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Went to an estate sale auction today
4/14/2012 11:14:48 PM
I just took the family to an estate sale. It was a prepper's wet dream. The previous owners started stockpiling for Y2K and never stopped. There was everything from canning jars to ammo cans to tools to a nice garden. The only thing was they either never are what they stored or they canned to much. A lot of the food looked old. The woman who bought the filled jars said she was going to fed it to her husband because he wasn't picky. I ran out of money before the auction was half over and the women were getting cranky.
What I brought away from the experience was don't over do it. This was an elderly couple and they had more than they could ever use. I got close to thirty 50 Cal ammo cans and could have gotten twenty 20mm cans if I wanted to pay retail for them. There was too much stuff to count, but this guys motto could have been three is one. He had three hand operated well pumps and no shallow well.
I guess the moral is to prep, but don't get into things that don't really apply to your life and don't chop overboard.
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What I brought away from the experience was don't over do it. This was an elderly couple and they had more than they could ever use. I got close to thirty 50 Cal ammo cans and could have gotten twenty 20mm cans if I wanted to pay retail for them. There was too much stuff to count, but this guys motto could have been three is one. He had three hand operated well pumps and no shallow well.
I guess the moral is to prep, but don't get into things that don't really apply to your life and don't chop overboard.
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4/15/2012 8:27:53 AM
Don't mess with Texas! I bet the old couple had a heck of a story and not much of a family.
Congrats and post some pix when you get a chance.
Congrats and post some pix when you get a chance.
4/15/2012 8:39:57 AM
awesome
4/15/2012 9:46:59 AM
I am sick of going to such things and having to compete with people who want to pay retail prices for used products. I pretty much gave up. At least around here there are few bargains to be had at estate sales for such items.
4/15/2012 3:38:52 PM
You have to go to a lot of auctions to get good deals.
4/23/2012 2:13:58 AM
good score
4/23/2012 3:04:07 AM
For me, I just plan for the most likely scenario. I don't plan for the long-term because we will more or less get back to normal, whatever normal means. Way over prepping is a waste of time and money, but if that is your thing, then I would go for it.
4/23/2012 2:27:56 PM
How much did the garden go for? 
ETA: and did you see how they hauled it off?
ETA: and did you see how they hauled it off?
4/23/2012 3:27:25 PM
Originally Posted By FourDeuce:
You have to go to a lot of auctions to get good deals.
You have to go to a lot of auctions to get good deals.
Yep. In my experience auctions are a hobby, not a shopping trip. You go to enough auctions, you will find deals here and there. If you see an item up for auction and attend in hope of buying that item? Odds are not with you.
4/23/2012 4:15:10 PM
You never know.....they might have been "over stocking" with the goal of having extra supplies with which to barter.
4/24/2012 5:05:05 PM
I never luck out like that. Congrats, OP.
Isn't that ultimately the free market at work? They are willing to pay a price that you are not.
Perhaps soem of the older stuff is also made better than any "new" stuff available. Might that not yield a premium in value to some folks?
Originally Posted By ilbob:
I am sick of going to such things and having to compete with people who want to pay retail prices for used products. I pretty much gave up. At least around here there are few bargains to be had at estate sales for such items.
I am sick of going to such things and having to compete with people who want to pay retail prices for used products. I pretty much gave up. At least around here there are few bargains to be had at estate sales for such items.
Isn't that ultimately the free market at work? They are willing to pay a price that you are not.
Perhaps soem of the older stuff is also made better than any "new" stuff available. Might that not yield a premium in value to some folks?
4/25/2012 8:38:50 AM
Good score!
4/25/2012 10:28:34 AM
Originally Posted By ilbob:
I am sick of going to such things and having to compete with people who want to pay retail prices for used products. I pretty much gave up. At least around here there are few bargains to be had at estate sales for such items.
I am sick of going to such things and having to compete with people who want to pay retail prices for used products. I pretty much gave up. At least around here there are few bargains to be had at estate sales for such items.
I hit a lot of this stuff, and yes I do my research and stick to what I know. I've found the exact same thing! People will bid things right up to retail. I also found an auction house I was going to had a lot of buyers that were buying and shipping to shops in Chicago, and NYC. I guess at the price they were buying at you could get a way with a crazy mark up in a posh Manhattan antique store.
Another one that I find a waste of time is storage lockers, at least out in my neck of the woods the owner would take out the good stuff and sell the rest...usually crap!
I find my best deals at yard sales and word of mouth, people know I'm a scavenger and I tend to fall into estates that people are looking to get rid of.
4/25/2012 3:21:23 PM
I think that some of what goes on at those sales is closet charity. I've watched beat up hand drills that go for $17NIB sell for $35+. That's beyond insane unless the buyer is trying to get money on the sly to the survivor. The above incident was at a sale for a deceased farmer. 90% of the buyers were neighboring farmers, and I'd guess the widow ended up with a whole lot more cash than she'd anticipated, judging by the prices the winning bidders were paying before I left. I'd have left sooner, but I couldn't believe what I was seeing.
