Estate sale furniture and household goods
With a 9 a.m. start at a chic condo estate sale in Lincoln Park, Chicago, Illinois, an intriguing vintage-filled bungalow estate sale in Oak Park and a large house estate sale in Evanston promising just the furniture piece you’re looking for, Saturday estate sale-hopping can get a little challenging.
Instead of ending up stuck in traffic most of the day, frustrated by lack of parking or disappointed to find all of the best stuff was hauled away before you even got there, do a little advance estate sale route planning.
Start by thinking about your priorities, are you focused on a particular type of item, working from a particular budget, hoping to pick up a large item that will require transport or simply out for a leisurely estate sale stroll? Your priorities will help you determine where you want to be when estate sales first open.
Small apartment estate sales can include fabulous artwork, jewelry and designer furniture, but with smaller estates there’s less to browse and less room for shoppers, so the best stuff often goes quickly. In contrast, even later in the day, you can usually still find great buys at estate sales of larger households.
Study Chicago Illinois Estate Sales descriptions and photos to get a sense of what’s available, antique and collectible-filled estates, practical household goods galore, garage/workshop sales, nice china and formal dining, designer and contemporary furniture, etc. If there’s an estate sale that is your top choice because of an item you’re seeking, plan your Saturday estate sale-hopping route around that sale.
Make a list of estate sale priorities:
- Estate sales featuring items you really need
- Estate sales featuring types of items you collect or restore
- Estate sales you could check out if time permits
- Estate sales you could always come back to later on for markdowns
Now you’re ready to hit the estate sales with a plan, and keep an eye on your impulse buys until at least noon!
Estate Sales in One General Direction
Resist the temptation to include every estate sale that catches your fancy in your estate sale route, you’ll just end up frustrated. Instead, hit estate sales in one general direction if at all possible. If you plan to start your estate sale day in a busy Chicago neighborhood, hit estate sales in that general area before heading off to the North Shore or Chicago’s western suburbs.
Keep in mind the flow of an estate sale when planning your route, too. Condo estate sales may mean signing in at the front desk, riding the elevator and working your way around other shoppers in tight hallways. While bungalow estate sales may be more accessible, parking can be a challenge on neighborhood streets. And although there’s usually plenty of room to roam at house estate sales in the Chicago suburbs, it pays to get to house estate sales before everything interesting has been plowed through.
Parking and Item Pick-Up Plans
Estate sale items prepared for transport
Have a plan in place for parking and item pick-up before you fall in love with lamps, chairs, mirrors or stacks of boxed dishes. If you’re estate sale shopping in a condo, check to see if there’s a designated loading area (and make sure it isn’t off-limits during peak traffic hours).
Estate sale hosts can usually tell you whether you should plan to haul your purchases away immediately, if it’s OK to leave purchases on-site and pick them up later with a vehicle or if there’s some other pick-up process in place, so don’t assume you can leave that gorgeous dresser in the condo hallway and come back for it later.
Come prepared with tape measure, reusable shopping bags, moving blankets and a way to secure breakables in your vehicle. And if you’re estate sale-hopping for furniture, measure your space and vehicle doorways ahead of time.
What Should You Expect from Early Entry?
Some estate sales use sign-up sheets or entry numbers, while others just open the doors when they’re ready, know what to expect before lining up outside a house at dawn. Early entry can pay off at estate sales with highly curated inventories, but it’s not worth waking up early for if all you’re interested in are kitchen tools, linens, books and décor.
A Second Visit Can Pay Off
It can also pay to plan a second trip to an estate sale if you eye a big-ticket or awkward item you’re interested in but don’t need. This can be a good time to inquire (diplomatically) if estate sale hosts would entertain a low-ball offer (look at https://www.investopedia.com/terms/l/lowball.asp if you want numbers). They may not, especially if their inventory is fairly priced and sells through by the end of the day, but it doesn’t hurt to ask.
A Backup Sale Keeps the Route Flexible
Successful estate sale routes rarely pan out exactly as envisioned, so it pays to build in wiggle room for parking challenges, line bustles and other snags. If possible, include at least one backup estate sale in the works, ideally, one headed in the same general direction rather than backtracking or crisscrossing Chicago and its suburbs.
Before you check out, double-check breakables are secured, your vehicle has room for your big estate sale score and you know how to get your treasures out the door.
