Let's play a game. Almost Every estate sale I've ever been to has....

Discussion in 'Antique Discussion' started by moontymes, Oct 14, 2014.

Page 4 of 5
  1. SBSVC

    SBSVC Well-Known Member

    A huge box of beat-up Matchbox cars and a bookshelf chock full of VHS tapes...
     
    SBSVC, Oct 19, 2014
    #61 + Quote Reply
  2. Messilane

    Messilane Well-Known Member

    yeah - and hardly ever any of the good Matchbox cars either!
     
    Messilane, Oct 19, 2014
    #62 + Quote Reply
  3. evelyb30

    evelyb30 Well-Known Member

    Around here the most common thing to find is older Russian women trying to get stuff at 10% of the marked price.
     
    evelyb30, Oct 19, 2014
    #63 + Quote Reply
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  4. 42Skeezix

    42Skeezix Moderator Moderator

    Almost Every estate sale I've ever been to has....

    TREASURE...until I walk in the door...(then it's a crapshoot.)
     
    42Skeezix, Oct 19, 2014
    #64 + Quote Reply
  5. 42Skeezix

    42Skeezix Moderator Moderator

    Not Match Box but Hot wheels. I was at this ESTATE sale, they had about ten of these slightly bigger, more detailed diecast model cars. I picked one up and it was marked Hotwheels...MADE IN ITALY. I'd never heard of Italian Hot wheels They were marked 50 cents each so I grabbed 'em. Did I mention they were very near mint condition? They were.

    Turns out they were an upmarket experiment by Mattel around 1970. They cost maybe 3 bucks a pop, and they didn't sell. Maybe 1 year production.
    Long story short... They were VERY VERY rare. I sold 'em all for between $150-300 EACH at Brimfield. (Around '98-'99)
     
    42Skeezix, Oct 19, 2014
    #65 + Quote Reply
  6. 42Skeezix

    42Skeezix Moderator Moderator

    Hope y'all don't mind. That reminded me of another time. Not an estate sale but an estate purchase.

    We had this estate awhile back. Great stuff, a little at a time, over the course of a couple of weeks or so. We could buy pretty much anything but the matron of the family would occasionally want to approve of the stuff before we could drag it off. Well, we had found a trove of red line Hotwheels, the FIRST ISSUE type. EARLY stuff. And again in MINT condition. Probably 40-50 or so. We carefully wrapped each one in paper towels and bagged em. a nearly full grocery bag. On this day grandma was curious about what we were carting off. The Chad Valley dolls? (four of 'em, including a perfect complete piper boy, in the box.) Fine, have 'em. The 1826 sampler? Take it.....

    "What's in that bag?"
    "Hotwheels."
    "Hot wheels? What are they?"
    "Toy cars. Like Match Box cars."
    "Toy cars? My grandson likes toy cars. They can't be worth too much. I think I'd like to keep those for my grandson."
    "......but.......but........"
    "No, my grandson will like these"
    That was that.
    Sic transit gloria mundi.

    We got fabulous stuff from that estate, from the afore mentioned sampler to gold watches and jewelry, but my memory is always drawn to that bag of EARLY Hotwheels that got away.
     
    42Skeezix, Oct 19, 2014
    #66 + Quote Reply
  7. say_it_slowly

    say_it_slowly The worst prison is a closed heart

    I just stumbled on one of those green face lady print/paintings on liveauctioneers while looking for something else. Now I want one LOL!

    This sold for $350
    http://www.liveauctioneers.com/item/16996686_tretchuko-oil-on-canvas-asian-woman

