Many people love to frequent estate sales for the thrill of the find as well as to pick up items at a lower cost. Here are some Do’s and Don’t’s when shopping at estate sales.
- Attending an estate sale in the first few hours will give you the best shot at picking up a good deal or a unique piece. Sometimes people have been known to line up hours before an estate sale.
- Estate sales normally have decreased prices, generally 25% or more, on the last day of the sale. Thus, if you see something too expensive on the first day – go back the last day and see if it has been further discounted.
- Bring cash. Although some estate sales permit credit card transactions, generally, you have a higher chance of getting a better price on one or more items if you pay in cash.
- Be wary of upholstered items. If these items have not been properly maintained, they may contain bedbugs. A good sign that upholstered items have been well maintained is a fresh clean smell.
- Ask about window treatments and drapes that may have been left unlabeled. These items could very well be for sale, but the seller may have overlooked these items.
- Estate sales items can be located all over the house: in the attic, basement, bathrooms, garage, outbuildings, lawn, etc. If you are looking for particular items, please consider asking the seller for that particular item or if there are more items available on the property for sale.
- Check to make sure jewelry and antique-looking items are authentic. Estate sales generally have some great jewelry and furniture finds. One good way to do this is to bring a smartphone into the sale for reference of signs of designer and high-quality jewelry and other items.
- Check to see if the estate sale is managed by a professional company. For example, our company, Heritage Estate Sales, lists our estate sales online with pictures of various desirable items in the sale at http://www.heritageestatesale.com/. We also have our own ebay store, which you can visit at http://www.ebay.com/usr/heritage.estate.sales.