Making the most of Estatesales.net
If you are looking to build your stash by shopping estate sales, then Estatesales.net is going to be your new best friend. This site is one of the main ways people find out about estate sales in their area and it has some pretty nifty tools that can make your shopping experience a bit easier and more productive as well. While they have a great website, you really want to download the app so you have easy access to all the features while on the go.
Estatesales.net
You can search the site in one of two ways—by location or by item—with the location being the most helpful for finding physical sales to attend. Once you have entered your zip code, you have the option of setting the radius in miles for the search as well as the number of days out. There are other filters as well, but these are the 2 most important. Once you have a list of sales that fit your criteria, you are able to view a gallery of images from the sale. The best estate sale companies will have an orderly collection of clear images showing entire rooms as well as closeup shots of groupings or individual items. This is key because it allows you to see if the sale is truly one you would be interested in attending. And if so, the images will help you make a strategic plan on how to find the items you want in the event there is a crowd! As you review the images, you have the option of favoriting an image (which will bring it to the beginning of your gallery) as well as write notes if you like—both of which can be handy when you are actually at the sale. If you do not see anything that interests you, you can swipe to hide the sale so it does not appear in your top listings.
Do you ever shop estate sales when traveling? If you’re like me, estate sale signs always catch my eye, but why not plan ahead? One of my favorite features of the Estatesale.net app is that you can go to settings and change your search options by location or postal code. This is most helpful when planning a trip as you can enter the zip code of your destination to see what sales are scheduled in that area. And once there, you can simply use the “My Location” option to quickly scan sales in your immediate area.
Once you have your selected sales, be sure and read the description and terms listed on the sales listing page. These pages will often have helpful information letting you know about whether or not there will be sign-up sheets or special instructions about parking on the day of the sale. And lastly, the address of the sale will usually not appear until at least 24 hours before the sale and sometimes it may not be until the morning of the sale. This is usually to protect neighbors from early shoppers and unfortunately to protect the home from break-ins. Once the address is listed though, you can click on it and it will take you directly to the map app on your device. At that point you are set, all you have to do is grab that cup of coffee and hit “Go”! Don’t forget to check back regularly as companies continue to list sales even up to the day before. Or better yet, subscribe to their emails to get notifications of sales in your area.