How much for the metal detector? $50, Ill take it... Not!

[diggummup]

I can also see the conflict Diggummup.... Now that I have thought about it...I would probably still have tried to make a deal after the price increase like you did...It is a decent metal detector to use, and a fairly valuable one to resell....I would have just hated myself a little if I ended up having to play that "game".

I would avoid those clowns like the plague from now on though....

I plan on it. I will tell everyone I know about them too. The only reason I would have paid more than the original $50 is because it was a nice detector and $50 really was too low of a price for it. But at $300 forget about it jerky. I want to go to one of your sales. Your in Orlando aren't you?

Just curious, what do you do with the list of active buyers? Do you contact them before a sale and give them a first shot? Do you use them to buy things that don't go to public sale? Just trying to understand better how this all works. Was one of the first people at a good estate sale last weekend and it was an eye-opening experience. More about that another time . . .

I know you asked CC-Hunter but i'll answer this from a buyers perspective. I receive an email notifying me of upcoming sales by several companies that don't list on Estatesales.net (I get emails from them also). Any reputable company (imho) should not do presales before the stated sale date. That being said, I have been to many estate sales before the actual sale date listed, because many sellers do have presales for a select few. So, it's a "if you can't beat them, then join them" scenario. I don't believe in it, but since they are doing it I may as well take advantage of it. I'd love to hear the story of the good estate sale that was an "eye opening experience".

 

Amazon Forum Fav 👍

DR.ÖTEK Metal Detector, Waterproof Gold Detector, Pinpoint & Terrain Modes, Professional Metal Detector - Grab it through Amazon!

[diggummup]

In general, there will be 100-200 people waiting an hour before the invitation sale. About half that many will be waiting for the door to open on the second day. The final day can really vary on pre-opening attendance numbers.

100-200 people! I'm glad I don't live where you do. 25-50 is tops around here for most sales, usually on the lower end. Also, many of the companies in my area do not even take 50% off the last day on anything quality, go figure. You'll be lucky to get 30% off on good items. The trick around here is knowing each companies area of weakness when it comes to their pricing (If that makes sense) and snatching it up as soon as possible (by being one of the first 5 in line) on the first day. That's how I get my best finds.

 

[Jon Phillips]

99% of our sales are in Sun City Center, with the remaining ones in the surrounding area. I'm just south of Tampa.

We had a crowd last week...it took 20 minutes to get them all in, and it stayed busy both days!

We have another one tomorrow, and there are several others in town as well. They are a big deal in the area, lots of garage sales in the area as well, it's a paradise for people that go to sales!

 

[Produce Guy]

I had the same type of problem from the same company here in Texas,I wanted to buy a band saw that they had for $75.I was the first one in the door and had cash in my hand and the picture of the saw from their web page.I get there and it says $175.00,not $75.I showed them they flyer and told them that that was false advertising.I left mad & without the saw,& I also took all their estate sale signs down in the "hood".

 

[Justice70]

Sounds like an absolutely horrible, unprofessional company. I too would steer clear of these dummies.

 

[trdhrdr007]

100-200 people! I'm glad I don't live where you do. 25-50 is tops around here for most sales, usually on the lower end. Also, many of the companies in my area do not even take 50% off the last day on anything quality, go figure. You'll be lucky to get 30% off on good items. The trick around here is knowing each companies area of weakness when it comes to their pricing (If that makes sense) and snatching it up as soon as possible (by being one of the first 5 in line) on the first day. That's how I get my best finds.

I live in a fairly small town. Not counting the garage sale people that advertise as estate sales there are only 1-3 true estate sales a month. At the height of garage sale season we only have 10-20 yard/garage sales on Saturday. That's why my biggest challenge is finding enough stuff to resell.

Pricing weakness is the key here also & it has to be on items other people don't hunt for. With such a small pool of sales & a relatively large pool of hunters anything common that's priced right is snatched up quickly. It's impossible to be the first person through the door at every sale. My strategy is to look for things other people don't.

Most of the quality items sell before 50% off. On larger items we accept bids that are opened the night before the 50% off day. Bids generally range from 55-75% of the marked price.

 

[CC-Hunter]

This is a great thread about estate sales, with a lot of helpful insight. I am a casual estate sale shopper but have been getting more into it. The quality and professionalism of sales in my area are all over the map.

I share Diggumup's anger about the company that jumped all over the place with the MD price. That's no way to run a business and I doubt that particular estate sale company will survive.

That said, I have to disagree with all those that say an estate sale company is somehow required to price something at a level that works for resellers. The bottom line is that estate sales can price items however they please. As others have said, their goal is to maximize sales. If they price too high the sale will probably not be successful and if they price too low they will leave too much money on the table. I have had the same complaint when I visit antique shops - there's often a lot of overpriced stuff that seems to sit around, and business looks slow. I've often thought that if I was in the antique business I would price the more common stuff to sell just so I could always be turning over inventory. But I'm not in the antique business and the antique store owners can run their business as they please. Whether they are successful or not is their business and not mine. If the estate sale companies are pricing too high, they won't sell and in the long run won't succeed or survive. But a price that's too high for a reseller might be fine for a collector or end user.

