Tales from the Sales

Summer is going to be ending soon, and having lived in Dearborn a while now, I've noticed two things: 1.) Dearborn has some competently average, well-run garage sales and estate sales. 2.) Towards about this time, interest in sales wind down, and the ones still running seem to only carry things they couldn't get rid of at the last ones held.

I just want to know if folks have interesting stories about garage sales or estate sales they've been to in the Metro Detroit area and surrounding suburbs, if they've ever acquired some cool finds [[boast em' if you got them), if they ever notice a difference in quality of sales in certain areas, if they ever notice different [[peculiar) habits of those running sales, if they have horror stories from sales they held, or if they've ever seen the sprawling fanatical group of folks who travel about hitting up various publicized estate sales like they were following the Grateful Dead.

I mention the last point, because estate sales in Dearborn are a peculiar thing. I have gone to quite a few of them [[only passed up one on Highland St. that belonged to some important deceased radio personality because the line was outrageous, the items overpriced, and the estate sale company insisted everyone must put on "shoe booties" before entering). They are mostly held in homes of aging German Catholics who passed on or went into a nursing facility, and their kids hire folks to come in, arrange, price, promote, and sell all the Hummel [[or clowns or dolls-lots of folks in Dearborn were into Doll-making or Dollhouses), silverware, encyclopedias sets, half-used house cleaners, and postcards rather than toss all of it out into one giant wasteful pile on the curb.

Estate sales are a step above most garage sales [[I'm less likely to walk away empty-handed with an estate sale vs. a garage sale), but they do draw a throng of odd personalities. There are folks in the large South Eastern Michigan area who constantly have their ear to the grapevine and will travel great lengths [[Clarkston and Saginaw are no big hike for them) just to be at these sales. If a sale starts at 10a., they will start lining up outside at 5a. in the morning [[no lie), and the line will continue until 12p. [[I've actually waited in some of them), as the folks running the sales will let in a limited amount of folks at a time and issue out numbered tickets. The folks fanatical about this know the various companies running estate sales [[and rate them), and they all know each other, as they greet each other and swap juicy tidbits about the sales they've just hit up. Should one be a regular well-known frequenter of such sales and is a collector, when they pass away, all the other sale-goers can't wait to dig in and check out the estate sale of the items put up from what they once collected.

Some of the estate sale companies I've seen are private family-owned deals, and the folks roped into working for them look tired all the time. Sometimes they are too tired to help carry out large items. On more than one occasion I've volunteered to help a single mom jam in and strap down a large collection of furniture to their minivan that they bought from a sale.

I've seen the most ridiculous personalities get indignant and start holding up lines with their petty haggling, even when they are already getting a dang good deal with the haul they already have. I even saw one woman tell a woman to her face that she was a "bad person", just because they weren't getting their way [[while I actually got quite a good deal from the seller).

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Originally Posted by G-DDT

I mention the last point, because estate sales in Dearborn are a peculiar thing. I have gone to quite a few of them [[only passed up one on Highland St. that belonged to some important deceased radio personality because the line was outrageous, the items overpriced, and the estate sale company insisted everyone must put on "shoe booties" before entering). They are mostly held in homes of aging German Catholics who passed on or went into a nursing facility, and their kids hire folks to come in, arrange, price, promote, and sell all the Hummel [[or clowns or dolls-lots of folks in Dearborn were into Doll-making or Dollhouses), silverware, encyclopedias sets, half-used house cleaners, and postcards rather than toss all of it out into one giant wasteful pile on the curb.

Estate sales are a step above most garage sales [[I'm less likely to walk away empty-handed with an estate sale vs. a garage sale), but they do draw a throng of odd personalities. There are folks in the large South Eastern Michigan area who constantly have their ear to the grapevine and will travel great lengths [[Clarkston and Saginaw are no big hike for them) just to be at these sales. If a sale starts at 10a., they will start lining up outside at 5a. in the morning [[no lie), and the line will continue until 12p. [[I've actually waited in some of them), as the folks running the sales will let in a limited amount of folks at a time and issue out numbered tickets. The folks fanatical about this know the various companies running estate sales [[and rate them), and they all know each other, as they greet each other and swap juicy tidbits about the sales they've just hit up. Should one be a regular well-known frequenter of such sales and is a collector, when they pass away, all the other sale-goers can't wait to dig in and check out the estate sale of the items put up from what they once collected.

