Your Ultimate Guide To Estate Sales | How To Get Exactly What You Want, Every Time

I’ve been to an estate sale or twenty, and in doing so, I’ve learned how to get exactly what I want, every time. It wasn’t like this in the beginning. At first, my husband and I would saunter up to the line, 30 minutes before opening, with no plan in place. This is totally fine if you just want to browse, and have no “must have” items in mind.

Over the last year, interest in estate sales has exploded in my city. It used to be that a few people would be waiting in line ahead of us, and maybe a few behind us. Now, every single sale we go to, has a line up around the block.

Here are my best tried and true tips to getting exactly what you want, at every sale:

GET FAMILIAR WITH YOUR LOCAL ESTATE SALE COMPANIES

This is how you’re going to find the sales, and learn how to approach them. Our main local estate sale company is really active on social media, so they always post photos and videos for every upcoming sale. Every company is going to have slightly different rules (payment types they accept, line ettiquette, etc,) so it’s important to familiarize yourself with this before the sale.

My local company also posts larger/more expensive items for sale ahead of time online, so keep an eye out for that as well.

TAKE THE DAY OFF

Estate sale days are not working days. If there’s an item you really want, you can’t plan to go after work and expect it to still be there. I’ve taken half, and even whole vacation days off work to attend sales before. Estate sales are also not something you can do on your lunch hour. You have to anticipate waiting in line to get into the house, and waiting in a long line to pay for your items.

ANALYZE THE PHOTOS

These vintage Christmas ornaments were calling to me through the screen. The entire lot was only $10!

Zoom in, and analyze every photo your estate sale company posts on social media. They will most likely talk-up and feature high ticket items, but if you’ve got specific things on your wish list, you need to really zoom in to see if those items are there.

Analyzing the photos and videos they post, will also allow you to get an idea of where those items are in the house. One sale we went to had a beautiful vintage sewing basket that I wanted. It was a hot item that everyone was interested in, but I knew by looking at the photos exactly where to go in the house to find it, and I got there first.

Sometimes you can even see the price stickers in the photos, which is helpful when determining what you plan to buy.

BRING BACK-UP

When possible, my husband and I attend estate sales together, so we can divide and conquer once inside. This is especially important if there is more than one item you want, in different parts of the house. Before entering the house, we plan out exactly who is going where, so we can head straight there when the doors open.

ARRIVE EARLY AND MAKE YOURSELF COMFORTABLE

This is really the MAIN point to takeaway from this post. You risk not getting what you want, if you do not arrive early. What is considered early will differ for each sale. I usually check out the social media posts ahead of time for each sale, to gauge how much interest there is. If a lot of people are commenting, sharing, and tagging people in the sale posts, I know it’s probably going to be a busy one.

For my local sales, I usually arrive 2 hours early if there is an item I really want (and I’ve been first in line every time), or 1 hour early if I just want to browse.

We ALWAYS bring camping chairs and weather appropriate gear to use while we wait. In the past, we were not prepared, and ended up waiting in an uncomfortable line, in bad weather for over an hour. I want to be comfortable and not tired by the time the doors open, so now we prepare for waiting. In the winter, we bring warm jackets, blankets, hats, etc. In the rain, we bring coats and umbrellas, and on sunny days, we dress in cool clothes so we don’t overheat.

I can’t tell you the amount of people who have looked at us in our chairs and stated that they wish they had one too. Right before the doors open, one of us runs the chairs to the car, or if we’re alone, we leave it along the side of the house. Our local company is fine with this, as long as the chairs aren’t in the way.

Many estate sale companies will hand out tickets in line, as they can only let so many people in at a time. The goal is always to get there as early as possible so you aren’t stuck waiting outside for people to leave when the doors open.

MAKE FRIENDS IN LINE, AND TELL THEM WHAT YOU’RE THERE FOR

I’m an introvert, but thankfully my partner-in-crime is an extrovert, and he makes friends everywhere we go. We actually have people we recognize and talk to at each sale now, because we’ve all waited in so many lines together.

The main goal is to be first in line, BUT even being first in line holds a small chance you may not get what you want. Sometimes, the estate sale companies move things around before the sale, which means you may end up on the wrong side of the house.

By making friends in line, and telling them what you’re there for, you’re recruiting potential team members who can help you inside. If someone tells me what they’re looking for, I will absolutely grab it for them if I see it first, and others will do the same for me.

Also, if you tell people what you’re there for, and they’re after the same thing, sometimes they will agree to let you have the item (especially if you’re first in line,) or you can share if there are multiple of the same thing.

BE FRIENDLY TO THE WORKERS

The 1995 snowman blowmold that I scored, by being first in line, and friendly to the estate sale employees.

You should do this anyway, but we always chat with the workers as we see them before the sale. Usually, they will come outside to do crowd control, put street signs up, or direct traffic. Sometimes they just come out to chat with people in line and talk about the sale. If there is anything you want, but you can’t figure out where in the house it is, this is a good time to ask a worker which direction you need to head when entering the home. Also, don’t be afraid to ask the workers if the item you want is still available. Usually the family has already taken what they want, but on rare occasions, they come the night before the sale to grab something, making that item unavailable.

At the last sale I went to, I was after a 1995 Christmas blow mold, and told the worker outside that I was looking for the Christmas room. The second they opened the doors, they immediately pointed me in the right direction. I was first in line, I asked questions, and I got what I was after.

BRING A LARGE BAG AND BE FAST

Your arms can only hold so much, and if there are multiple items you’re after, you’re going to need a bag to put them in. My favourite estate sale bag is a large LL Bean Boat and Tote, but any large bag will be fine. IKEA shopping bags also work great for larger hauls.

You’re going to want to be fast at throwing the items in the bag. If it’s a big enough sale, people will be reaching over you, and the rooms will get crowded really fast.

BUDGET AHEAD OF TIME

As mentioned above, sometimes you can get an idea of pricing based on photos of the sale. After you go to a few sales with the same company, you also get used to their pricing and can usually guess the price range something may be in. Regardless, you should always have a budget in mind for every sale you attend. Sometimes you’ll find items you didn’t plan on getting, so make sure you account for extras.

If you see something you want, but it’s out of budget, make sure to come back on half price day! Most estate sale companies will advertise the last day as 50% off day. My husband and I almost always go back on half-off day to grab extra things we didn’t get on our first pass through.

Once you’re familiar with your local estate sale company, you’ll find out if they’re willing to haggle or not. The one in my city typically doesn’t, but as it gets closer to the end of the sale, they’re more willing to make deals and bundles to get rid of things. Anything they don’t get rid of, ends up being donated, so some money is better than none.

As mentioned above, make sure to check online to see what payment types they accept! If there is no wifi at the house, the company may not have access to debit/credit machines. Cash is always acceptable.

Most importantly, have fun! Estate sales are a great way to get out into the community, meet new people, and take home items you may not find elsewhere.

Special note: At Merrymake, we don’t believe in using AI for writing blog posts, so all of our posts are 100% written by the author. Yes, we really are just that witty.