Los Angeles has held a lot of things that I wasn’t aware were waiting for me. Perhaps the most prominent in my day-to-day life is now estate sales. Yes you heard that right, my moved to LA helped me uncover a love of shopping secondhand in other peoples’ homes. It began with a fascination of TikTok videos watching other people share their estate sale hauls, which then inspired me out to start exploring on my own.
I’ve been hunting estate sale for two years and have managed to decorate our home with many vintage find, as well as re-sell and make a very small profit. But it’s not really about the money; it’s about finding a second life for items that someone once loved in their life.
When I talk about my hobby, people often ask me how to find estate sales. But finding them is just the first step.
In this post, learn how to:
- Find an estate sale
- What you can expect to find
- Tips for shopping estate sales
- Plus, check out photos of my finds throughout!
What is an estate sale?
“Consider estate sales. An estate sale, or tag sale, is a popular way to sell items owned by a person who has recently died.”
Hannah Holland, Washington Post, 11 July 2023
While this Washington Post writer is correct, many types of sales are actually promoted as “estate sales.” Often, I hear the homeowners are downsizing in their older age, so thankfully still with us. Other homes very obviously belong to folks who are just moving. You can also find sales classified as “estate sales” that are simply vintage or warehouse sales.
Why shop estate sales?
I’m drawn to estate sales for many reasons, and hope you might find some of these reason enough to try it out for yourself:
- Better for the environment
- Less expensive
- Unique finds
- Beautiful / vintage architecture
- Explore your city
How do you find estate sales?
Shop estates in-person or online via. Find options on these sites:
- EstateSales.net
- Facebook Marketplace
- CTBIDS.com
- Local online auctions
Tips for shopping
When you’re at a sale, it can very easily feel overwhelming. People get there at the crack of dawn, if they are very committed to items at the sale, and homes fill up quickly when a sale is popular. I personally typically avoid sales that I know will have a crowd and, in fact, I often go the last day or toward the end of the day. Oftentimes there’s more than enough to shop during multiple days of the sale and there are less likely to be crowds then.
Once at the sale, keep these things in mind to help you keep a level head while choosing your purchases:
- Use Google lens to compare costs
- Go by natural light to check for stains / damage
- Prices are usually dropped with each day
- Barter, barter, barter!
Now it’s time to try it for yourself
So that’s just some information to help you get started. Good luck and report back what you find, and I’ll be sure to pop back on to share some of my favorite finds.