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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awesome

You have to go to a lot of auctions to get good deals.

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.

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.

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?

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.