Estate sales??

Hey everyone,

I've been seeing some people say they picked up coins at an estate sale. I even heard a guy at a coin show say he picked up a hugeeee box of coins at one and wanted to know their values. He had no knowledge at all of coins but from this sale he said he had a few hundred standing liberty quarters, and thousands of more of other designs. I understand this is not to be expected but a cool story!

But back to the point...I have always been interested in going to an estate sale (to try to find coins, or any other cool things for that matter.)

I was wondering if any of you buy at estate sales and could give me a few pointers about them and share your experiences.

First things first though...how do you find estate sales? and are there any rules or important things I should know before I ever go to one?

Thanks! :cheers:

 

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Try just about any Sunday newspaper want ad section. Medium and larger cities usually advertise dozens of estate sales. Smaller neighborhood newspapers (e.g., Greensheet) usually have two or three.

If you do attend one, your only chance of finding "good stuff" is to go early. By early I mean 7 AM for a look through. You can sometimes ask the auctioneer to run a lot early but sometimes they want to wait for a larger crowd to run the high profit items. It's hard to shop for specific items, you have to go for what they have so take a price list so you know what to pay. Some auctions get rather heated and it's easy to get caught up in the action, resulting in overbidding. Stay cool, and when you reach your limit - STOP.

Remember, you're generally buying unknown items. Examine them closely and don't be misled by what others may say about the value. Don't discuss the item with other bidders and don't show undue interest in an item. If others see your excitement that may prod their excitement too.

 

99.999% of estate sales are gimmics to get retail+ prices for:
* coins
* furniture
* jewelry
* antiques
* art
............ use your intuitive sense that god gave you. if an auction company and/or one of thier employees (who does this for a living) doesn't buy the item,, then why ?

Big stories of BIG wins from estate sales are often pushed to media... trust me, those "winner" give aways are well thought out advertising. You'd have better luck finding a winning lottery ticket at mapco or 7-11 than a good buy at an estate sale.

 

Thanks!

I check my local paper every now and then but I don't see notices for estate sales...I'm probably just blind though.
I see estate notices, but I think thats different.

btw it is a known fact my newspaper sucks lol

 

Estates sales often realize 150%+ of retail prices,, which are already at 200-400% marked up. It's amazing what someone with a pocket full of dollars will give away when exposed to a bit of mob mentality, shill bidders placed in the audience, and the desire to get that "big" deal. People are sheep, it's laughable how these "estate" sale auction folks work, and win !

 

Good Topic
I always take a magnifying glass to garage sales every weekend and look for Sterling Silver.
I have found 5-10 pieces of Sterling Silver this summer as well as a 10K gold ring in a box of jewellry.
The key to buying at garage sales is to know your hallmarks and taking chances on buying items before someone else does.
In the case of the gold ring I found, I just happen to be the first one to stop in on a Thursday mourning. I took the chance on a small box of jewellry and got lucky.
As far as coins go, I never see them at garage sales.
For me, finding a .925 pure Sterling Spoon is as good as finding a .800 Silver coin.
Stay away from anything marked "silverplate".
I agree with the other comments about estate sales, as they are usually picked over before they open.There are exceptions as I found a couple good ones this summer.
Goodluck, buy a magnifying glass and learn your silver hallmarks.

 

No, estate notices are different, just notifying the public that someone has died and asking for settlement of liens, etc.

Estate are sometimes bundled under other headings such as Garage Sales, Auctions, or Sales - General. You just have to hunt a bit. And don't pass up on Greensheets, Pennysavers, etc. Or notices posted on grocery store bulletin boards. And finally, signs nailed to utility poles.

 

alright I figured the estate notices were different. I always look in the garage sales and those sections and never see any. I'll look into the greensheets and pennysavers too. I think I might have to pick up a different newspaper though. My mom usually gets the Philadelphia Inquirer on Sundays so I'll try to look in that. Our counties newspaper is horrible. And you know its true when the people quit complaining about Obama and politics in the soundoff so they can complain about the paper they are submitting to hahaha

 

They can be decent. Depends on how well they're advertised. I've gotten stuff pushed on me for way under melt as the only person buying out of a storage unit. I've also been to auctions where the good stuff (coins, etc.) are sold last. So if you get there early, you'll be waiting hours and hours to find out 15 to 20 people were also waiting to get to the coins. Now out of the 20 or so people, you only need 2 people that are so tired of waiting around that they're going to bid stuff up unrealistically. While others just don't know values and gladly over pay. Not much fun.
Some people won't go to an auction. It's too frustrating as it takes way too long to get to the good stuff. When they finally get to it, people are so tired and angry that they become bound and determined to win something. They're not going to go home empty handed. Maybe even becomes a little of wanting to impress everybody else that's there.
You see, everybody gets the same idea that stuff's going to go cheap. Then you're competing against a bunch of people and it doesn't happen.

