The Most Valuable Things To Look Out For At Estate Sales

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Have you been bitten by the estate sale bug? If you're into unique décor, curated design, or just downright good deals, estate sales can be a mine of exhilarating finds. Unlike a big box store, estate sales give you the chance to buy household items that very few other people have. You can come across high-quality goods that you'd usually have to pay a small fortune for and even stumble on holy-grail collectors' items. But mixed in with these exciting steals is also a lifetime's worth of bric-à-brac. Unless you want to steadily fill your home with incomplete board games and breadmakers that may or may not work, you'll need to practice discernment.

Attending estate sales can become addictive, and it's easy for bargain fever to gain hold. In the press of people, FOMO can set in fast, and before you know it, you're caught up in the frenzy — and not buying that old blender for $10 feels like the missed opportunity of a lifetime. Fortunately, there is a way to make sure you come away from estate sales with true treasures and firmly skip the items you'll end up sending to the trash. If you want to save big or buy some really precious pieces, don't move an inch. Here is the in-depth list of the most valuable things to watch out for at estate sales that you've been waiting for.

If there aren't too many contenders, you can find wood furniture for a steal at estate sales. If the previous owners are elderly, there's a good chance they purchased their pieces back when timber was cheap and furniture was built to last a lifetime. Most items produced before the 1950s were made from solid wood.

To make sure you aren't buying a potential problem, carefully scrutinize pieces for woodworm damage. Look inside cabinets and drawers, investigate the underside of tables, and cast a critical eye at the legs. If you see any telltale pin holes, stow your wallet and move on. If there are any defects with a piece, like loose legs, bad burn marks, or stuck drawers, consider the extra time and expense required for repairs. Will you be able to fix the item yourself, or will you need to send it to a carpenter? 

To make sure you don't get swindled, check for signs of superior craftsmanship like hand carving, dovetail, dowel, and mortise and tenon joints. If you have your eye on a veneered item, inspect the edges. If the veneers are book-matched, you're probably looking at a high-quality piece. If you can find a maker's mark, you may have hit the vintage furniture jackpot. These inscriptions take the form of small plaques, engravings, or old labels discreetly placed inside drawers, on the back or underside, or on the bottom edge of a cabinet door. They usually include the name of the furniture firm or designer and its country of origin.

Buying someone else's old carpets might not be your initial idea of a good time, but a great rug at an estate sale can be a certified score. Rugs, in general, tend to be pricey pieces of home décor. But well-preserved, vintage ones can send you seeking money from your 401k. Fortunately, you don't have to make a fool of yourself over a carpet if you know how to spot a bargain. Any type of rug that's in good shape can be a solid buy as long as the price is right, but if you come across a handmade one, your luck is in.

Not sure how to identify a handmade carpet? Start by looking at the underside. You shouldn't see any plastic mesh backing, instead, you should be met with wool or cotton fibers. The pattern on the back should also closely resemble the front. Press open the fibers a little and look at the color distribution. It should be even up to the surface. If the weave is tight, this is a sign of quality. Artificially distressed rugs have become all the rage, so check closely to make sure you aren't dealing with a printed "vintage" rug. Printed rugs tend to have a very low pile, an entirely plain back, and exaggerated, washed-out-looking fading. 

Part of the charm of vintage rugs is their imperfections and signs of age, but there is a limit to how worn you should go. Unless you're buying the rug for next to nothing, avoid ones that have very frayed edges or areas of foundation showing through the top. That said, you can get large rugs cut down, which can remedy worn edges and allow you to get rid of stained areas.

If you're looking for some, ahem, lit light fixtures, estate sales are the place to be. Yes, you'll probably find a fair amount of corroded, questionable lights, but you can also come across stunning candelabras, good-quality chrome options, statement floor lamps, and more. If you see a relatively new lamp, you can easily compare prices online to see if it's a bargain. Researching prices for older light fittings is a little bit harder. Antique and vintage lights can list for anything from $30 to a hundred grand and over on marketplaces like 1stDibs. If you think you've stumbled upon a vintage or antique lamp, check the base for a maker's mark or date. You can also date light fittings by their style.

Another thing to look at is the cord and plug. Does the plug look a little strange? This could be a surefire sign you've come face-to-face with an antique. Plugs with identically sized prongs were the norm up to the mid-1900s, and it wasn't until 1962 that the polarized outlets we have today were stipulated by the NEC. Another not-so-subtle sign of an antique lamp is fabric or woven cotton surrounding the cord. If you had a penny-wise grandparent who was still using their iron from the 50s, this might ring a bell. Speaking of plugs and cords, keep in mind that most old light fittings will need to be rewired, even if they can fit a modern outlet, so you'll want to factor this expense into the total cost.

