What’s the difference between a yard sale and an estate sale? I’ve found through the years that there is much confusion about the different kinds of sales. Mainly calling a plain ol’ yard sale an estate sale. Case in point…………
A couple of weeks ago I was pleasantly driving down the road when my eyes spotted a sign saying “Estate Sale.” Those words on a sign with an arrow pull me like a magnetic force. I had actually seen in the local want ads publication an inside yard sale on that road and the thought crossed my mind that it could possibly be an estate sale, but that idea was quickly dismissed because of the location. There are regular yard sales on that road every… single… week. If not every day. But seeing the sign put doubt in my mind.
I turned down the road. Pulled up to the address, which was an older, single wide, mobile home – not necessarily a bad thing, but if you’re hoping for an estate sale, it probably means there’s not much there because the owners either downsized years ago or never accumulated a lot because they lived in a small, mobile home. This one, however, just didn’t didn’t feel right for an estate sale. The one table out front with computer games sorta gave it away. But I got out anyway. Starting to feel a bit snippy and douped.
Some people were coming out of the trailer, so I headed in. As I was about to walk up to the porch, the guy said:
Guy: All I’ve got left is a desk
Me: Oh, so this wasn’t an estate sale? (I don’t usually call people out on these things, but like I said. I was feeling snippy. I’m not proud of that.)
Guy: Yes it is, but all I’ve got left is a desk.
Me: So you sold everything out of your kitchen cabinets and junk drawers? Everything?
Guy: No I need to keep all that.
Me: Oh. It’s your stuff. You’re still alive, so it wasn’t a real estate sale. An estate sale means the owner has passed away.
Guy: Naaahhhwww. Not necessarily.
Me: Yeah. It does.
Guy: Well, I’m on my death bed. (This was said in a defeated mumble.)
Me: “I’m sorry about that.” And I walked off. And no, I’m pretty sure this 40 something, video game playing man wasn’t on his death bed.
Guy: Have a blessed day.
Me: Thanks. You too. (We’re so polite here in the south.)
I’m ashamed of my reaction, or specifically, ashamed that I vocalized it. But sometimes you just have enough.
So what’s the difference in the an estate sale, a yard sale, a moving sale, a rummage sale, a tag sale, a garage sale, etc? Glad you asked! I’ll tell you.
{A yard sale at my parent’s house in the 1970s.}
Estate sale: A person(s) dies, the family gets what they want and what’s left of the estate is being sold. Most often held at the house of the deceased, but not necessarily so. We’re helping the family by taking the remainder of the items off their hands and putting some money in their pockets at the same time. And ever so thankful that they didn’t just burn it all or shove it in a big hole in the back yard like my friend, Iris did with her parents’ worldly leftovers. (Sorry Iris, but you will forever be teased about that.)
Living estate sale: Usually these are where an elderly person has moved to a retirement home, assisted living or nursing home and took very little with them. The family has got what they want and you’re helping them by buying up the rest. To me, these are the saddest. It’s got to be hard to leave your life behind and let’s face it. All the stuff you’ve lived with for 60+ years represents your life. I’ve been to them where the elderly owner is sitting in their favorite chair watching. Talk about heart breaking!
Moving sale: Anyone of adult age is moving. They can’t or don’t want to take all that crap with them and are happy to sell it to you. Us. Okay. Us. And we’re happy to take it off their hands.
The three named above could be conducted by family, friends or a business. All can be either too expensive or a bargain hunter’s paradise. Don’t think just because an estate sale company conducted the sale it’s going to be expensive. Some, like my friend Tiffany and I, use common sense with pricing. We price to sell, not look at. And besides, the people doing the pricing don’t know everything. Likewise, don’t think just because family is handling the sale it’ll be cheap. They often way over price everything.
Rummage or tag sale: Usually a sale for a charity. Church sales, sales to benefit the football team and the you-name-it club fit this category. Since they depend on donations, there could be anything at these sales. And oftentimes, the people doing the pricing have no idea that ugly pottery vase is worth its weight in gold. On the flip side, they might think it’s worth much more than it is because it was all the (antique-collectible) rage 30 years ago and “antiques” only go up in price. Right? Baaaahahaha. We wish!
Yard sale, garage sale, basement sale: They’re cleaning up or needing money and happily laying the junk they don’t need out in their yard, garage or basement to sell to us. And we happily buy it from them. Could be tables of Dollar General dust catchers or could be Grandma’s ugly pottery vase that they never liked.
Which brings me to this argument. Some yard sales are labeled estate sales because “everything came from one estate or another.” No, no, no! It’s not the same! That’s just you selling the junk you bought at estate sales that you either don’t want or can’t sell elsewhere. Period. You cannot win this argument with me. This is what I do. I’ve probably been going to these sales longer than you’ve been alive.
One more point. An estate sale is only sometimes an auction. The novice often thinks estate sale=auction. I realize in some parts of the country, the norm is to have an estate auction rather than a pre priced sale and the term is interchangeable, but in most places there is a huge difference in meaning.
Now here are some of the things I’ve found lately at estate and yard sales. Most items are available either on Etsy or in the shop here on the blog. Clicking on the picture will take you there. If it goes nowhere, I haven’t got around to putting it up for sale yet.
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