Maddy Brannon never set out to become the queen of Washington, D.C.-area estate sales.
In 2020, the stand-up comedian and her husband had just bought a new home that was feeling conspicuously empty.
“I was looking at other people’s Instagrams and being like, ‘How can they afford furniture?’ We were just trying to buy stuff,” Brannon, 33, tells CNBC Make It. “And I came across a video about an estate sale, and then I was immediately obsessed.”
It wasn’t just that she was finding interesting items at bargain prices. The sales were like little windows into other people’s worlds.
“I was obsessed with the fact that you can just walk around someone’s house, see what they’re interested in and shop their things,” she says. “I love learning about people and seeing what they’re into.”
When Brannon start posting about estate sales on Instagram, she found her inbox full of people who were just as curious as she was. These days, her account, from which she posts estate sale tours and previews as well as recommendations for upcoming sales, has nearly 60,000 followers.
For now, Brannon’s estate sale obsession — including her social media accounts, podcast and newsletter — is a fun, yet time-consuming passion project. Other than some subscription fees on her newsletter, she’s not earning money on it. But even if it’s not yet making her a fortune, she’s still driven by the prospect of helping people find great deals on hidden gems they’ll love.
Here are her three best tips for shopping at estate sales.
1. Go on the last day
Estate sales often go on over the course of two or three days. For bargain hunters, the best time to go is as late as possible, Brannon says.
“If you’re looking for the best deal at an estate sale, it will generally be during the last few hours of the last day of the sale,” she says.
The reason is simple. As the end of the sale nears, the company running things becomes more and more anxious to sell as much of the merchandise as possible. While a sale may not allow haggling during the early hours, rules often go out the window toward the end, Brannon says.
“They’ll start doing deals with you in terms of, if you buy a bunch of stuff, you can just be like, 100 bucks, 200 bucks, and they’ll take it,” she says. “Otherwise they need to figure out what to do with the remaining items. So they’re really motivated to get it sold.”
“That’s my best tip for the absolute best deal you can get at an estate sale,” Brannon says.
2. Know where the bargains are
Technology has made it easier than ever to figure out what something is really worth, a paradigm which cuts both ways. You can likely figure out a fair retail price for something on your phone, but so can the estate sale company.
“Before Google Lens, I think estate sales were pretty price flexible. It was more of a treasure hunt to figure out if someone could identify something as valuable,” Brannon says.
Chances are, you won’t find an antique Rolex in a shoebox of watches. But there are still deals to be had, especially if you’re not focused on labels.
Brannon says there are often attractive prices on on rugs, furniture and sets of glassware. “Glassware is one of the best things you can buy at an estate sale,” she says. “I’ve bought a lot of my glassware from estate sales, because you can generally get a full set for $10 or $20.”
Her other top category: tchotchkes.
“My favorite things are the pieces they call ‘littles.’ You might find a ring dish or Depression glass or a cat figurine,” she says. “These things are usually really cheap at estate sales.”
3. Shop for your own vibe
Brannon doesn’t shop with the intention of reselling the things she buys. Rather, she goes to sales eager to find something cool that will bring her joy.
To that end, Brannon says her best estate sale finds have been the many pieces of art that hang on her walls. And that’s not because she’s an expert appraiser. The key, she says, is buying something you like — not something you’re hoping to flip.
“It’s always a possibility that at some point I’ll bring something to Antiques Roadshow and find out that it’s a really nice piece,” she says. “But I go into it thinking, ‘If I pay $20 for this, will it fit in my home? Is there someplace I really want to put this?'”
It can make sense to scout a sale ahead of time, either by browsing through the photos of items included in the online listing or by contacting the estate sale company directly. They may be able to help you figure out, for instance, if the clothing you’ve seen in the pictures is in your size.
You may also be able to get a sense of if an estate matches your vibe or interests. After digging around, you may find a kindred spirit in the person whose estate you’re shopping.
“To me, anything stuck in a particular time period or unique kind of aesthetic is very interesting,” Brannon says. “I also love an interest that someone leaned into. This past weekend, there was a sale where this person was very into bunnies. The house was filled with them.”
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