Featured Which Estate Sales/Auctions Are Better: Urban, Suburban, Or Rural?

Personally I've always liked farm auctions, since rural people had to be more self-sufficient they usually hoarded a lot of stuff making for good sales/auctions. Also there are a lot of multi-generation farm estates that sometimes have large accumulations of antiques that have been in family for a long time, that have just piled up over the generations. Many older farmers that remember the Great Depression, my grandfather included, hoarded a lot of stuff, not knowing what the future would bring.

I've had some luck with urban auctions too. The best are the multi-generation accumulations here as well, sometimes in sketchy neighborhoods full of older dilapidated homes. One the largest accumulations I've seen was in a three story Victorian that must have been packed full, floor to ceiling, from basement to attic. It had been untouched for twenty years after the resident had passed away and the out of state family left it sit for years.

What are your thoughts/stories?

Thanks,
Joe2007

 

Thanks Joe for asking!!!
This is right up my alley; I spend a lot of time visiting Rural, Suburban, and Urban Estate Sales.
I have made a list of generalizations about each of the above (remember there's always exceptions).

Rural
Pros:
Lots of hoarders
No idea of value (no desire to research value)
A tendency to have old items
Cons:
Usually a longer drive (not for everybody)
Sentimental attachment means overpricing
Lots of junk to sift through

Suburban
Pros:
Lots of stuff
Plenty of expensive items
Cons:
A lot of toys and children's clothing
Hard to find a deal because of seller research
High intensity of modern items

Urban
Pros:
Expensive Items
Cons:
Less space means less "stuff"
Lots of items are overpriced

Disclaimer: These generalizations are not true in every area. When I say Urban I am talking about Boston.

 

in northeast ct/hudson valley/westchester county the professionally run estate sales are a bust for me. maybe if i had a larger roll of bills in my wallet i might think differently, but the prices are too high. i do well at the little town and church thrifts, the local sunday flea market, and family run sales. all 3 goodwills around here aren't worth the gas money anymore.

 

The most productive places I've found to find items either wanted or needed, are towns with reasonable real estate values and a population that combines all ages.

Children's games, toys and clothing are sold as the little dears grow up, the newlyweds get rid of unwanted wedding gifts, mid-lifers may be upgrading to a larger house and want to have a brand-new color scheme there, and the older people are either moving to Florida, or a nursing home, and they are getting rid of everything.

The other way to get some Really Good Stuff, is to go to New York on Big Trash Night. WOW!

 

The best sales I've found have been moving/cleanout sales of people who've lived in the same house for at least 40 years. People often also unload their parents' stuff at those sales too, and that's when the fun really starts. I went to one of those hoarder sales once. Once was enough; one man's treasure was everyone else's junk, and the sellers overpriced anything actually worth buying...which wasn't much.
You can do well at the professionally run sales here if you know what you're doing. Some of the dealers here are experts at some things buy have no clue about others. Know which dealer is doing which sale and tailor your buying accordingly. One group I know does well with the furniture and et ceteras, but doesn't know jewelry. I've scored big at their sales.

The best of course are church rummage sales. The synagogue sales here can be great too, but prices tend to be higher. Again, know what you're doing and you can score. Last week's rummage sale cost me $25; I already almost doubled that scrapping out the gold bits. Everything else is gravy.

 

Hi,
I stopped going to "estate sales" run by people who are not the family. The women had Armetale plates, cups and saucers priced at 75 dollars EACH. I said "what the Hell is this all about"? One of the family said that the dealer said they were rare pewter from the 1850s. I said it was restaurant ware and not worth the price. Shaking my head I left. A few days later I was going by the dealers store and there it was priced at 3 dollars each. It seems that the dealer gets the pieces that do not sell. I always buy pieces of the stuff for a friend who has huge family gatherings several times a year. She was aghast when I told her what the prices were at the sale.
greg

 

I'd have taken one look at $75 Wilton and laughed, loudly. It doesn't go for that new here, except for some big meat platters that no one buys any more. Some of the family sales are worse than the professional ones; they price some of the items according to sentimental value rather than actual resale.

 

I like rural just because they are more likely to have my style..
They can be harder to negotiate with though because that seems to be more the way of life.

Urban everything goes sky high.
Suburbia seems to just bring out a lot of junk type stuff

 

Dealer run sales that are honest and fair are almost impossible to find, They BS the family into thinking the stuff they like is worth a fortune and price things accordingly and then when the sale is over they take for little or nothing the things that don't sell ( naturally ) and turn around and sell them keeping all the profit for themselves rather than the 30% they would have made. Just my Opinion!