Estate Sales Links for Surround Equipment

[hifigeezer]

This might be more a question for the moderators...

I routinely search estatesales.net because I collect FM tuners. I find a lot of stereo gear and share links to interesting items on audiokarma, my primary hangout.

I see this forum is named Ebay/Auction Watch. Would I be breaking the rules if I posted a link to an estate sale or online auction that is not Ebay?

I hate to see things go to the landfill when somebody out there would love to have them! Thanks!

 

[Soundfield]

I'm not really sure how an 'estate sale' works, I guess it must be a uniquely US thing. I don't think there's any real UK equivalent other than those ubiquitous public car boot sales.

 

[hifigeezer]

Typically here when people pass away or go into a nursing home, the family liquidates all the possessions that they don't want. It is common to hire a local company to assist with pricing, staging and staffing the sale. In the past they were almost always done at the home, usually on the weekend. The prices are reduced on the second day. The family wants the stuff gone, so they're practically giving it away at closing time.

Recently the sales have moved more to an online auction, especially during Covid. I went to one in a nearby home earlier this year; the deceased was a rich audiophile and the house was jammed with people looking to pick up gear. In retrospect, it was quite risky!

Some states have inheritance taxes that have to be paid within a year, so the heirs are eager to liquidate. The sale establishes the market value for tax purposes.

Years ago I got a McIntosh 275 and C22 for $80; I sold them for $1450. I've been watching estates sales ever since!

 

[Soundfield]

Typically here when people pass away or go into a nursing home, the family liquidates all the possessions that they don't want. It is common to hire a local company to assist with pricing, staging and staffing the sale. In the past they were almost always done at the home, usually on the weekend. The prices are reduced on the second day. The family wants the stuff gone, so they're practically giving it away at closing time.

Recently the sales have moved more to an online auction, especially during Covid. I went to one in a nearby home earlier this year; the deceased was a rich audiophile and the house was jammed with people looking to pick up gear. In retrospect, it was quite risky!

Some states have inheritance taxes that have to be paid within a year, so the heirs are eager to liquidate. The sale establishes the market value for tax purposes.

Years ago I got a McIntosh 275 and C22 for $80; I sold them for $1450. I've been watching estates sales ever since!

Oh thanks, that's very interesting, but also rather strange. Can't imagine going around a dead person's house and choosing stuff! Nothing like that here really. If you find yourself with a house you need to empty and you've retained anything of value / you want to keep, most people would probably get a House Clearance firm in. They clear the house out for you and give you a few quid. They normally then sell the stuff at auction for their own profit, anything they can't sell goes to landfill I expect..

 

[Sonik Wiz]

Oh thanks, that's very interesting, but also rather strange. Can't imagine going around a dead person's house and choosing stuff! Nothing like that here really. If you find yourself with a house you need to empty and you've retained anything of value / you want to keep, most people would probably get a House Clearance firm in. They clear the house out for you and give you a few quid. They normally then sell the stuff at auction for their own profit, anything they can't sell goes to landfill I expect..

Yep, what @hifigeezer described is pretty much the norm here in the US of A. My wife & 4 g'daughters love going to them. I've been to several. It's kinda fun walking through a house & see the weird shit people collect. Or how eccentric DIY builds over a lifetime can be. Maybe it's because of living in Mid-America that there never seems to be any cool records/CD's/LD's or hi fi gear. But there might be a dozen wall hanging pictures of sad clowns.

Fortunately all estate sales can be previewed on line so you can pick which ones to go out to. It would be fun to see some listed here. However since estate sales are cash & carry I'm not sure how the logistics of this would work out.

 

[ubertrout]

Very common in the USA - The New Yorker just did a piece about them. I keep an eye on local listings but there's only rarely anything interesting in middle America: The Wild, Wonderful World of Estate Sales

 

[FooBarFoo]

I'm also a huge fan of estate sales! I picked up 5 Bowers and Wilkins FPM6's for $400 on one of the online auction sites that my wife affectionately calls "the dead people site."

I'm told to get what I want, but the second I bring back something haunted or a gremlin or a monkey paw, that's it- I'm cut off.

I did see a guy win a pair of B&W 801's for $3200 which I missed by $150. He had driven all night- 800 miles- to pick them up.

Watching him struggle to get them in his minivan made me truly glad I lost. (For the record, I did ask twice if he needed a hand)

 

[Soundfield]

Fascinating stuff. You learn something new every day - and it never ceases to amaze how very different are so many aspects of British and US life.