 

you can find estate sales on the internet. If you are in AZ or FL you will find many legit estate sales due to the large elderly populations. Coins at estate sales are typically grossly overpriced because of the pathetic ignorance of those running the sales- the up side of that is that if there are any rare coins they will be mixed in with the over-priced junk. All certified coins are always taken to a coin shop prior to the sale for liquidation. My mom does estate sales (several a week) and has for decades and has yet to see a certified coin.

 

Tompkins, I can tell you that in our area, estate sales are tough to come across. Most people just consign the entire estate to places like Briggs Auction and whatnot, very few standalone estate sales occur.

 

Thanks Merc. I was wondering why I literally NEVER see any of them in the Delco Times

 

Yeah, your best odds of finding individual estate sales around here is CL. I saw one a couple months ago, advertised coins... checked it out, common IHC's for $2 each and Wheats for $0.25 each... all the silver coins were well over spot price. Didn't buy anything, it was a huge waste of time.

 

Estate sales are just like any other auction where you don't know exactly what you're getting. Don't go lose your head getting caught up in the excitement, and you should be fine. As for where to find them, Craigslist is a good bet.

 

The majority of estate sales are done by auction. You really need to do your research the day of the sale on prices, and set a limit on how much you'll bid on any one item or lot. It's easy to get caught up in the frenzy of an auction and let yourself be consumed with the excitement and over bid, and pay for coins. Try and arrive at least an hour prior to the start and bring a good loupe and examine the coins carefully. If the auctioneer has a list of the coins to be offered for sale, get a copy and make notes on that list as to how much the coin is worth to you, and don't go over that amount if you can help it.

 

This is good advice if it is an auction, but I disagree with your statement that most estate sales are auctions. It really depends on what state you are in. I was used to auctions in Iowa where I was from, but here in MN almost all estate sales are "tag sales" with stated prices that you can ask if they will go lower. I don't liek them much, as you need to be one of the first in the door to get a chance at better things usually.

Why most estate sales in MN are tag sales I have no idea, maybe state law. I know other states are the same though.

Chris

 

that seems too vary by region. In AZ that is not the case.

 

The last one (house/tag/estate sale) that I went to the seller had a bunch of coins for sale.

I asked how much and he told me that he had already turned down an offer of $100+ that morning.

It was all junk, common Indian cents, Buffs, etc.

I told him that he should have taken to offer.

Value?
Max about $75 retail.



On the other hand, a buddy hits them all the time.
A couple of months ago he hit a tag sale early, 5th or 6th on line.
When the doors opened, he rushed to the counter and asked about the coins, another guy said: Hey I was in line first.
He replied, so, I got here first.
The seller had a suitcase (don't know how large) full of stuff.
he was told $600 firm.
He looked at one album and it was a complete set of Franklin $1/2. Worth about $500+ in junk silver, so he bought the lot.

Loooooooog story short (yeah, I know, too late for that) anyway.
The next day, Sunday,, he sold the junk silver in the bag for over $2400 at a coin show.

And he hadn't finished going thru the bag.

He is always buying junk (bowls, plates, whatever) silver & selling it at the show for a nice profit.

 

I was speaking in general terms, and it is the case even in AZ. I've been to numerous estate sales there in the past 12 years with a buddy of mine who travels the country to estate sales.

 

That's the sellers choice to tag sale the items, or pay a 20% commission to an auctioneer to auction them off.

In today's economy, it would not be uncommon for people to opt for the cheaper way of selling off an estate, and increasing their profits.

Craig's List, is the cheaper way to sell items online. No eBay fees, or percentages of sales, nor easy way for someone to just file a SNAD, just because.