Finally, don't let shabby shades fool you. If a lamp has great bones, recovering the shade can be a cost-effective way to update it. It's also a great way to coordinate the lamp to the rest of your color palette for a custom look.

What better way to give your living room a cultured, grown-up vibe than with a few tastefully chosen coffee table books? There's just one problem. If you want more than one, even a meager pile can end up costing more than the coffee table they're resting on. If you don't want to blow a couple hundred dollars just to dress up your lounge with some reading material, estate sale books are a total boon. Depending on the previous owners' interests and tastes, you can pick up some real gems, filled with photography and illustrations that you won't find online.

And if you're assuming that second-hand coffee table literature is going to make your décor look dated and drab, think again. Vintage coffee table books have been picking up steam as a hot trend, visually driven by TikTok and emotionally fueled by nostalgia. Whether you enjoy trends or rail against them, going retro with your coffee table accoutrements is a whole lot more unique than resorting to a copy of the predictable, costly Tom Ford book.

Cedar chests are another solid estate sale steal. Hope chests have a strong place in American history and were originally designed to house brides' trousseaus. Antique chests often sell for thousands on marketplaces like eBay, but with a bit of luck, you can still pick up these old-fashioned treasures for a relative song at estate sales. Because they have very few moving parts, are made of wood, and are sturdily constructed, there's usually very little wrong with these old chests. 

Unless you're a modern-day puritan, you're probably not hoarding cheese graters and table linens for your betrothal. But this doesn't mean you can't take advantage of the extra storage space a hope chest holds. Cedar chests can do double duty as coffee tables, impromptu seats, side tables, and entryway benches while housing bulky items like throw blankets, board games, and winterwear. Vintage chests are particularly suited to traditional and transitional design styles, but they can also work beautifully in rustic, bohemian, and eclectic spaces. 

Do you love the sound of analog audio? The right estate sale can be a veritable treasure trove if you're looking for vinyl records. While CDs and cassettes dominated the 90s, vinyl sales plummeted. Fast forward to the 2010s, record sales have rebounded, and vintage vinyls are now a popular collectible.

But before you fill your arms with albums at an estate sale, take some time to check their condition. Carefully remove each record from its sleeve and scan it for scratches. Hold it up and make sure it's not warped or bent. If you can feel a scratch with your fingernail, you'll probably hear it too. If the record is very shiny, this can be a sign that it's been barely played, and you should probably snag it before someone else does. If you want to try and gauge a record's rough resale value, scrutinize the jacket and the LP label for information that will help you figure out the album release, such as the barcode or catalog number. If you run into records that aren't fit to play, you can also upcycle them into unique vinyl décor.

Before opening homes to the public, estate liquidation companies evaluate the contents. Highly valuable items are often sold separately, prior to the actual estate sale. The ones that remain are invariably snapped up by eagle-eyed experts and pickers who get the privilege of first admission. By the time regular folks look over the home, anything big that's made out of precious metals has probably left the building. But just because there isn't much chance of finding a solid silver candelabra doesn't mean you can't still snag some small items for a steal. 

The trick to finding a silver treasure? Trawl the junk piles. Anything that's prominently and neatly displayed is probably not going to be underpriced. But disheveled drawers of kitchenware could be hiding well-used silver cake servers, small forks, serving spoons, etc. Keep your eyes peeled for small shiny items mixed in with the bric-à-brac. A complete set of solid silver tableware that's kept in a case isn't likely to escape the eyes of experts, but a gold cigarette case, pen, or flint lighter could fall through the cracks. Also be on the lookout for anything tarnished. A green-tinged tray tossed together with scratched chopping boards could turn out to be a valuable silver item. Small odds and ends of jewelry mixed in with low-value trinkets might also pass under the radar of collectors.

Mason jar home décor has been having a huge moment over the last few years, but did you know that these humble canisters can also be worth some money? You can find Mason jars a dime a dozen at thrift stores, but most of them mightn't be all that old and don't have any resale value. Antique Mason jars are a different story, and estate sales can be a great place to find them, especially if the family had a large home and a tendency to hold onto things.

Most antique Mason jars aren't worth a crazy amount of cash. Even very old, relatively rare jars don't usually sell for more than $300. The majority of obviously old specimens are probably worth between $20 and $50. But if you stumble on a whole box, this can still add up to a valuable find. One of the easiest ways to ascertain the jars' age is by inspecting the logo. The Mason and Ball branding went through a few different iterations over the decades. As improvements were made to the jars and their seals, the company also added adjectives, including "Improved," "Special," and "Perfect." These are the older models of Mason jars that were produced between 1858 and 1960. Even though you can make money on antique Mason jars, you also don't have to be a flipper to find value in rare, vintage versions. If you love farmhouse or shabby chic design, what could be more perfect than an antique Mason jar as an ornament?