I usually shop the house and garage sales on Saturday, but yesterday I stopped in to an estate sale in Lincoln Square to see what was out there on a Sunday. This was the second day of the sale, and I wanted to find out - generally - for both buyers and sellers: What's there to buy on Sunday? and Is it worth holding a sale on Sunday?
The sale on the second floor of a 2-flat on Cullom started on Saturday morning. According to the sellers, there was a line of people out on the sidewalk waiting. On opening, the dealers came in with magnifying glass and quick eyes to assess the books and collectables. They have a habit of rearranging the merchandise to their advantage, I've heard, and the sellers said that was the case here, too.
Around 50% of the items sold on Saturday, especially the larger pieces of furniture. Left were lots of collectables left and Fitz and Floyd kinds of ceramics or what I call modern majollica. The sellers' grandparents weren't really collectors, more accumulators, they said.
Still for sale was a vintage accordion in excellent shape because once upon a time a twelve year old girl got tired of lugging it to lessons every week. I noticed some great clip-on earrings for holiday sparkle. There were a couple tables full of small ceramics and giftable items, such as a pair of Fitz and Floyd kitty cat votives. And in the bookshelves, lots of cookbooks and browseable hard cover books were there.
Traffic at the sale was steady when I stopped by the sale on Sunday. The sellers said they'd pack up the left overs and most likely have another sale in the spring.
Filed under: Pricing guide, Sales and Events
Tags: estate sales, Fitz and Floyd, garage sales, modern majollica, Sunday buying and selling, yard sales
I used to always shop the 2nd day of a sale and usually came away with lots of goodies. While I'd wonder what I had missed out on from the 1st day, the bonus was that the items are usually half off or heavily discounted on the last day of a sale. Was this the case for this estate sale?
Good question, Leilani. The sellers had researched on eBay for the going rate of some of their items. I didn't inquire if they were willing to accept less on the accordion, for example, which was priced at $300. However, since they were planning ahead to a spring sale says something.
I got a very nice china hutch on a Sunday morning for 75 dollars... When the lady saw me looking at it she dropped from 120 to 75... I love my china hutch and my mom is jealous that I found just what she always wanted at a yard sale and walked away with it for 75.