Worst estate sale ever, but an OK weekend

[clorox]

Ugh. I don't want to spend an hour writing out a really long rant, but I'll just say: Amazing, huge house and contents; poorly run; super crowded; way overpriced;they had this sign posted:

and basically only one guy was working. The wait to talk to him was about ten minutes whether you wanted to look at a weighted sterling candlestick (marked $150, didn't have more than three ounces of silver), get the price of a year set of Arizona Highways magazines ($60, because each magazine is $5), or buy a bag full of broken costume earrings and an old pair of glasses with no lenses for $2. The rims of the glasses are 1/10 12k, and the bag had a 14k clasp. At other sales I picked up some silver dimes and war nickels for under spot, some sterling earrings, and a Radico sterling ID bracelet.



Non-PM items this weekend were a circa 1965-1970 Scrabble set (wood tiles and racks, nothing missing) for 50¢, a Daisy Powerline pellet gun for $2, a Bethlehem Steel hard hat for $1, a pre-1979 Master Charge plastic sign for 75¢, an original Playstation for $10. Not too happy about the Playstation, but the hard hat is looking like a winner.

Also got a bunch of paper things, all for $5. An old Gray Line bus tour brochure for Salt Lake City; a miniature, mailable souvenir print pack of SLC; a couple miniature souvenir photos from Desert Center, CA; a Richfield Street Guide map of Seattle and Tacoma (haven't dated it yet, looks like 50's to 60's); an American President Lines steamer trunk label; an Automobile Association pocket map of Hyde Park and the West End in London; a 1950's Catholic Prayer Book for the Army and Navy; a CIBA Medical Slyd-Rul; and a bunch of postcards. I'll try to get some pics up soon.

 

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[clorox]

Here's the hard hat:




And a sample of the postcards:


Most of them are from that same set, by Sanborn. There are also two older Sanborn postcards, but instead of being printed in a press, they're on glossy photographic paper with the caption handwritten on the negative. And one San Francisco postcard of about the same vintage by J.C. Bardell. I know nothing about postcards, other than the fact that Sanborn's stuff isn't exactly rare. Anyone know anything more about them?

 

[capt-zero]

Yeah, down here in Texas, estate sales are getting ridiculous. Oftentimes with prices above retail. The motto seems to be: if it is old and rusty, it must be a valuable antique. However, I've taken to showing up a couple of hours before they close on the last day when they get desperate.

 

[OldSowBreath]

Yes, it has gotten to be a joke in Texas on these estate sales. They have police on premises, a thousand rules about what you can and can't do, staff following you around to make sure you aren't shoplifting anything and that attitude of "You're lucky to be here - this is the greatest estate sale in the history of all of mankind, etc." They also price something by making a cursory look at ebay, taking the highest asking price for an object and doubling it. They think silver is on a price equivilency with plutonium, and gold plated and gold filled should be equal in price to 18k. I'm suprised they don't charge admission, but I'm sure that's coming. The only reason I go is to maybe find that one item that they don't really know anything about and guessed at the price because they couldn't find one on ebay. Those are getting fewer and farther between. Don't get me started.

Clorox - great estate sale sign! Guess I'm not going to buy a group of cookbooks!

 

[diggummup]

You can thank some of these tv shows for the ridiculous estate sale prices I believe. All these "fly by night' estate sale companies trying to get rich quick. Most of them should not even be in business. A good estate sale company will try to move the merchandise at a reasonably price. An inexperienced or just plain bad one, will put ridiculous prices and try to rob people and then wonder why they have a house full of goods still on Sunday afternoon. Cops on guard duty? Give me a break, I haven't seen that one yet. Are these legitimate companies? You should ask for some paperwork to verify if they are legal or not. Turn them in if they aren't. I avoid all the bad ones down here. Every once in a while, some unknown will stage a sale, usually a high dollar not realistically priced one. I love messing with these high dollar fools. If I get suckered into attending one, I'll literally walk around bad mouthing and degrading their over marked prices to other customers/buyers. I'll ask the sellers, "why would I pay you x amount for this item when I can sit at home and have it delivered to me for less off of eBay"? They get heated sometimes, but I don't care. I will call it like I see it. I don't know how they think they can justify their off the wall prices.

As the old saying goes- Caveat emptor! Let the Buyer Beware!
Or when they see me coming- Caveat venditor! Let the seller beware!

As for the finds, the hardhat is a great score as you've probably already seen the completed listings on eBay. The playstation will sell better with some games and extras. The postcard shown is referred to as a white border era card. 19 teens to the early 30's. The others sound like real photo postcards. You date them generally by the stamp box on the back, you can use this to help date them- Playle's: Real Photo Postcards, How to Identify and Date Real Photo Vintage Postcards Most pc's aren't worth much because there were so many printed by numerous companies over the years. But every now and then you can find a good one, especially some of the rppc's (real photo). The Daisy Powerline may be a good score depending on the model and condition, worth $2 regardless. I love ephemera, most of it is just interesting and holds little value but some of it can be worth good money too. It's usually inexpensive too. One of the overlooked things at many sales. I make some bad buys every now and then but the good ones always make up for it. You all don't see the junk that I buy! lol

 

[bluehunter1973]

I dont even bother going most of the time anymore. Since the tv shows you cant get a deal on anything. I love hearing the phrase "its old" I tell them so am I. People are getting to greedy and feel since they bought the coffee cup for a quarter two years ago that means its worth two dollars today. Good sales are too few

 

[clorox]

I've done okay at estate sales around here, particularly the "whole house" ones. The companies and most other buyers don't seem to poke around in the little jars and nooks and crannies where I find most of the good stuff. Or sorting through the layers of junk dumped on top of tables and dressers. The hardest part is getting it past the cashier at a good price without being deceptive.

The two real photo postcards have the EKC 1930-1950 logo. The subjects aren't too exciting, but they're in pretty good shape:



Couldn't find much info on the SLC mini photos. They're clearly not real photos (just 4-color prints), and I can't open it up without tearing the package:



I'm a fan of ephemera, too, especially maps. I was disappointed when I found out that the sticker on the London map wouldn't come off without tearing the paper:

 

[spartacus53]

I complain about about some of the pricing I see here in NJ, many items are way overpriced too. I can tell you however, we do bet your prices on CD, DVDS and hard covered books

Next time out, have some fun I like do it's simple Look around at a piece that you know is well overpriced, make sure some of the other buyers are in earshot, then have your fun. Get the attention of one of the hooples running the scam and confirm a price. What ever the item is, say you saw it at Walmart, Target, Macy's, or any other well known store for less and brand new.