 

[halbroome]

I was a heavy attendee of estate sales in my area for a while, until I realized I had accumulated enough to have a premature estate sale
for myself!

The occasional vinyl album / cd jackpot can be had, but I don't do vinyl anymore (in fact, I'm giving my old collection to my nephew).
Keeping the surround things . I don't know enough electronics to pick over the old sound gear, but have seen some thrilled
people hauling them off.

Usually the family has picked over what they wanted, so all that is left are old china, hutches no current generation person wants,
and lots of Xmas stuff. Lots.

That said, I have found some cool stuff -- books, for example. One house belonged to a genius who remembered everything he read,
and there were tons and tons of history books to be had for next to nothing. He had shot himself when he found out his family
was going to put him in a nursing home 8'/. I scored several really nice bookcases with glass drawers in addition.

Another one was a naval engineer who designed nuclear subs. Got some awesome commemorative drinking glasses there.

And so on. But surround items? None so far, but perhaps that generation hasn't made the dead end stop yet.

 

[J. PUPSTER]

Funny, I don’t go to them here in California; but when I visit relatives in the Nashville area (they’re huge back there) we always take a day to go to some. I’ve probably been to a couple dozen over the years.

The best deal I found was a new 100 ft role of Monster 12 GA speaker wire; but can’t tell you how many old Elvis LP’s & CD’s I’ve seen - !
Many places are so packed with junk you can barely move through the place (hoarders.)

Lots of old electronic gear, but never anything that excited me so far. Still waiting to find that treasure of an old Quad / Surround collector, maybe my joint someday, let’s hope not too soon yeah.

 

[GOS]

It's not only when someone passes away (but mostly, that is the case) but here in farm land, it's common for an older couple who have retired from their farm life and moving to the city. So, they have an estate sale to liquidate farm equipment, a lifetime worth of furniture, old cars, etc...that they don't want to take with them. Many simply sell out and move where it's a warmer climate.

Finally, my dad went bankrupt in 1981 (farming) when the economy tanked and he had to sell off much of all he had earned during his career. In all cases, folks in the US love to attend these events (much of it can be social, but then there are just people who love to hoard other peoples stuff)

 

[Old Quad Guy]

It should be good if the links are legitimate. And people post equipment found on their local Craigslist for other members to consider. Auctions from Japan have revealed rare equipment. Of course with anything, buyer beware and use common sense.

I had a girlfriend who collected a certain type of tableware, and she brought me to estate sale auctions, thirty years ago. It was auctioned off in a large space where typically, various estate items were sold in whole lots, or individual items were sold separately.

This was before eBay. But one could reasonably suspect stuff from estate sales make it onto eBay and Craigslist. Also, check thrift stores and flee markets.

 

[ubertrout]

Fascinating stuff. You learn something new every day - and it never ceases to amaze how very different are so many aspects of British and US life.

So, I was going to ask what you do when someone dies with their stuff? Family takes some, but there's usually a lot they don't want. Apparently charity shops are often the answer, which kind of makes sense, and explains why charity shops seem to be bigger in the UK than US (they certainly exist here but seem less ubiquitous). And that would go hand in hand with why charitable donations are a bigger thing in the US than the UK - charities there make more from shops and the like.

 

[hifigeezer]

I was a heavy attendee of estate sales in my area for a while, until I realized I had accumulated enough to have a premature estate sale
for myself!

The occasional vinyl album / cd jackpot can be had, but I don't do vinyl anymore (in fact, I'm giving my old collection to my nephew).
Keeping the surround things . I don't know enough electronics to pick over the old sound gear, but have seen some thrilled
people hauling them off.

Usually the family has picked over what they wanted, so all that is left are old china, hutches no current generation person wants,
and lots of Xmas stuff. Lots.

That said, I have found some cool stuff -- books, for example. One house belonged to a genius who remembered everything he read,
and there were tons and tons of history books to be had for next to nothing. He had shot himself when he found out his family
was going to put him in a nursing home 8'/. I scored several really nice bookcases with glass drawers in addition.

Another one was a naval engineer who designed nuclear subs. Got some awesome commemorative drinking glasses there.

And so on. But surround items? None so far, but perhaps that generation hasn't made the dead end stop yet.

Alright then:

No affiliation. TAKE COVID PRECAUTIONS! Arrange a non-contact or minimum-contact sale if you can. For online auctions -- check buyer's premium and terms.