    So found this one too, sold for AU$1,500
    http://www.liveauctioneers.com/item/5391607
     
    say_it_slowly, Oct 21, 2014
    #67 + Quote Reply
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  8. gregsglass

    gregsglass Well-Known Member

    Hi Don,
    Reminds me of when I was having a yard sale, a neighbor lady came up with a large pink plastic suitcase for Barbie and asked if could sell it. I was being overwhelmed with buyers and just glanced and said sure. About ten minutes later I here her say "10" dollars. I glanced over and inside the damn suitcase were 25-30 complete outfits sealed in plastic bags. I almost died. The woman that bought it flew out of there. I did not have the heart to tell her what it should have sold for. I just pleaded with her if she had anything to sell, please make sure that I see it first. I ended up selling a lot of stuff for her. Her son and daughter left all of their toys and treasures from the 50s to 70s. Her brother was a fireman in Brooklyn in the 40s. I sold his helmut for 400, his boots and jacket for 750 she was going to throw it in the trash. She could not imagine why people would want those old worn rubber boots and stuff.
    I think over a 5 year period I sold over 25k for her. She gave every dime of it to local food banks and charities.
    greg
     
    gregsglass, Oct 21, 2014
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  9. evelyb30

    evelyb30 Well-Known Member

    Wish I'd been the buyer on that suitcase.(LOL) Around here, a lot of "estate" sales are really just moving sales that someone wanted to class up. I see tons of barbies, but they're all made in China and beaten to death.
     
    evelyb30, Oct 21, 2014
    #69 + Quote Reply
  10. 42Skeezix

    42Skeezix Moderator Moderator

    Barbies are one of those things I am MOST CERTAIN I have walked right past treasure troves of. I've even ALMOST bought Barbie stuff, but wouldn't know the good bits if they bit me on the nose.
     
    42Skeezix, Oct 21, 2014
    #70 + Quote Reply
  11. tie.dye.cat

    tie.dye.cat Well-Known Member

    beanie babies
     
    tie.dye.cat, Oct 23, 2014
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  12. tie.dye.cat

    tie.dye.cat Well-Known Member

    tie.dye.cat, Oct 23, 2014
    #72 + Quote Reply
  13. spirit-of-shiloh

    spirit-of-shiloh Well-Known Member

    LOL,maybe some elderly lady tried to spruce it up like this painting....remember??? LOL :eek::D

    Before...

    9b3371cd.jpg

    After...
    115236ac.jpg
     
    spirit-of-shiloh, Oct 23, 2014
    #73 + Quote Reply
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  14. evelyb30

    evelyb30 Well-Known Member

    That's worse than even what I was thinking, although these days Monkey Jesus is more famous than the original painting. My thought - the button box. Even if there's no old sewing machine there will be a button box. Unlike most of what we've mentioned however, I'll generally buy the button box. I can unload the buttons and sift through just in case.
     
    evelyb30, Oct 23, 2014
    #74 + Quote Reply
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  15. 42Skeezix

    42Skeezix Moderator Moderator

    I like button jars. Ya can look 'n see if there's any prizes inside and give it a little roll to see most of the contents. I'm ALWAYS on the lookout for button hordes. Always gotta take a minute to rummage through the drawers of old sewing machines too.
     
    42Skeezix, Oct 24, 2014
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    tie.dye.cat likes this.
  16. evelyb30

    evelyb30 Well-Known Member

    One woman on the Roadshow cleaned one out and found a valuable diamond that someone in the family had probably hidden in there. Nobody knew about it until she was cleaning the thing out years later. I found an 18k charm dangling from a pin cushion once, so I always check for those too.
     
    evelyb30, Oct 24, 2014
    #76 + Quote Reply
  17. johnnycb09

    johnnycb09 Well-Known Member

    Yikes Tye,that was one lady who HATED aging !
     
    johnnycb09, Oct 25, 2014
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  18. tie.dye.cat

    tie.dye.cat Well-Known Member

    Almost looks like a bottle of Jack in her lap.

    I wondered if it was a spurned lover or angry family member who decided to "erase" her, even if only by symbolic gesture!
     
    tie.dye.cat, Oct 25, 2014
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  19. evelyb30

    evelyb30 Well-Known Member

    Got another one for you - jigsaw puzzles. I went to a church sale today and found a good pile of them. Left 'em for the next guy. Another dirt common find - bridge decks and bridge tablecloths. They're sized for those square folding card tables and almost always embroidered by some lady using one of those kits.
     
    evelyb30, Oct 25, 2014
    #79 + Quote Reply
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  20. Marko

    Marko Well-Known Member

    Porcelain dolls circa 2013.
     
    Marko, Oct 25, 2014
    #80 + Quote Reply
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