Vintage of the Day - Estate Sale Friday
Today's estate sale wasn't too exciting for the vintage dealer but did offer a good example of what "regular" people (those who are not buying and selling for a living) can get at a sale.
This sale was located in Glenview Illinois. The neighborhood is newish. Homes built in the past 25 years. I personally love the character of pre - 1970's homes. From the 1870's to the 1970's. This neighborhood, the houses all looked the same.
My best guess? A moving sale. A potential second downsize most like from a larger home. Some of the pieces were not scaled right for this house. Makes me think they were acquired for a home before this.
An advertised estate sale, usually has a company running it. They will come in ahead of time and set up and price the sale. Then they monitor and host the sale during the weekend. An estate sale is a fire sale. Meaning, 2 or 3 days, you've got to move things out because they have to go anyway.
As the company running the sale, you have to be sane about pricing. The right person has to come for so many objects to get a new home so if they price high, they won't sell much. If you price reasonably to low, you can move a TON of household items.
In the Chicago area at any given time, there are probably 30 to 75 estate or moving sales (inside a house where there is stuff but no one lives) on a weekend.
In the summer, add garage sales (a sale put on outside of the house you live in to get rid of stuff).
I'll link you to where you can look for estate sales online in the US at the bottom.
Below are good examples of things that can be acquired at sales for a fraction of the price.
Most of the furniture pieces in this house were good quality. Above average. The tables in front of the couch were sold.
A record player radio console
Pros- really cool, original record player and radio console. Plays vinyl records. Looks cool. Should be cheap.
Cons-Size. Takes up a wall. No storage. It only holds the speakers and parts underneath. You can't put anything on it because you open the player from the top. Good piece to negotiate on, this is a pain in the ass to move, it's HEAVY and if you don't buy and take it away, they have to.
Here's a view from the second floor. There was a balcony so I can peer over the edge. The sculptures were highly priced. Sometimes if there is good art, they will price high if it's good and send to an auction house after.
Home office on the second floor.
Home office is always a favorite of mine. I love office supplies. I haven't bought post-it notes in YEARS. I liked the office chair. Seems like 80's to me. A paper shredder is something we all need at times and I swear I see one is just about every estate.
These were in the office. Old typewriters have become popular for decorating. No one is using them. Out of these 3, it's obviously the yellow that's the most interesting. No one uses an old adding machine that's gray. There are also SO MANY black typewriters. The $50 price tag on the black one is insane.
Outside the office on the is another horrifying macramé wall hanging. Uggh 1990.
Out to the garage, I go. I stop cold when I see what strikes me as a potential Viking or Game of Thone's table. Classic. Price should be next to nothing because it's crazy. But in a basement could be a lot of fun. No price on it, this is definitely one that would need special interest.
Household cleaning supplies and more. .25 cents etc. Very different than $4-$6 EACH. Who wouldn't use second-hand cleaning supplies?
Lucite chairs are always cool and usually can be resold IF they are made in Italy and not knockoffs.
So there's the highlights. We didn't buy anything, but thinking about that chair. Usually, on the 2nd-day things get cheaper and that's today. Hoping for a different type of estate sale to show you next week!
https://www.estatesales.net/ Is what we use in the Chicago area. I know other metropolitan areas use it too. But if you don't see many sales there may be another source you should look for.
Love vintage? Check out more posts from this week!
Unauthorized Mid Century Home Tour
Sinking of the Titantic Board Game - FUN!
Vintage Prince - Controversy
Ever Been to Estate Sale?
I am so glad nobody does that here, I would be at a sale every day lol, I am bad enough as it is for hoarding stuff, looks like great fun also. What is the reasoning behind someone selling off that much stuff via a middle man company?.
@deliberator It is pretty fun. Lots to choose from. Yes, it's really fun, and there are SO many, you are bound to find something.
There are some un-fun things like other aggressive people who act inappropriately to the homeowners or the company running it. The company knows how to handle them. Stealing and lying to get what you want are both frequent.
To be blunt, parents die, and let's say, they were 90. Their kids are 65. The accumulation has built up for years. In that situation, their kids also have to maintain the house until they sell it, that means possible mortagage payments and definite taxes and upkeep. They can't sell it full of stuff. Especially if it's not current. That means, fixing things, replacing carpet, painting etc.
Parents of Baby Boomers for example(the biggest generation born in American history). my Mom was born in 1950, she's a Baby Boomer. If my Grandparents were alive they would be in their 90's, parents of Boomers. THEN THEIR parents were part of the Great Depression that began in 1929. No one had a dime.
So my Great GREAT Grandmother would have been part of the Great Depression. They tend to hoard because money was so tight they kept it. They taught their children to do the same. You never knew when the bottom would drop out of the American economy again. The first generation practically unaffected by the Great Depression is my age.
I'm 48. Anyone under 40 has only heard about it in school.
The average person has no idea how to empty a house quickly. Price it all, advertise it and run it. A company can make it happen faster. They take like 40% of the total sales, you get a check and don't have to do anything. Makes it easier to deal with the paperwork and getting it listed for sale.
So 2 major generations were accumulators and had good jobs and money. Baby Boomers and their parents. They also had houses FULL of stuff.
People are more minimalistic today. Over the next 10 year? There's going to be SO MUCH stuff coming on the market. I hope people will get more into resale because this will take up a lot of room in landfills.
@Debilerator how do you do it there?
You could have made a post in that reply, excellent and informative, I have zero Idea how they do it here, I am from England, and living in Poland now for 4 years, before that I was in Spain for 6 months, and before that Asia for 6 years. The polish seem to sell the houses full of the stuff, as I have seen so far.
@deliberator Thanks, maybe I will and expand on it! Waiting for more people to find me :) It's fun to talk about! It's an interesting and sometimes bizarre subculture even people in the US don't fully understand :)
I love to hear how things "work" in other countries. I've heard in Europe houses get passed down with contents frequently. Things are used much longer creating a LOT less waste. Keep an eye out and if you ever see a flea market or anything there, take some pics for me!
You would love this place, the market square in what they call old town, is pedestrian only, loads of side roads, and a long main st, it is full the last Sunday of every month of traders, and ordinary folk, who sell antiques, art, ww2 items, grandfather clocks and anything you can think of, I will put a post up for you tomorrow, I have photographed it many times, as I love it.
I have no doubt!! That looks amazing. I’ve always wanted to go to a good market in Europe not ones that all tourists go to but a good local market -