The low down on estate sales {from my one experience!}

Update: The estate sale we went to 100% said “estate sale” in the ad, but based on the feedback from this post, it sounds like we were at an estate auction. And since this was our first experience, I don’t really know the difference!

Andy and I bought a 1900 square foot house. That’s basically double the size of anywhere else we’ve ever lived. We kind of think we live in a mansion, ha! And since we doubled our living space, we clearly needed some new furniture. We did accumulate a ton of free goodies in Florida (more on that here)! But, literally, 80% of the furniture in our house were given to us for zero dollars or my really nice mama bought it for us ; ) We needed a few things, and randomly decided one Sunday morning to hit up a local estate sale.

We ended up spending $300 and got 4 awesome items. But, before I get to that, here are 8 tips and tricks for estate sale beginners (that I wish we’d have known)!:

• It’s an auction. You get a number and everything. 
• They sell the furniture and tools last.  We sat around for a couple of hours before it was furniture time.
• They add on a 10% estate tax (I think this is how the auctioneer makes money!)
• Bring a lawn chair, lots of people do. We didn’t know to do this. Oh and maybe an umbrella and water bottles too.
• Bidding is going to be scary at first. Get over it, quick! Or you won’t get anything.
• Make sure you know exactly what you want and how much you are willing to pay for it. Bring something to write on or use your phone.
• Our auction took credit cards, but I don’t think all do. Check before you go.
• Investigate the art. It there is a signed artist name on a piece of art, google it on your phone right there. This painting by Woody Crumbo sold at our auction for $25, according to this website, you can sale Crumbo’s art for anywhere between $400 and $1200 dollars! Oh and of course you could take it to the antique roadshow, which would be super fun! You will have plenty of time to do this at the auction!

So, what the heck did we get at the estate sale?

1. Honda lawn mower

Andy started us off with a Honda lawn mower! We snagged a working Honda for $110! Andy says it works like a charm. Here she is:

2. Octagon table

A medieval looking, giant octagon, solid wood table for $5! No one else wanted her! I can’t imagine why, she’s a beaut. Seriously though, I have big plans to turn her into an ottoman or an outside table… or something really awesome.

3. Coffee table

This dainty girl came home for only $7.50. I just couldn’t pass her up for 7 1/2 bones! She’s going to get refinished soon.

4. Round circle vanity

The other big purchase of the day was the vanity. I picked her up for only $115! I’ve always loved these little vanities with the big giant round mirrors. I’ve almost bought one about 18 times on craigslist! Pretty happy I waited because this sucker was an awesome deal.

Grand total: $237.50 + $24 (10% estate tax) + $21 (sales tax)= $282.50

Have you ever been to an estate sale? What did you think? I’d love to hear…