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I am one of those people who take pride in having a comfy, cozy, beautiful home.  I suspect a lot of us are, judging by the Ikea Commercial that encourages us to make our homes our sanctuary.  It would be easy to go out and spend hundreds, even thousands, of dollars to fill our abodes with beautiful things.  However, for those of us on a budget, Estate Sales provide a wonderful alternative, enabling us to buy beautiful furniture at a fraction of the cost of retail.

What is an Estate Sale

An estate sale is exactly what it sounds like.  The “estate” is up for sale.  Generally, these sales happen when someone passes away, although people also have estate sales when they are moving and liquidating possessions, or downsizing to a smaller house. 

 An estate sale is not a garage sale.  Garage sales can be wonderful places to shop, and sometimes you can even find beautiful furniture there.  But, garage sale  proprietors generally tend to be people getting rid of unwanted items.  An estate sale is a step up from a garage sale.  Estate sales are generally inside the house, the furniture is generally in the rooms it belongs in, and generally almost all of the household items are for sale.

 The Key to Scoring Deals at Estate Sales

I’ve scored some amazing finds at Estate Sales (like an antique Henredon Bed for $250 that came with a Sleep Number mattress that I turned around and sold for $750.00) and I have definitely learned a few tips to share:

• Estate Sales held by companies are better than those held by individuals

 In my area, there are 4 companies that handle the majority of Estate Sales in our city.  Two of the companies tend to handle higher end sales.  I am almost never disappointed when I go to sales held by these four companies, whereas sales bv individual people often tend to be little more than glorified garage sales. 

You should be able to find the Estate Sale Companies in your area by a simple Google search, or look in the classified sections of the Sunday paper both for their advertisements of sales and their solicitations of business. 

Estate Sales by companies are better because  you know there had to be enough worthwhile items for sale that the company was willing to take it on (companies generally work on commission).  In addition, the sale is manned by company  representatives who have no emotional attachment (and accompanying higher prices) to the items they are selling.  Their goal is to move the stuff, ultimately at any price.

• Get to Know the Staff at the Sales

When I was furnishing my first apartment, I frequented Estate Sales for 4 ½ years, nearly every weekend  I got to know the staff at the sales quite well.  Once you demonstrate that you are a committed and loyal customer, the staff will be a lot more likely to make deals with you.  If you establish a good  rapport, they will sometimes even call you or set items aside for you if they know you are looking for something in particular.

•  Visit the Sales at the End of the Last Day

 Estate sales in my area usually take place on Fridays and Saturdays, and sometimes on Sundays if the sale is a large sale.  By Saturday mid-Morning the items usually go on sale for 30% off.  By late afternoon of the final day, items are on sale for 50% off or more.  The staff, at this point, is ready and willing to move the items for whatever price, because as I mentioned they work on commission and if an item doesn’t sell, then it doesn’t add to their bottom line.  Here, again, if the staff knows you they are much more likely to cut you a great deal to get rid of everything left. 

• Know what you are looking for and research the value of things

If you have a general idea of what brands of furniture (or other estate sale items) are expensive, then you can often score amazing deals.  I mentioned my Henredon Bed and Sleepnumber mattress above… no one else was buying because there isn’t a huge market for used mattresses, and the Staff wasn’t aware that Sleep Number is special, so they had the sheets on it.  The Henredon Label on the bed was covered up by the mattress.  However, I thought the bed was pretty so I looked closely, and I also was aware of the value of these items once I saw them.  

I’ve also scored some other amazing finds, (an authentic vintage Gucci Purse for $2, a Lane Cedar Chest for $45, etc. etc.) because I know what I am looking for and do research into the big name brands.

 So, for example, if you are looking for a bed then perhaps take a brief perusal of furniture stores, popular brands, antique magazines, etc.   This is especially true for things like Oriental Rugs, original art work, and fine China.  You can definitely get a lot more for your money, if you know what to look out for.