Here is a link to a Marantz CD-400B Demodulator:

https://www.estatesales.net/marketplace/items/670895

 

[Sonik Wiz]

Fascinating stuff. You learn something new every day - and it never ceases to amaze how very different are so many aspects of British and US life.

As @hifigeezer said in his 1st post there is Find Estate Sales to check out what's going on. Enter the zip code 66205 & you can peek into some American homes in my area & the strange stuff that accumulates.

 

[Soundfield]

So, I was going to ask what you do when someone dies with their stuff? Family takes some, but there's usually a lot they don't want.

Yes, after the family vultures have picked over the stuff, you are often left with a house full of worthless detritus you usually can't even give away (like furniture - no one wants second hand furniture). As I said above, that's when many people would get a House Clearance company in, who give you a notional sum for the entire contents and take it all away.

Some people will try and flog the contents at 'car boot sales' but it's a lot of work and very time consuming, and you may not even recover the cost of renting your pitch!

Apparently charity shops are often the answer, which kind of makes sense, and explains why charity shops seem to be bigger in the UK than US (they certainly exist here but seem less ubiquitous). And that would go hand in hand with why charitable donations are a bigger thing in the US than the UK - charities there make more from shops and the like.

Yes, in theory you could take stuff to a charity shop, but they generally don't want whole house loads in one go (most are small operations which haven't got the resources to handle it and sort it all out) - many also don't want the difficult to store and sell stuff (like furniture!). Some charity shops won't even take electrical items since they have to pay to have them tested to ensure they are electrically safe to sell.

 

[par4ken]

Oh thanks, that's very interesting, but also rather strange. Can't imagine going around a dead person's house and choosing stuff! Nothing like that here really. If you find yourself with a house you need to empty and you've retained anything of value / you want to keep, most people would probably get a House Clearance firm in. They clear the house out for you and give you a few quid. They normally then sell the stuff at auction for their own profit, anything they can't sell goes to landfill I expect..

That seems strange to me, they are adding in an unnecessary middleman when using a House Clearance firm. The whole idea of a estate sale makes me sad that the diseased person's family didn't value that persons things and keep most of it amongst family members, or distribute amongst friends. The polar opposite of family vultures fighting over everything.

 

[MidiMagic]

I used to go to them. I have come home with a lot of things that I could not have otherwise afforded:

- A stepladder for $4
- A bedroom set (bed, dresser, desk, nightstand, and wardrobe) for $10
- Several bookshelves - $1 to $5 each
- Lots of old records
- Lots of books
- A Teletype 33 someone had taken apart and put in boxes.
...... I reassembled it and used it for a computer printer for two years
- Two large wooden office desks - $1 each
- Several boxes of electrical and electronic parts
- An Amish stool - $10
- A doghouse
- Two floor lamps and two table lamps - $1 each
- Four Peitone compact speakers
- Several electric fans
- Several old record changers
- Four dining room chairs (the one thing that quickly fell apart)
- A parabolic radiant heater from the 1930s - $10
- A pigeonhole mail sorter
- A stepstool

There was other stuff I can't remember.

 

[Sonik Wiz]

I used to go to them. I have come home with a lot of things that I could not have otherwise afforded:

- A stepladder for $4
- A bedroom set (bed, dresser, desk, nightstand, and wardrobe) for $10
- Several bookshelves - $1 to $5 each
- Lots of old records
- Lots of books
- A Teletype 33 someone had taken apart and put in boxes.
...... I reassembled it and used it for a computer printer for two years
- Two large wooden office desks - $1 each
- Several boxes of electrical and electronic parts
- An Amish stool - $10
- A doghouse
- Two floor lamps and two table lamps - $1 each
- Four Peitone compact speakers
- Several electric fans
- Several old record changers
- Four dining room chairs (the one thing that quickly fell apart)
- A parabolic radiant heater from the 1930s - $10
- A pigeonhole mail sorter
- A stepstool

There was other stuff I can't remember.

Haha etc you evidently came home with many things stuffed into your memory banks!

 

[hifigeezer]

How timely! This sale near Chicago has at least 4-channel receivers.

No affiliation. TAKE COVID PRECAUTIONS! Arrange a non-contact or minimum-contact sale if you can.
For online auctions, check buyer's premium and terms.

https://kraftauctions.hibid.com/cat...-audio-equipment-estate-auction--cedar-lake/?