Estate Sales

Nice find Alias.

Hate when I find those things that are just really cool. They end up hanging around. 

Today's hunt I pretty much didn't bring anything home but dirt on my clothes....  

Got some herb/cheese grinders that sell okay but have never seen this brand so don't know.  Swedish, good condition, original box.  No clue yet on what it's worth.
Parts to others that I do sell but .....parts.....nothing match's up.  List them or use to piece together others.

Got another Universal 1 meat grinder.  Haven't sold all the others yet but this one had original box...so basically I bought the box.  The grinder will be used for parts.

That's it.  Looking at resell value of maybe $20.  Perhaps a touch more if parts sell well or if Swedish grinder happens to be worth more than the $5 I've gotten for similar ones.

But only spent $7 today for all that and got myself a set of poultry sheers from Italy, a cast iron pot so I'll top destroying my good one deep frying on the BBQ and a whole big box of misc sand paper.


*Update*
Swedish grinder is LISTED at $17 to $35.   They don't have the four different graters like I do or original box.  So, don't know if anyone actually buys them but, if so, figure mine will go first at $20....maybe....perhaps.....

Oh that is pretty cool Alias.  I keep hitting estate sales but by time I get off work they are picked clean.  Did get a old 1970s era station wagon jack for like $5 a few months ago.  Last few sales for me have just been $.50 CDs to add to my collection.

Yard sales have still been good to me however.

Have some auction houses doing absolute auctions next saturday.  So not sure what want to hit (storage auction, auction house, yard sale)....

  I keep hitting estate sales but by time I get off work they are picked clean. 

Yeah, it's the Friday morning ones you score at.  Only resellers and 90% aren't looking for things I want.

Saturday morning starts are good but then you have a lot more competition. 


I was going back on Sundays after noon for the 50% off but usually only thing left is hard selling items so don't do that much anymore.  I do take a mental inventory or some notes if a sale has some good stuff at more than I want to pay.  Then hit again on sunday, but only if it's near by or I have other reasons to be in the area


Don't know what I'll do when I go back to working fri/sat.   I've gotten use to this easy inventory.
Storage lockers have more potential but picking is just so much more fun and way less work.

This weeks estate sales yielding nothing yet again.  Tho I think it was me.   Just wasn't in the buying mood. And it was hot as hell out.  Lotta grumpy people.

First sale really turned me off.   It was just plain gross.  So much the estate company didn't set it.
Just set up a cash register outside and a sign that said "diggers heaven"
Still dirty dishes in sink for god knows how long.  Didn't even want to touch anything!
Then, the family was at checkout in chairs.   As people brought out stuff to get price they would say "that's not for sale" and throw in truck.   Like they were using us to clean out house.
Lotta people pissed cause they listed and pictured guns and when we arrived they said guns weren't for sale....
One guy got so mad that he found a mason jar off silver dollars and he just stuck it in his pocket.
Looked at me and said "f*ck'em.  If they don't want to go thru the stuff....."
Probably coulda scored at this one if I'd been willing to dig but it was to gross.

They did have some awesome big items priced and priced well but not my thing.
Pinball machines and jukeboxes and old turn-of-century iceboxes just way low.

Second wasn't as bad but smelled horrible and prices thru the roof!!
Lot of Harbor Frieght tools, used, at way over what they are new.  Set of wood chisels for $40 that are $29.99 new.  $60 circular saw that Home Depot sells for $40.....
Had a Hoosier Cabinet listed and I've been looking for one and they wanted $495 for it.  Didn't have any original pieces and beat up!   And it ws the tiny one.  Retail, with accessories and cleaned up they go for a touch less than that.

Went to three more and all were just average household items.  Great stuff at great prices if you were shopping for own home but not resale.

My only decent finds were  2 stud finder/laser level for $1/ea.  New are $30
And an entire milk crate of brass pully's for sail boats for $10.  Will shop them around, if cant sell I'll at least get money back in scrap.

So figure unless sailboat stuff turns out to be worth something I'll just about break even with money spent and gas used......

Sorry to hear that Alias.  Sometimes the items are "sentimentally" priced!!  

Went to a sale like that this weekend.  Arrived early, and noticed three cars with out-of-state license plates in the driveway.  Then went inside and they had a long banquet-type table set up in the living room with five family members sitting there with a cash box.  YIKES - no auction company, this sucker was being run by the family.  And let me tell you, they were IN LOVE with their stuff.  It was Grandma and Grandpa's house - which was full, but full of beat up over-priced stuff.

Birdseye maple dresser with cracks all over it - $450!!
Mahogany dining table = $650!!
Upholstered three-piece 1950s living room chairs - $225 each!  (Not for the set)
Beat up two-drawer metal filing cabinets - $30 each
Even the books were $2-3 each!!

At this point, I was hoping one of the "family members" was a banker, because I needed to take out a loan to purchase anything!!  WOW!

BTW - this was a Saturday - we went back Sunday and everything was marked down 10% - WHAT A DEAL!!  Needless to say, we didn't notice anyone buying anything.  Pretty disappointing.  I asked one of the daughters Sunday if they would negotiate on a couple old lamps and a rocking chair - her response "well.....suppose I could take off another 5%"  (At this point the house was still full of stuff - See ya!!!!!)
 

Estate sales companies have really got their act together in my area. Most everything is researched and priced according to Ebay. The only things I mess with are unsorted boxes stuffed in closets or out in the garage that they didn't want to go through. It's been getting harder to find unsorted boxes of stuff lately but I haven't been hitting estate sales as much as I use to. The crowds are definitely higher then they were about three to five years ago.