I finally figured out why estate sale prices drop so much on Sunday

Went to a sale in Tacoma last weekend and noticed the same lamp went from $45 Friday to $12 Sunday. Turns out the family running it had a agreement with the estate company to clear everything by Monday or pay extra storage fees. Now I always note the end date on the listing and show up late on the final day for the best deals. Has anyone else noticed a specific day or time that prices really tank at your local sales?

2 comments

2 Comments

uma_lopez29d ago

I read somewhere that the real money for estate companies is in volume, not individual high prices, so they really do want stuff gone fast. Your point about the storage fees makes total sense now, a lot of these families just want to avoid that extra headache and cost more than they want top dollar. But you're right that each company runs things different, some have contracts that let them ship leftovers to auction houses instead of cutting deals on site.

lisa_jones2129d ago

You know, I used to just show up when the sale started because I figured all the good stuff would be gone by the last day. But this actually opened my eyes a little. I always assumed the prices dropped because nobody wanted the items, not because of some behind-the-scenes deadline like storage fees. Now I pay closer attention to the end dates in the listings, and I've grabbed a few decent things on Sunday afternoons for way less than I expected. Your mileage may vary depending on the company though, some are stricter than others about holding stuff.