Everyone enjoys a good deal. Estate sale shopping is comparable to an adrenaline sport for buyers.
Estate sales transform inhabited houses into antique shops, with everything priced to sell. You may locate:
- Antiques
- Antiques Flatware
- Silverware
- Tools
- Toys
- Collectibles
Many of these objects will be offered at steep reductions compared to their original or even antique shop prices.
Estate sale buyers spend years perfecting their strategies. True Legacy Homes is ready to shorten your learning curve.
Estate Sale Tips For Buyers
1. Plan Ahead
Don’t miss out on any estate sales by noting their dates and locations in advance in your calendar.
If your location is serviced by estatesales.net, estatesales.org, or estatesale.com, you may visit these websites regularly to organize your calendar. Estatesales.net also offers a mobile app that may be used to get alerts about local estate sales.
Check Craigslist, your local newspaper, Facebook groups, and email lists as well.
2. Pre-shop The Sale Online
Typically, estate sale advertisements contain photographs of the items. Frequently, you can determine in advance if a product is of sufficient quality to warrant buying.
If you are dubious about a photo and want to avoid a wild goose chase, request further pictures from the vendor. They will often comply.
Check the images for dimension notations. Occasionally, objects seem larger or smaller in photographs. Confirming the fit of furniture in advance may save everyone a great deal of time.
3. Look For Opportunities To Pre-purchase
Occasionally, purchasers are invited to a presale before the real sale begins. On occasion, the pre-sale occurs days before to the sale date. This is rare if the home is still inhabited, but it is possible if you catch a pre-sale.
4. Be An Early Bird
Try to arrive thirty minutes in advance of the event’s start time. Typically, sales managers accept customers in groups, particularly when there is a lengthy queue. Your objective is to enter with the first group in order to get the finest item choices.
5. Travel Light
Sale organizers cannot reasonably conduct a minute-by-minute inspection of the whole residence, and large bags raise suspicion. There is a possibility that you may be refused entry if you carry a tote bag, big handbag, or backpack. Managers at estate sales dislike stealing and will use their discretion to minimize the danger of theft.
6. Follow Security Protocols
Do not take offense if security personnel observe you as you shop or want to see your receipt. It is tough to supervise estate sales, and they are just performing their duties to avoid the theft of expensive items.
7. Bring Cash
Before making a large purchase, you should always enquire about the payment conditions. Typically, individual organizers just take cash. Some estate sale firms take credit cards, but the vast majority also operate cash-only.
The majority of sales will put aside big goods, such as furniture, and enable you to get them the same day or the next. Verify the pick-up policy before completing the final payment.
8. Be Ready To Rummage
Occasionally, estate sales are as well-organized as Swiss watchmakers. Others are disorders. The ideal item may not be located anywhere close to where you would expect to find it. Be prepared to rummage through dust, packed tables, and isolated areas of the sale for items that other buyers may have ignored.
9. Be Courteous
In a busy store, politeness is vital. If someone is examining or manipulating an item of commerce, maintain a safe distance until they are finished. Do not hover, and under no circumstances should you get violent or take anything out of someone’s hands. In addition to the possibility of starting a fight, you will likely be asked to leave.
10. Check Measurements
Before committing to a lovely piece of antique furniture, take its dimensions.
If you need to fill a particular area, make a note of its size in the notepad app on your phone or on a piece of paper in your wallet. Carry a little measuring tape with you to ensure your purchase will fit.
11. Don’t Buy Anything Broken If You Can’t Repair It
Usually, all purchases are final; there are no returns or refunds. Before departing, examine every item for defects. If you do not know how to repair a damaged object or if the cost of repairs exceeds the cost of purchasing a new one, you have wasted your time and money.
12. Don’t Forget To Check The Garage And The Backyard
The remarkable instruments found at estate auctions are renowned for their longevity through generations. Tools are often stored in garages and backyards. Don’t skip it!
Even if you don’t need equipment, you never know what a chaotic or space-constrained estate sale organizer may have stowed in the garage that other shoppers may overlook.
13. Avoid Off-limits Areas
Typically, an estate sale is arranged across the whole residence. Frequently, the owner has died away or moved to an assisted care facility. After selling everything in the home, the house itself is the next step.
Occasionally, a private space is, nonetheless, fenced off. These locations may include mementos that family members have laid away but have not yet retrieved. Nothing is gained by breaching these walls.
Even if you successfully purchase an item that is not for sale, you have harmed the seller or the estate sale manager’s reputation, making the whole process more difficult for everyone. Honor boundaries!
14. Bargain
Estate sales are not garage sales. The majority of goods were properly assessed and priced for sale. If you offer $1 for a $20 item, you risk insulting the seller and will surely not get your desired price.
Nonetheless, nothing is gained from nothing risked. Try to negotiate a 10% or 20% discount. You may get fortunate. Frequently, estate sales include progressive reductions, with items becoming more affordable as the sale progresses.
15. Don’t Skip The Last Day
On the last day of the auction, everything must be sold. Everything that does not sell is either given or discarded, so prices are reduced—sometimes by as much as 50 percent!
Don’t engage in a game of chicken with the host over your preferred goods. If you fall in love with an item but bet that it will be less expensive on the last day, someone consumer will likely purchase it while you wait.
Nonetheless, you want to peruse the products once more on Sunday (or whatever the last day ends up being). There may be an offer you just cannot pass up.
16. Don’t Be Overwhelmed By The Crowd
Crowds at estate sales vary in size. They might be libraries or mental institutions. Take your time, take slow breaths, and continue looking. Your chances of finding a bargain are equivalent to those of the other strangers elbowing you.
17. Carefully Examine The Upholstery On Any Furniture
Due to the potential of mildew, insects, and other impurities, purchasing upholstered furniture at an estate auction is a gamble. Ensure that you smell the cloth. If the dead owner or pet had incontinence, the furniture may be contaminated with pathogenic bacteria.
18. Bring Helpers To Load Heavy Items
Some estate sale organizers provide porter services for big objects, however, this should not be relied upon. If you want to acquire furniture, entice a strong buddy with food and/or beverages to assist you with loading your purchases.
19. Stay Hydrated
Shopping at estate sales is an endurance sport, particularly during the summer. Bring a water bottle and maybe a snack to prevent hypoglycemia and heat fatigue.
20. Practice Empathy
The seller may be liquidating the estate of a recently deceased relative or a senior who has moved to elder care. Numerous objects in the auction may have profound emotional importance. Be mindful of this reality while you peruse the collection, and be appreciative of the life that amassed this incredible collection of recollections.
21. Identify Your Requirements And Prioritize Your Requirements.
Do not purchase anything for no reason. Consider many goods that you cannot pass up. It will assist you in narrowing your search.
There may be an overwhelming selection of products to peruse. Establish a precise budget and stick to it to prevent overpaying for useless items.
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