I went to an estate sale last week that was unusual in that it had a lot of coins (which I don't usually see at sales) and started on a Saturday rather than a Friday. So, I was able to go early and be one of the first people in. The people running the sale said they weren't coin experts but did some research and priced the coins at what they thought was a fair level. Overall, they did a good job on the pricing. When I have seen coins at other sales they are really overpriced, and only come down by 10% on the last day (compared to 50% on other items). This estate sales company certainly priced below retail. Their prices might even work for a reseller, but it would probably be a little tight. For a collector, it was a really good opportunity. Not surprisingly, the coins were being snapped up left and right. The sold thousands of dollars worth in the first hour. I bought a fair share and told the sellers that if some of their prices came down a bit I would buy more. They were nice, but given the buying frenzy they had absolutely no reason to bargain. They told me to come back the next day when prices would be reduced or even later the same day. I couldn't come back because I was headed out of town, but by the way things were going I didn't expect many quality coins to survive. This is just and example of a price level that may look bad to a reseller but is actually the right level from the perspective of the estate sale company and its clients.

Ironically, most of the sales I've been to that are more professional and well-run seem to have the highest prices. These were generally in higher-end houses and neighborhoods. I have been to sales where there was absolutely no deal to be had as far as I could see looking at the asking prices, but that didn't stop a lot of people from buying a lot of the stuff. In less professional, sloppy sales I have found good prices and unmarked items that went for a decent price when I asked. Overall, I've found better deals at sales that seemed less professional, but just in terms of presenting items nicely, having a lot of helpful prople on hand, etc., not unprofessional in terms of jerking me around on what the price of something was.

 

[jerseyben]

100-200 people! I'm glad I don't live where you do. 25-50 is tops around here for most sales, usually on the lower end. Also, many of the companies in my area do not even take 50% off the last day on anything quality, go figure. You'll be lucky to get 30% off on good items. The trick around here is knowing each companies area of weakness when it comes to their pricing (If that makes sense) and snatching it up as soon as possible (by being one of the first 5 in line) on the first day. That's how I get my best finds.

Wow is right. The most people I am willing to tolerate is 20-30. Any more than that and I move on to the next one as sales around here are plentiful.

 

[mkulltra]

Good Orderly Direction
954-610-7506

I'm not saying anyone should prank them for dig but if you looking for an estate sale company that will screw you, give them a call.

 

[clovis97]

Interesting thread.

Honestly, I've been treated worse by rude and stupid estate company owners. I've literally shook hands on a deal, and then have them sell it out from under me to another buyer.

I usually start a pile of stuff I am buying at estate sales. More than once, I've had other buyers pick my pile while we aren't looking, and every last time...the estate company owner sided with the person who picked my pile. All items have been low end stuff, (an extension cord, a 4 CD set and a stack of collectible dishes) that I would have taken to a flea market.

In the long run, I've found it easier to overlook this, and focus on how much profit I've carried out of the place. I have routinely bought $200 items for just a few dollars.

In all, I think that the estate company guy knows that he was wrong, and has busted out some killer deals for me since that time.

 

[packerbacker]

Thing is, an "ebay price", unless it has active bids on the item, is just an asking price. I see where thousands of items never receive 1 bid. I wouldn't deal with those folks either.

 

[dejapooh]

Whenever someone quotes an Ebay price to me, I always say, "Is that for sale or sold? I could list my keys for $1000, that does not mean they will sell."

 

[diggummup]

Good Orderly Direction
954-610-7506

I'm not saying anyone should prank them for dig but if you looking for an estate sale company that will screw you, give them a call.

I'm a big believer in Karma, they'll get what's coming eventually.

Interesting thread.

Honestly, I've been treated worse by rude and stupid estate company owners. I've literally shook hands on a deal, and then have them sell it out from under me to another buyer.

I usually start a pile of stuff I am buying at estate sales. More than once, I've had other buyers pick my pile while we aren't looking, and every last time...the estate company owner sided with the person who picked my pile. All items have been low end stuff, (an extension cord, a 4 CD set and a stack of collectible dishes) that I would have taken to a flea market.

In the long run, I've found it easier to overlook this, and focus on how much profit I've carried out of the place. I have routinely bought $200 items for just a few dollars.

In all, I think that the estate company guy knows that he was wrong, and has busted out some killer deals for me since that time.

I do the same and have the same done to me (make piles and have savages go through it), I will usually get the wife to stand guard after we do an initial 1st round sweep of the home. I do focus on what profits I can make on the items I have but I don't need to be reminded of it 4 times as i'm picking. That's what this guy "Norm" did. The boy scout stuff that I got a price on before he was able to "look it up". He sounded like a damn parrot, "you got a good deal on that, you got a good deal on that, you got a good deal on that." lol. You'd think he gave me a $100 item for $10 or something meanwhile it was priced at what it should be, 30-40% of retail/resale value. So shut up Norm! lol

Whenever someone quotes an Ebay price to me, I always say, "Is that for sale or sold? I could list my keys for $1000, that does not mean they will sell."

I've said the same thing dozens of times. Not to mention the fees, time involved in researching items (for pricing), taking photos, listing, packing/shipping, cost of packing/shipping materials, not to mention the effort involved in acquiring and maintaining a good feedback score. Besides the fact that, if I want to buy something off ebay, I can do that in the comfort of my home without ever spending a dime on gas and looking at their ugly asses.

 

[trdhrdr007]

Interesting that so many people have problems with people scavenging from their pile. The estate sale company I help with always sets up a holding area that is pretty closely watched. We have several people throughout the house that mark large items sold. We also provide shopping bags/boxes, & if we see someone with a full bag/box and/or their arms full we will take their items to the holding area for them so they can keep shopping. I'm not going to say mistakes aren't made or that people don't try to sneak into the holding area, but we minimize scavenging as much as possible.

 

[SilverForBrains]

Kinda like when goodwill has a higher end item in the display case with a printed out "Buy It now" price from an ebay auction of one in much better condition. not even a completed listing! I can feel your pain