Treasure Hunting Estate Sales Can Be Gold Mines for Savvy Shoppers
Treasure Hunting Estate Sales Can Be Gold Mines for Savvy Shoppers
Respess, Susan P., The Florida Times Union
When Cindy Bishop goes shopping, she dons comfy clothes, packs
a lunch and takes no purse. She hopes for dismal, rainy weather.
It's her strategy for shopping estate sales, and it's won her a
houseful of treasures at bargain prices.
Almost every weekend in the Jacksonville area, a professional
dealer is holding an estate sale to clear out a household,
usually after the owner has died, moved away or become too ill
to remain. Sometimes, one house may have items from more than
one estate.
Usually, the first ones at the door are antiques dealers. They
scan every corner of the house, the garage and yard for items.
The dealers will resell the items in their antique shops, often
at a markup.
However, you can go to the estate sale and buy directly.
Shoppers like Bishop, look for collectibles and antiques for
their homes or may hope to pick up something as practical as a
used lawn mower or vacuum cleaner for a few dollars.
SHOPPING STRATEGY
"A lot of these homes are old, musty, and sometimes family
members are there and they are tearful," said Bishop, a Neptune
Beach resident and registered nurse. "They empty every drawer."
Bishop, 42, doesn't get distracted by the people or the volume
of stuff spread out and priced for sale.
"I've been doing this since I was 15, and I can scan a
three-bedroom house in 20 minutes," she said. She's on the
lookout for vintage clothes, old fishing gear, and sewing and
medical items. She carries a map and addresses of all the estate
sales for that day, starts early and makes the rounds.
"If a sale starts on Thursday, it will go to Saturday. If I see
something I can live without, I wait until the last day and get
it for 50 percent off."
The risk, of course, is that the item will be gone.
"It's best to go on a rainy and cold day, because people will
stay home," she said.
Bishop's finds include $5 for new linen worth $100, an antique
brass bucket for $5 that she said is worth $300, and an old
Shakespeare rod and reel for $3.
FAMILY TIES
Barbara Langston, an antiques dealer who recently conducted an
estate sale at an Arlington house, said she prices items well
below their value in order to sell them quickly. Often, the
house and its contents are for sale and a real estate agent is
present at the estate sale.
"The owner had been here 33 years and had to move in with her
daughter," Langston said at the sale. The daughter had no space
for an entire second household of goods. There were dishes,
furniture, a patio set, clothes, a home gym, a short evening
coat made of monkey fur and all sorts of decorative accessories.
"The kids look at this stuff, and they have seen it all of
their lives and they don't know the value of it," Langston said.
"The mother had a piece of Baccarat glass and the daughter would
have sold it for $5. I put $90 on it."
In addition, a $7,000 curved Henredon sofa was priced at $195.
A Limoges plate was priced at $10.
"Once people hire me, I say, `Don't come back in,' " Langston
said. "It's too emotional. I tell the family, `Look at it this
way.
a lunch and takes no purse. She hopes for dismal, rainy weather.
It's her strategy for shopping estate sales, and it's won her a
houseful of treasures at bargain prices.
Almost every weekend in the Jacksonville area, a professional
dealer is holding an estate sale to clear out a household,
usually after the owner has died, moved away or become too ill
to remain. Sometimes, one house may have items from more than
one estate.
Usually, the first ones at the door are antiques dealers. They
scan every corner of the house, the garage and yard for items.
The dealers will resell the items in their antique shops, often
at a markup.
However, you can go to the estate sale and buy directly.
Shoppers like Bishop, look for collectibles and antiques for
their homes or may hope to pick up something as practical as a
used lawn mower or vacuum cleaner for a few dollars.
SHOPPING STRATEGY
"A lot of these homes are old, musty, and sometimes family
members are there and they are tearful," said Bishop, a Neptune
Beach resident and registered nurse. "They empty every drawer."
Bishop, 42, doesn't get distracted by the people or the volume
of stuff spread out and priced for sale.
"I've been doing this since I was 15, and I can scan a
three-bedroom house in 20 minutes," she said. She's on the
lookout for vintage clothes, old fishing gear, and sewing and
medical items. She carries a map and addresses of all the estate
sales for that day, starts early and makes the rounds.
"If a sale starts on Thursday, it will go to Saturday. If I see
something I can live without, I wait until the last day and get
it for 50 percent off."
The risk, of course, is that the item will be gone.
"It's best to go on a rainy and cold day, because people will
stay home," she said.
Bishop's finds include $5 for new linen worth $100, an antique
brass bucket for $5 that she said is worth $300, and an old
Shakespeare rod and reel for $3.
FAMILY TIES
Barbara Langston, an antiques dealer who recently conducted an
estate sale at an Arlington house, said she prices items well
below their value in order to sell them quickly. Often, the
house and its contents are for sale and a real estate agent is
present at the estate sale.
"The owner had been here 33 years and had to move in with her
daughter," Langston said at the sale. The daughter had no space
for an entire second household of goods. There were dishes,
furniture, a patio set, clothes, a home gym, a short evening
coat made of monkey fur and all sorts of decorative accessories.
"The kids look at this stuff, and they have seen it all of
their lives and they don't know the value of it," Langston said.
"The mother had a piece of Baccarat glass and the daughter would
have sold it for $5. I put $90 on it."
In addition, a $7,000 curved Henredon sofa was priced at $195.
A Limoges plate was priced at $10.
"Once people hire me, I say, `Don't come back in,' " Langston
said. "It's too emotional. I tell the family, `Look at it this
way.
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