Well dang! How 'bout some hunting/fishing porn?

[Thumper]

Yeah Sky, I hear ya'. I live in a "smaller" town and the sales are comparatively limited locally. BUT, that can be a good thing depending on how you look at it. I'm right between two major population centers (Tampa & Orlando). I very seldom (as in almost never) leave my local area. I have to admit, I many times peruse the sales listed "out of town" and am tempted, but there are so many, how do you choose? It's like when I go into a restaurant that has a HUGE menu ... I have no clue what to choose as there are just too many options. That's when I throw my menu aside and just ask Lynn to order for me. So, I may not have the quality and variety of the sales available "in the city", but I have enough to keep me as busy as I want to be and don't have to worry about picking and choosing which ones to attend. If I ever decided to step up my game and get serious, I'd be willing to travel farther than the 30 or so minutes I limit myself to here.

Now, another thing to keep in mind. On one hand, this is a mecca for estate sales. Face it, disregarding the native population, this is where many older folks come to die (to put it bluntly). The result is, no shortage of estate sales. Many here have retired "up north" and moved here for the weather, etc. On the downside, some of them sell off the old homestead up north, along with all the cool old "junk" they've accumulated over the years (or sometimes, generations). They come down here, buy a small 1400 sq. ft. house and hit 'Rooms-To-Go' to furnish the new digs. The antiques and cool stuff is left, sold off or given away to friends/family up north because they know all that stuff will not fit into their new home or lifestyle. The old man is finally retired and now has time to pursue his interests, so he goes crazy buying new hunting or fishing gear and that fancy bass boat he's always wanted. I get bored and many times don't even attend sales that look like nothing is over 10 years old. I like the place that is knee deep in "junk" ... covered with dust and dirt. The hunt and the dig is where the excitement is for me. Now, on the other hand, most who collect certain items, will usually bring their collections with them. It's like one-stop shopping once it becomes part of an estate sale.

Another reason for so many sales here is the fact mom and dad retired and moved from Seattle to Miami. The "family" is all still in Seattle and working for a living, plus trying to maintain their own households and childcare issues. Most can't just call a halt to everyday life and hop on a flight to Florida to spend a month handling the affairs, so they call an estate sale company and ask them to empty the house for them. They then call a realtor and have the house sold. All the family has to do is continue with their lives and wait for a check to arrive in the mail.

[Arty]

Another reason for so many sales here is the fact mom and dad retired and moved from Seattle to Miami. The "family" is all still in Seattle and working for a living, plus trying to maintain their own households and childcare issues. Most can't just call a halt to everyday life and hop on a flight to Florida to spend a month handling the affairs, so they call an estate sale company and ask them to empty the house for them. They then call a realtor and have the house sold. All the family has to do is continue with their lives and wait for a check to arrive in the mail.

Funny you say this. Talked to a woman last week at work. He mother in Phoenix has passed away. I asked how everything was going. She said, and I state, “after the funeral, me and my brother went to her house, found the hidden cash box, counted and divided it out on the kitchen table. Then we made sure everything was locked up, and flew home later that day. We called a realtor the next day and he’s handling the estate sale and selling the house.” They literally went in for the cash, walked away from everything else.