers tend to only have one or two business dealings with them.

Something folks have to realize about estate sales/auctions as well is that the closer to population they are, the more folks are attracted and the more $$$ you will pay. The same applies to Saturday and Sunday sales along with weekly sales at the auction house. If you find a busy auctioneer selling a small old shop or farm estate out in the sticks during the week - GO!

 

[wmartin]

I couldn't agree more. It seems that everybody, but everybody is selling something on the side these days to make a profit or other income. I contribute this to the prevalence of TV shows like "American Pickers" and "Pawn Stars" maybe a few other IDK, I don't have cable. As well as the internet where people advertise make $**.yy by buying and selling.

I agree.

The thing that makes me the most crazy, since I never look for tools anyhow (there never are any), is the guys with scanners running every single book through looking for the more valuable ones. This breed mostly hangs out at library book sales and thrift stores. It makes me insane.