Some of the estate sale companies I've seen are private family-owned deals, and the folks roped into working for them look tired all the time. Sometimes they are too tired to help carry out large items. On more than one occasion I've volunteered to help a single mom jam in and strap down a large collection of furniture to their minivan that they bought from a sale.

I've seen the most ridiculous personalities get indignant and start holding up lines with their petty haggling, even when they are already getting a dang good deal with the haul they already have. I even saw one woman tell a woman to her face that she was a "bad person", just because they weren't getting their way [[while I actually got quite a good deal from the seller).

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I get email invitations to moving sales, estate sales.and lots or individual items from estate sale dealers here in Montreal. The " pickers usually get in first to check the goods.as they are considered "faithful customers". The last estate sale I went to was at a home of a well known antique dealer where I picked up.some nice finds.

i have witnessed first hand, [[my father's estate), the people that run these estate sales, steal, lie and cheat the surviving families members of the estate....at least in my case. i had asked to be at the sale and it was a nightmare. employee's of the woman running the sale, which some happened to be family members, stuffing things in rooms or closets that were "off limits" during the sale to be bought at the end of the sale for more than bargain prices. or just slipping thru without paying for anything. better off donating to a good charity.

^^^^That is probably the case. Sad news if these folks are running exploitative rackets.

I still won't give up on garage sales myself. They are a lot more interpersonal than online selling [[though I don't like sales where you walk in and the nervous folks running it are immediately imposing themselves on you with desperate hard-sell salesmanship-just be polite, back off, and let me browse quietly, I say.). I walked away from the last dozen sales I've been too empty-handed.

Yet, due to bad timing and not hitting the bank on the way to someplace, I passed up some good finds lately. I was at one estate sale [[last day and in the last fifteen minutes of it) where they had at least 8 copies of Detroit Monthly from the '80s. I only ended up buying one issue.

Also, I went to a sale on Nightingale St. where the guy had two crates of records and they were almost all various Redd Foxx, Moms Mabley, Rudy Ray Moore, and Pigmeat Markham-each for two bucks. Once again, no time and had just enough funds for gas. I have to admit that kind of selection was a fine change from all of the Sound of Music, Tijuana Brass, Ray Coniiff Singers, Jim Nabors Christmas, Sing-a-long with Mitch Miller, and 15 Banjo Favorites that every dang single household in Dearborn had to collect back when and are trying to get rid of now.

Meanwhile, over on the internet..........

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Originally Posted by Ray1936

Meanwhile, over on the internet..........

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Love it Ray.

Maybe this will sound like promotion. I went to a garage sale in Dearborn Heights on Vernon St. North of Hass, and the guy had a very elaborate lay-out of every tool, part, and fishing gear I've ever seen. I'm sure if someone were in need of a certain tool or repair item, he'd have it [[including all the small nails, screws, etc.). His prices weren't super cheap, but they were sensible for what he had. He said he only does the sale once a year, and he will be doing it all through this weekend. I wouldn't mention it, if it wasn't one of the more interesting sales of the year, I've seen, so far.

Picked up an old picture frame with a print in it. when I peeled back the print, I found an original copy of the Emancipation Proclomation hidden inside. Then I.......wait, that was my dream last night. Sheesh, it was real.......

When we were kids our mother drug us to what seemed like every garage sale on the planet,she bought dolls,50c 25c and they were couped up in boxes for years until she opened a antique doll and quilt store,when she passed she had over 600k in dolls and it seemed like it was still all the ones she had collected before.

An acquaintance was an estate buyer he would look at the most expensive item,figure the value and that's what he would pay for everything,most of the time he would get everything because they did not want to deal with the hassles.

Then there are the forever garage sales ...

Went to an Estate Sale a few weeks back thrown by the friends of the man who passed away [[I guess they had ties to the Junk Monkeys and the Lager House) a few years back. There was a huge selection of shot glasses, records, CDs, and even old ephemera [[like old Orbit magazines). This person's musical taste was huge [[lots of punk, ska, rock-a-billy, Bob Dylan, Tom Waits, Bowie, etc.), so I had to strike up a conversation with these folks to learn more about the guy. I guess he was one friendly, fun-loving kinda rockin' guy.