SecondMoonshot

 I originally had some travel planned today but that fell through and ended up finding one of those infrequent Thursday estate sales by a company I haven’t been to before in Oxford, NC…Lloyd’s Estate Sales. It was to start at 9a, so I got there at 8a and noone was there, I wasn’t even sure if maybe there was an error or it was cancelled. Decided to make a run to an ATM (which apparently, Wells Fargo does not recognize Oxford). When I returned, there was a small line of 5 or 6 people and I got to the end. The owners didnt show up until 8:45a, not something that I see that often, most recognize the value of a list and then once your on the list, you can go get a bite to eat, restroom, etc….anyway, probably an opportunity for them in that regard or they just dont like the concept of a list…its their company, so who am I to dictate.  The other customers were all relatively docile, courteous and no major jockeying for position, a good casual estate sale, the kind I like. There wasn...

Decided to go to a couple sales this weekend and ended up starting at a first day sale with Carolina Estate Sales and a second day 2 house sale with JMS Estate Sales. Both a positive overall experience. Carolina Estate Sales This sale was in the North Raleigh area and less than 10 miles from the house. Mostly mid-upper end stuff and we didn’t make any huge effort to get there too early, opting to stop in 1 hour before, get our number, and go check out a few garage sales in the area (which didn’t yield much). This sale was the type I tend to enjoy the most because the people (Staff and customers) were all super nice, prices were reasonable as much as could be expected for a 1st day sale and we ended up with some decent picks. This was the first time we did one of the Carolina Estate Sales and were very pleased overall. A solid professional crew. JSM Estate Sales This sale with JMS was a combination of a tag sale and a picker sale.  I decided not to go there on the first day as it wa...

Not too often we see a Thursday estate sale and had some time to kill so took the 40 minute truck from Wake Forest to Apex, NC. It was a liquidation sale and pretty much a bust. Got a few items which will probably brake even on but maybe will get lucky with. Everything was priced above any price a reseller would purchase at and threw in significant lots of consignment (most low quality items) for giggles. Not much more to say about this. I have been to previous sales from this crew and none were memorable (other than the prices) although people were personable. John

Friday is usually the day I will go to some estate sales alone as the spouse is working, they are usually pretty well attended.  Steve Minor Estate Sale, Eclectic Goods I started off the morning going to a Steve Minor estate sale in Raleigh area. Decided to get there nice an early for a number, arriving at 5:50a for an 8a start…I was still #15. It was a good sale, probably classified as average or slightly better. The other buyers were well behaved although normal scurrying around commenced as normal, prices were reasonable. They had tons of fabric selling by the trash bag load @ $5…I did not buy any. I ended up with a reasonably good lot of listings. The wooden cat was very cute and the 2 pigs sleeping under up getting taken by our daughter. A nice boxed Japanese stacking warmer set which should do nicely. Couple other smaller impulse item.  Everything but Grannies Panties, Vintage/Antique Books, Posters This one was to start at 5pm. Kim will do these Friday evening sales and...

Last weekend on Labor Day weekend, we went to the only estate sale going on in Raleigh, NC which was by JMS Estate Sales. Being the only one, you can imagine the crowd and 3 hours prior to opening there were already 10 on the list and was rumored that someone brought a sleeping back and got there real early (unconfirmed). We have been to a number of JMS sales and they do a lot of the “picking” type sales, but equally handle more mid-level larger sales well too. John and Keith are easy to work with and fair in their pricing (if not more than fair) and we always enjoy their sales and find some interesting items. This was one of the nicer sales and we ended up getting 15 and 16 on the list, but the house was pretty large, so it was filled up with the full attendance in no time at all. Probably the headline find was a vintage X-Acto Hobby Chest which was about 10” x 14” x 4” and had 40+ items in it. When I listed it, it went within an hour. There were probably more than 50 Wallace Nutting ...

Today I went with my son (Mitchell) to the Simple Sisters estate sale in Wake Forest, NC. Got a little concerned when we showed up at 10:45 for a Noon start and they said they don’t use numbers or list. The concern was unfounded and all the buyers stood in a nice structured (6 feet apart) line and behaved themselves. It was a very comfortable low-pressure sale and the staff were all extremely helpful and super nice. They will definitely be on my future “approved vendor” list going forward; I think they are just starting out, but a great start if that is true. Prices were very fair for a first day sale, although probably a few items higher than expected, but that’s just the way estate sales are, not out of the norm for sure. Specifically went for the New in Box Ariat boot, which I did get, although twice of what I hoped to get them for, but they should sell well and still make a reasonable profit. A good bit of copper, which has been selling extremely well, although think a piece or two...

On a gut feel, we decided to go to the 1/2 off last day estate sale held by Baby Boomer Estate Sales for the Chelsea Antique Store. We didn’t know what to expect and thought we would go in for no more than an hour and then go to some Blue Moon last day sales and get our number in line early for some good pickings. Turns out we stayed there for 2 or 3 hours and then ate lunch after across the street at Fosters. It started at 9a and we were there at 8a to get on the list, while we were the first. It was so comfortable and everyone (customers and staff), were just so nice, you didn’t feel like you needed to compete, rush, just browse and share items with other customers. Totally different feel and must try another Baby Boomer to see if it was unique to this environment or something they nurture. They staff helped move stuff to the large holding area and made sure to label everyone’s area clearly (we got our own table we had so much!). I didnt have enough cash, so put on credit card and th...

Sometimes an estate sale falls into your lap, like the one yesterday. Turns out it was about 1000 feet behind my house on the street behind me. This was a Steve Minor estate sale and starting to do more of their sales. I’m usually an early riser, so I went over at 6:30 and got on the waiting list early for an 8am start and was #4 (Roy in the white hurst is usually #1 to whatever he goes to, but we have different interests, so not a competitive concern). Attendance was kind of low, so while not a lot of stuff, I liked most of what I picked. I’d call it better than average given the size. Zabrina has been begging me for a windmill to go into the yard, so happen to find this rustic 6’ tall vintage one for her. I found a set of Haviland The Valmont Pattern Limoges France set for a pretty good price and figured I would start to do more china replacement listings, so we will see how it goes. I should be able to sell these lower than any listings out there and still make a fair profit. Probab...