ozwaxc
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posted on September 16, 2000 06:30:46 PM
Just heard an interesting story today at an estate sale. (Don't know if its true, tho!)
Seems there was an ad in the paper recently for an estate sale that sounded really good. People were lined up for hours.....and it never opened! The story goes that a dealer put the ad in the paper to get his competition out of the way!
It seems some dealers will go to extremes!
LOL!
(Not swearing to the accuracy, only to what I heard.)
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kathyg
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posted on September 16, 2000 06:52:24 PM
Well this is a new low!
I've been to 'fake' estate sales that turned out to be nothing more than antique mall dealers bringing all their stuff to a residence for the weekend. Really burns me, I often call code enforcement on them.
But I can't say I'm surprised about this one. I've been going to these sales long before eBay, but now it's a whole different attitude. The competition is so fierce, sometimes I actually get panicked. Watch out for those little old ladies with walkers - they know how to wail them ...
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cheeses
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posted on September 16, 2000 06:58:48 PM
In most States, falsely using "estate" is a serious offense. Where I live it is a $2,000 fine.
BTW, the definition of Estate is "The goods and real property belonging to a named person. The items cannot have been purchased for resale."
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abacaxi
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posted on September 16, 2000 07:11:29 PM
If true: ROFL! What a great idea!
It was a regular practice in VA to rent an ancient-looking house and advertise "estate sales" in the tourist papers. One house in my neighborhood went through several van-loads of furniture one year. They'd fill it up on Thursday and have much of it sold by Sunday night.
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fountainhouse
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posted on September 16, 2000 08:25:37 PM
Whoever said antiques dealers weren't creative? I give somebody alot of credit for ingenuity! 
Around here, though, I'm afraid it wouldn't get the competition out of the way for too long -- most of my fellow dealers wouldn't wait much longer than 15 or 20 minutes .... assuming someone came out of the house in the interim to announce the delay. If there were no signs of life, they'd be outta there at 9:05. And so would I.
As far as the imposter "estate" sales, I've never taken an ounce of interest just WHERE the merchandise came from, so long as it was there in sufficient quantity and at price levels that permit its purchase.
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texmontana
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posted on September 20, 2000 01:21:07 PM
What about those estate sale ads- you drive across town and the estate sale is actually two small card tables of JUNK in the garage! Makes me wanna say, "Hey- thanks for wasting my time!!" Sheesh!
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anggellene
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posted on September 20, 2000 03:16:44 PM
On the flipside of this...
Here in SW Ohio the words 'Estate Sale' are used fast and loose in classified garage sale listings. Seems everyone has caught on that you can have 200 people in line at 6 AM to look at your 2 card tables of junk if you simply use 'Estate Sale' in your garage sale ad. Also use the word 'antiques' and that always drags them in - "Antiques" around here means 2 old people selling junky trinkets the grandkids gave them over the years. I bet you can guess what the 'antiques' are at those sales.
I usually hit the regular garage sales while all the fools check out the 'estate sales' that are advertised in the paper. Have gotten quite a few nice items that way. Now I will hit the professionally/company run estate sales if I seem them advertised - usually people won't pay a company to come in and host an estate sale for them for a couple of pieces of big trash pick-up junk.
After a while you get wise to who's for real in their ad. You also start to recognize addresses of perpetual estate salers.
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hammerchick
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posted on September 20, 2000 07:54:54 PM
I quit paying attention to the word "collectibles" in garage sale ads. ANYTHING can be collected. Have also seen "collections" overused. A friend says once you have two of something you have started a new collection. In that case, I'm in trouble! LOL.
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kathyg
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posted on September 20, 2000 08:28:23 PM
Well this might be getting off the topic, but when you talk about how anything can be 'collected':
I have started to collect old (and recent) AOL 'free' startup diskettes and CDs.
I can't imagine how many of these jewels I have thrown away, but now I save them. I have about 2 dozen different so far, but I am going for hundreds more. They are their own miniature works of 'art'.
