Estate Auctions: How to Find, Inspect and Win the Best Lots

What do estate auctions sell?

An estate auction is a household, sorted into lots. A typical sale mixes furniture, kitchenware, art and decor, jewelry, tools, yard equipment and whatever the owner collected, from records to coins to fishing lures. Most lots are used and sold as is, and many have no reserve.

That mix is what makes them fun. Dealers come for antiques and jewelry, resellers come for tools and brand-name goods, and people furnishing a first apartment come for $20 dressers. Browse furniture auctions and antique auctions to see what is open now.

How do you find estate auctions near you?

Use auction sites that let you filter by distance, and check back often, because new sales appear regularly. On Auktia, the near me page shows auctions close to your ZIP code or location, and pickup items (lots) show how far they are from you.

Follow the auction houses in your area that run estate sales. Each sale teaches you how a house describes condition, how organized its pickup is, and what its typical estates contain.

How do you inspect an estate auction?

Go to the preview if you can. Estate lots are often photographed in place, in the home, under household lighting, so photos can hide stains, cracks and smells. Open drawers, flip chairs over, check upholstery and measure.

Look for what the photos leave out: the back of a framed print, the bottom of a box lot, the second half of a china set. Read the as is, where is terms, because you are buying exactly what is there and nothing more.

How should you bid at an estate auction?

Estate sales often have hundreds of lots closing one after another over an evening. Pick your targets, decide an all-in limit for each, and enter max bids before closing starts. With a 15% buyer's premium and 8.25% tax, a $150 limit on a dresser is a max bid of about $120.

Watch for sleepers: lots grouped loosely or described vaguely, such as a box of kitchen items, that might hold a cast iron skillet or a set of vintage glass bakeware. Ask the house for more photos when a box lot looks interesting.

Later lots in a long sale can be quieter. Bidders who spent their budget early drop out, leaving less competition for the patient.

What should you know about estate auction pickup?

Pickup is often at the house itself on one or two set days, and you are moving things out of a real home: stairs, narrow halls and no loading dock. Bring help, straps, blankets and tools to take legs off tables or doors off cabinets.

Furniture from estate sales often does not ship, so price the hauling into your bid. A $90 armoire costs a lot more if you need to rent a truck for it. Check the remove-by date and read the auction pickup guide before you bid on anything large.

What mistakes do estate auction buyers make?

Most estate auction regrets come down to the same handful of slips.

• Bidding on sentiment. A piece that reminds you of a grandparent's house is still worth only what you would pay for it elsewhere.
• Assuming sets are complete. A twelve-place china set photographed on one table may be eight places and a chipped platter.
• Winning more than you can move. Five furniture lots and one pickup day is a lot of lifting.
• Skipping the terms. Premiums, pickup rules and payment deadlines differ from house to house.
• Paying antique prices for reproductions. Learn the basic signs of age, or ask the house what it knows about a piece.