I went to an estate sale once with my auction buddy. A friend of hers was clearing out her parents’ house after they had died. It was a two-story house just outside Philadelphia, with boxes from the kitchen to the second floor, and some items laid out on furniture.
I usually go to estate sales conducted by my auction house, and those are actually auctions, with items set out in the front or back yard on tables or on the ground. This one was different. I didn’t have to bid against anyone, and most of the items sold for only a couple dollars. The family wanted to get rid of stuff, quick, not haggle over a few pennies.
So I went from room to room, inspecting pieces, scrounging through boxes (this is the part I like; you never know what you’ll find) until I came across the cutest little Bakelite night lights, lamp plugs and receptacles. They all looked vintage. I grabbed them up and got them for about $3.
A set of five night lights – bone-colored, no more than ½” tall – looked like tiny skyscrapers. When I checked them out in a dark room at home, they produced only the slightest of light. If not used to give light, they could be fashioned into something creative.
Two night lights of a set of three had covers with stars on them. Another had a long elongated cover with ridges. It had been cracked at some point and reglued. They were retro, and neat-looking.
Estate sales are a good place to find bargains. Most times, children or other relatives just want to get rid of what they haven’t divided among themselves. My auction buddy, who loves auctions just as much as I do, has talked about setting up a company of her own to offer this service to families. She’s gone so far as to choose a name for the company but hasn’t acted on it. She’d be good at it.
She would rarely be without business, because families aren’t the only ones who need the service. There are others who desperately need it and don’t know that they do. The two guys who are staples at one of my auction houses, who buy and buy and buy. Their garages are filled. Their homes are filled, but they just keep on buying. Or the woman whose friend’s home is cluttered with her auction finds.
If my auction buddy would take the leap, she’d soon have more business than time.
If you’d like to locate estate sales in your area, check out Craigslist. By Googling, I found the site estatesales.net, which identifies estate sales in your area and offers tips on choosing a company to do a sale for you.
The site HowStuffWorks offers a primer on estate sales and how they work.
Also, check out my Auction Tips for information and links to sites for upcoming auctions in your area.
