2011 – Jill shopping for designer clothes at an Estate Sale in Orange, CA (my first one!).
My First Estate Sale
I’ve always been drawn to old things and have shopped at flea markets and antique malls since I was a young girl. However, I had never been to an estate sale until I visited Jill while she was living in Orange, CA, in 2011. We had planned a week of antiquing, including the Rose Bowl Flea Market and the many amazing antique shops in Orange. Jill planned a day for us to visit a few estate sales too, and I was addicted to them from that day forward. There was something about finding unique old pieces directly from their owner’s home that felt special to me.
When I returned home to Michigan, I wanted to start finding estate sales right away. I remembered that Jill mentioned she planned our estate sale day in California by mapping out sales in the area she found on EstateSales.net, an online advertising platform for estate sale companies.
EstateSales.net is very user-friendly, as seen on their homepage here.
How Do I Find Estate Sales?
The best resource to find sales is through EstateSales.net. The platform was launched in 2001 as a local resource in Memphis by the McQuade family. The site was so successful they decided quickly to scale it nationwide, and they now connect over 8,000 companies to estate sale shoppers across the United States.
EstateSales.net is designed as a marketplace for shoppers and an advertising channel for estate sale companies. They pride themselves on providing great service and making it easy for estate sale shoppers to connect to companies selling the treasures they are searching for.
The site has a variety of helpful tools, but their email notification system is my favorite feature. You can sign up for weekly notifications of sales in your area and add additional zip codes if you want to expand your search or visit another area. The notifications provide details on the sale location, who is running the sale (company or private), and photos and descriptions of items in the sale. Typically, prices are not included, but the photos are helpful when deciding how to prioritize the sales you will attend or if a sale is worth visiting.
Another great feature is the ‘Treasure Tracker’ which allows you to indicate specific items you’re searching for. It’s a great way to get notified of sales that feature specific period items, furniture types, or designer brands. I have used it to find a leather chair, a library card catalog, and vintage designer bags.
EstateSales.net also includes helpful tips for newbies, like how estate sales work and etiquette to keep in mind while you’re there. They even help you map out your estate sale journey if you plan to make a day of it. With a subscriber account, you can favorite a list of sales you’re interested in and click the ‘Route your sales’ button to generate a sale map that will save you time.
Connect Directly with Estate Sale Companies You Like
If you become a regular on the estate sale circuit, you will likely find a few companies that you really like, whether it’s the personable staff running the sale or you like the way they organize things. Keep track of the companies you like best and see if you can follow them online. Most companies will have a website highlighting their upcoming sales and may also be on social media. Some of the companies I have been most impressed with in Michigan are Poof! Estate Services, Aaron’s Estate Sales, and Kellie’s Blue Moon Estate Sales.
Whether you’ve planned a day around visiting estate sales, or you happen upon one in your neighborhood, they offer an opportunity to discover something fabulous or meaningful in an unexpected way. Hopefully, these resources will help you find something you’re looking for.
~ Beckie
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