You can find these at garage and estate sales by looking inside of old software and, especially, modem boxes. Please note: I would never condone the use of AOL as I think they suck, but I have discovered I love their advertising. Don't believe me? Do an eBay search on 'AOL Disk*'.
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mrpotatoheadd
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posted on September 20, 2000 08:59:30 PM
Don't believe me? Do an eBay search on 'AOL Disk*'.
All I can say is HOLY COW! I would never have believed it if I hadn't looked myself. I have about 20 different 3 1/2" floppies, which I erased last year, intending to re-use (bummer). At that time, I threw away the packaging they came in (major bummer).
Do the people who collect these do so just for the labelled floppy, or do the actual AOL installation files need to be on the disk?
Does anybody know of a utility to unerase files on floppies?
I'll retire to the corner and pound my head against the wall while repeating "Never throw anything away without checking eBay first" now...
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MaLady
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posted on September 20, 2000 09:10:32 PM
Really!! So my teenage son was right when he started collecting those floppies and disks nearly 4 years ago! He said they would be worth something someday. He has a drawer full. He even saved the other ISP disks (MSN, Sprint, ATT, etc). I was hanging them in my fruit tree's (I heard that the sparkle from when the sun hit them just right scared the birds away).
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BlondeSense
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posted on September 21, 2000 02:01:36 AM
I'm looking at two of them right now. They are the coasters on my desk! LOL
Didn't Letterman do a top ten list on them last week?
Back to almost on track, I went to an estate auction last weekend that was just as bad as what Texmontana mentioned. A few beat up sticks of furniture in the front yard, and except for a box of books I was mildly interested in, it consisted of a garageful of junk I would be too embarrased to take to goodwill.
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uaru
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posted on September 21, 2000 02:24:26 AM
I see 'estate sale' on so many auctions even the items that came from a geniune 'estate sale' have a sound of 'thrift shop' or worse.
Brass Lamp inherited from great aunt
Brass Lamp from at an estate sale
Brass Lamp found in grandma's attic
"Honey? Where do we want to say this brass lamp came from?"
"The one I found at the dump? ahhhhhh... use the grandma's attic story"
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BlackCoffeeBlues
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posted on September 21, 2000 11:48:46 AM
OMG! I cannot even begin to comprehend the hundreds of AOL disks I've thrown away! I was on AOL back in 93... met my husband there in 94, actually. How bizarre. I wonder if I have any "kits" in the garage?? hope so!
Sheri
[email protected]
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RM
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posted on September 21, 2000 01:30:46 PM
LOL! This reminds me of an annual outdoor antique show that I sometimes attend. It's a very large show and it's a one day event. It never ceases to amaze me that on the day before and the same day of the show, how many estate sales just happen to be taking place.
Strange coincidence that the owners of these "estates" are all dying at just the right time for their "loved ones" to sell their stuff to all those dealers and collectors who just happen to be in town. Pretty handy.
Yeah, they're dying to sell their stuff alright. LOL!
Ray
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CoolTom-07
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posted on September 21, 2000 02:03:15 PM
Random thoughts on "Estate Sales":
I really get worried when I read the garage sales ads around here. It seems that at least a couple dozen people drop dead a week here. It makes one fear of ground water contamination or an outbreak of ebola. Funny thing though, there still seems to be the same amount of people on the roads and in front of me in the grocery line...
Saw one today for a "Estate/Moving/Remodeling Sale" Gee, that seems like a lot of excitement for one week -- no wonder they dropped dead...
I go to some that purport to be an estate of a "89-year-granny." They fail to mention she died in a shopping cart accident last week at WalMart while she was buying the brand new dreck on the lawn...
Some real estate sales are downright pitiful. I look around and think "Geesh, you lived 80 years and this is all you came up with?" I have left instructions with my kids that if I am at death's door, they'll be a wad of money in a safety deposit box. Take the said money to the nearest antique mall and buy the rarest and ritziest fine antiques they can and strew them around the house...
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JM
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posted on September 22, 2000 08:32:00 AM
In some jurisdictions placing a false classified ad is a criminal action. If the paper got enough complaints, they probably would prosecute just to save their reputation.
JM
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