I prefer the estate sales held by private parties. I've been to a few hosted by dealers where the antiques were priced more than retail and it was obvious they had been brought to the site by the dealer instead of being part of the actual estate.
It all depends on who's hosting the sale though. Some people doing it are better than others. Some have email you can sign up for where they will send you a preview of the sale too.
I've been a garage/ estate sale junkie since I was a kid. I do brake for sales.
Rodney