karenchi

A remark on Estate Sales and only one person who checked people out. My mother died in 07, a month later my FIL died (had an estate sale) and then 08 my dad died. We had a real mess on our hands in both houses. With no help from siblings, they did not want to bother or as in my dad's house, my brother wanted nothing to do with my dad for the yr from when my mom died. He would not even help organize or help out after death for the estate sale. Therefore, that left me and my husband to do everything. That may have been the case in the estate sale you attended. You just don't know what the case may be. Just speaking from experience. Never an easy thing to go through....

sharoney

I always feel the same way you do at estate sales. I'm always uncomfortable, but I still go.

amandasgramma

I understand where you're coming from. I attending an estate sale in the town I used to live in. I did't know the woman, but had passed her house to get to and from work for years. In the summer I'd see her out there working in her beautiful yard. At the estate sale, they put everything out......including adult diapers. Now all my family has been informed if/when I die, they are to throw out ANYTHING personal like that!!! I know it's a common thing - to have to use diapers, but I do NOT want it advertised like that!

As for my hobby and craft stuff -- I've been dumping the regular craft stuff and antiques on my children for a few years now. My quilting stuff -- I told my daughter to get ahold of my friends that quilt and give my "stuff" to them, if she doesn't want it . :)

Treasureit

I probably shouldn't tell you this, but I used to run professional estate sales. I was a personal property appraiser and hired to sell the contents of homes. At first it was very strange, but to be honest I grew to love the process. As I sorted, cleaned and rearranged everything in the house, I felt partly like a detective trying to figure out who this person was and what they had loved in life.

I really felt a need to respect their property and treat it with dignity. So for me cleaning and displaying it nicely was important...and it sold better.

The early shoppers are the ones that have little respect for the person...they are usually the dealers and they are on a mission to find the best stuff for the least amount of money they can. Those who come later are usually very nice folks. There are sometimes people who come in and ask a lot of questions about the family and who they were and look through everything as if they want to get to know them.

Every sale was a different experience...from finding a big container of silver from a dentist homes to rats in a hoarders place.

Naturalmama

Oh - that is just wrong!!! Thankfully the ones I've attended haven't been that bad, but I do always feel uncomfortable. I don't like the idea of having someone go through my stuff someday - I like to think that they are still around and doing well - and wanted this to downsize. Actually, I do know of someone in their 60's that is planning on having an estate sale so they can move into a condo that is already furnished. Although their stuff is far from what you'd see at an average estate sale - you'd know they weren't old enough to be in a nursing home..... although if I didn't know them I'd probably be feeling awful because I'd imagine that they were both killed in an accident or something....

jaciqltznok

wow..where do I start on this topic....whew...First, let me say that just because the Ad in the newspaper says "Estate Sale" does not necessarily make it a TRUE estate sale..often the city will have rules about how many yard sales you can without paying the city a sales tax charge...SO, to get around this people will say they are having an Estate sale, when all they are doing is moving! That would explain why the people do not seem professional at the least!
I work for a Professional estate sale company and while it is hard to go in and sort through things, it is better do it for the family than for a probate that decides it just needs to go to public auction...I have worked for those auction companies as well..and I can tell you...I prefer an estate sale any day!
good or bad....

watch your paper and look for the companies that advertise on the days there are NO sales...they place ads in the garage sale section as advertising that they are there to do your sale for you...

you can also do a "living" estate sale which is done when you move, downsize or go to a retirement center...

be your own estate sale planner, and start downsizing NOW...it saves in the long run and you can use the money for a trip or something NICE while you are still around to enjoy it!

Vicki W

Maybe because of my love of history ), I have never been bothered by estate sales(cemeteries and funeral homes don't bother me either . I go often, last weekend I found an old cotton basket that I am donating to out local Historical Society. Frankly, the same stuff is/can be donated to the Good Will etc. and people go thru it all the time.

sueisallaboutquilts

This thread has been very interesting to read. I've been to estate sales but never sales run by the family. But I'm not wild about them for several reasons:

I'm trying to downsize.
Dealers get the good stuff first.
I don't like waiting in lines for sometimes a long time.

As far as equating things to the people I agree there are many ways to look at it. Bottom line for me is that it's just "stuff". People are so much more than the sum of their worldly goods. When I'm gone all I care about is that my kids get my quilts and family treasures. They all know what those things are. I don't care about the rest :)

whispers38

On the lighter side, my children ( 2 grown men) know that I will put things into books, so I told them to make sure that they go through everything when I go. Now because I have told them this, I have decided to have the last laugh. I bought a lace up, black with red lace, merry widow at a sale in an upscale deparmnet store. I washed it and put it underneath my other night gowns. I can just imagine the looks on their faces when they find that.

Treasureit

That is too funny! What can I do to MY children!