This one should be fun!

[Thumper]

I was talking to one of the estates sale companies a couple weeks ago and the gal told me she has just the kind of sale I love coming up. She said the lady had been in the house for a bazillion years and was a major hoarder ... plus she NEVER threw anything away. She said the place is so packed with stuff and the house in such poor condition, she is only allowing her regular customers to go into the place ... just a few at a time, by appointment only. It's running Thursday thru Sunday and my buddy and I have an appointment for Thursday ... so we'll be in ahead of the crowd. I asked her what kind of stuff was in the house and she said, "Name it ... it's in there .... SOMEWHERE!" She is not going through and arranging anything ... there will be no prices marked and we will have to dig and discover whatever we want on our own. She said just to take what we find, make a pile and she'll give a GOOD price for the whole pile ... a good price is guaranteed as she has to empty the house! She told me to wear old clothes, sturdy shoes and to bring a flashlight. If dust and dirt bother me, maybe I should consider staying home. WOW! I can't wait! This sounds like fun! :D

[Big Skyz]

Believe it or not Thump I would find going through a place like that just about as much fun as hunting. In you are hunting you just aren't sure what you are hunting for yet. It certainly would be fun and interesting.

[Thumper]

Kinda like salt water fishing. I never have a clue what I'm gonna pull out'ta the water! ;)

[Captain]

Kinda like salt water fishing. I never have a clue what I'm gonna pull out'ta the water! ;)

In your case it would be a big fat NOTHING.... :D ;)

[Thumper]

Well, today's the day. I'm gonna grab a sammich and my buddy will be headed over here in about 30 minutes. I hope this will be as much fun as it sounds. Wish me luck. Catch youse dufes later.

[HideHunter]

luck!

[Captain]

Good luck, I hope you find a Billy the Kid tin type. ;)

[Captain]

Well, you gonna tell us what treasure you found or not?

[Cards01]

I been thinking the same thing....

[Chicken Dinner]

It probably wore the old dear out and he had to lay down...

[Captain]

Yea, it don't take much at his age to need a recharge on his batteries

[Buckrub]

How are so many of these so close to you?
Wow.
I'd go broke buying crap.

[Thumper]

How are so many of these so close to you?

Easy answer ... Yankees retire, then move to Florida to die. ;)

[Buckrub]

But WHY??

:)

And almost as many (per capita) move here. Or to Arkansas i mean.....I'm actually in New Mexico now about to head east.

[Thumper]

Well, you gonna tell us what treasure you found or not?

We were a bit disappointed actually. TONS and TONS of junk ... BUT, I mean "junk" literally. Most was plain old crap, or it was broken, or had missing parts/pieces, etc. We talked to a neighbor and he said the old man who lived there had Dementia and had been giving stuff away for over a year. He'd just let friends and neighbors come in and take whatever they wanted, so the place had basically been "cherry picked". I still managed a few cool items. Spent $32.50 and should be able to turn it into about $500 without too much effort (maybe more if I'm lucky).

I dug an OLD Coke bottle out of a pile of garbage (literally) ... and I've never seen one like it. One persactly like it sold on eBay in August for $102.90! I dug two old table fans out of a shed. They're not in the best of condition, but everything is there ... so I may sell them for "parts or restoration". They bring $300-$500 (each) in good shape. I bought one "mystery piece". I'll have to post a picture once I clean it up a bit. It looks like a Tiffany lamp shade ... but it's so covered with dirt and crap, I can't find any markings. It's definitely OLD ... and a quality piece ... I just haven't been able to identify it yet. Add a few other odds & ends and I did ok ... just not as well as I expected.

[HideHunter]

Easy answer ... Yankees retire, then move to Florida to die. ;)

and that really is the "easy" answer.. Dad owns a place down there... other than a very few heirlooms, pictures, etc.. Not a danged thing down there any of us would want. .. and no economically feasible way to get it home if we did. I totally understand.

But - as I've said.. wouldn't work here. We have a few "yard sales" (people getting rid of out of date or out-grown clothing).. Everything else goes on auction where it brings *at least* retail..

Good for you Thump..

[Thumper]

Yeah Hide ... we have some auction companies down here also. I tried auctions a couple of times and it just wasn't my thing. Heck, by time I "won" the auction, paid for the item, paid the "seller's fee, taxes AND a percentage for using my credit card ... it just wasn't worth the effort. I migrated back to the regular estate sales and decided auctions aren't my thing. I'm sure if I started attending regularly, I'd get "in the groove" and find an occasional treasure, but I just don't want to get that serious about it. Besides, auctions aren't all that common down here anyway.

[Thumper]

Dad owns a place down there... other than a very few heirlooms, pictures, etc.. Not a danged thing down there any of us would want. .. and no economically feasible way to get it home if we did. I totally understand.

You wouldn't believe how many times I hear that down here Hidey. The family is up North and there's no way for them to come down and handle the estate ... or many times they have no interest. All they really want to do is get the house emptied, cleaned out and on the market for sale. That can all be done over the phone. Many estate sale companies and realtors are "connected". It can be one-stop shopping at times, call a realtor or estate sale company and they'll work together to empty the place out and sell it. You just wait for the checks to arrive in the mail. Most of the estate sale companies sell what they can for a percentage. What's left over get's donated to charity (like Salvation Army, Goodwill or a charity the estate chooses) and the TAX DEDUCTIBLE check gets sent to the estate. It's a win-win for some people.