1 00:00:00,210 --> 00:00:27,570 Speaker 1: Ridiculous History is a production of iHeartRadio. Welcome back to 2 00:00:27,590 --> 00:00:30,590 Speaker 1: the show, fellow ridiculous historians. Thank you, as always, so 3 00:00:30,630 --> 00:00:34,550 Speaker 1: much for tuning in. Everything must go except for our 4 00:00:34,590 --> 00:00:36,190 Speaker 1: super producer, Mr. Max Williams. 5 00:00:37,729 --> 00:00:38,920 Speaker 2: I will hang on forever. 6 00:00:39,100 --> 00:00:41,739 Speaker 1: But yeah, you know, I appreciate you giving me the 7 00:00:41,760 --> 00:00:42,220 Speaker 1: choice there. 8 00:00:42,320 --> 00:00:44,260 Speaker 2: I do. I do. It's up to you, man. The 9 00:00:44,280 --> 00:00:47,610 Speaker 2: choice is yours. But I'm glad you're sticking around. Yes, yes, yes. 10 00:00:47,670 --> 00:00:51,350 Speaker 1: So say we all. Nine years in and we're still 11 00:00:51,409 --> 00:00:55,120 Speaker 1: continuing toward the end of 2006. That's Noel Brown. 12 00:00:55,310 --> 00:00:58,300 Speaker 3: I'm Ben Bolin. 2026. 13 00:00:58,270 --> 00:01:02,340 Speaker 1: 2026. Did I say 2006? You did. Oh, geez. Well, 14 00:01:02,360 --> 00:01:04,700 Speaker 1: we'll do an episode on, wait, we already did an 15 00:01:04,740 --> 00:01:08,440 Speaker 1: episode on the calendar. Let's leave it in. Noel, have 16 00:01:08,520 --> 00:01:10,120 Speaker 1: you ever been to an estate sale? 17 00:01:10,860 --> 00:01:12,440 Speaker 2: You know, I was racking my brain about it. 18 00:01:12,950 --> 00:01:15,190 Speaker 3: And an estate sale, as we were going to lay 19 00:01:15,250 --> 00:01:17,960 Speaker 3: out in this episode, which is a very particular kind 20 00:01:18,000 --> 00:01:20,259 Speaker 3: of situation. I've only been to one of these maybe 21 00:01:20,459 --> 00:01:24,240 Speaker 3: one time where you're actually wandering through someone's home. 22 00:01:24,980 --> 00:01:27,480 Speaker 1: Yeah, Max and I were talking about this a little 23 00:01:27,680 --> 00:01:30,960 Speaker 1: off air. One of my comedy buddies in our fair 24 00:01:31,020 --> 00:01:36,459 Speaker 1: metropolis of Atlanta loves going to estate sales. He's the 25 00:01:36,480 --> 00:01:39,600 Speaker 1: kind of guy, and I say this with great affection 26 00:01:39,720 --> 00:01:42,720 Speaker 1: and respect, he's the kind of guy who will take 27 00:01:42,770 --> 00:01:47,179 Speaker 1: a vacation and then go antiquing. His name's Simon. He's 28 00:01:47,220 --> 00:01:47,820 Speaker 1: pretty cool. 29 00:01:48,560 --> 00:01:51,540 Speaker 3: Ben, I respect your decision to take this out, but 30 00:01:51,560 --> 00:01:55,020 Speaker 3: I have to repeat back, affect and respection, because that 31 00:01:55,060 --> 00:01:57,620 Speaker 3: is a thing that should exist in the world. 32 00:01:57,920 --> 00:01:58,520 Speaker 2: There we go. 33 00:01:58,840 --> 00:02:02,920 Speaker 1: And we're coming hot on the heels of another language 34 00:02:03,050 --> 00:02:07,510 Speaker 1: episode from earlier this week that we love. Noel, I 35 00:02:07,550 --> 00:02:10,750 Speaker 1: was wondering, as we were going toward this episode, what 36 00:02:10,770 --> 00:02:14,930 Speaker 1: the difference between an estate sale versus a yard sale 37 00:02:15,270 --> 00:02:15,610 Speaker 1: could be. 38 00:02:16,070 --> 00:02:19,530 Speaker 3: Well, my understanding, which is limited, admittedly, is that a 39 00:02:19,570 --> 00:02:23,150 Speaker 3: yard sale would be something that happens while folks are 40 00:02:23,210 --> 00:02:33,070 Speaker 3: still alive. Just kind of chucking their stuff on some 41 00:02:33,120 --> 00:02:35,959 Speaker 3: tables in the front yard, putting up signs around the neighborhood. 42 00:02:36,800 --> 00:02:38,700 Speaker 2: Also may be known as a rummage sale. 43 00:02:38,720 --> 00:02:43,120 Speaker 3: An estate sale is a little more official and usually 44 00:02:43,220 --> 00:02:50,540 Speaker 3: involves people selling to the public the leftover stuff from 45 00:02:50,639 --> 00:02:53,540 Speaker 3: someone's life after they have passed away. 46 00:02:54,120 --> 00:02:54,560 Speaker 1: Nailed it. 47 00:02:54,560 --> 00:02:58,140 Speaker 3: Usually after it's been distributed to the living heirs. This 48 00:02:58,200 --> 00:03:00,150 Speaker 3: is the stuff that's left over that nobody wants to 49 00:03:00,190 --> 00:03:00,630 Speaker 3: deal with. 50 00:03:01,770 --> 00:03:03,049 Speaker 2: I'm in a similar situation right now. 51 00:03:03,070 --> 00:03:06,889 Speaker 3: I've had my mother's stuff in storage for some years now, 52 00:03:07,210 --> 00:03:09,549 Speaker 3: and I just really started getting sick of getting that 53 00:03:09,630 --> 00:03:12,169 Speaker 3: bill for these storage units. So I'm getting to a 54 00:03:12,210 --> 00:03:14,489 Speaker 3: place where While I guess it won't be an estate 55 00:03:14,530 --> 00:03:17,530 Speaker 3: sale per se, I am going to start moving some 56 00:03:17,550 --> 00:03:20,750 Speaker 3: of these things to my home in my garage and 57 00:03:20,790 --> 00:03:23,070 Speaker 3: then start going through them and then deciding what I 58 00:03:23,090 --> 00:03:25,400 Speaker 3: want to keep and what I do want to potentially 59 00:03:25,460 --> 00:03:26,980 Speaker 3: either donate or sell. 60 00:03:27,450 --> 00:03:30,810 Speaker 1: Well, you know me, man. I love helping people move sincerely. 61 00:03:30,930 --> 00:03:33,150 Speaker 1: So if you want a pair of extra hands for 62 00:03:33,370 --> 00:03:35,550 Speaker 1: a big shiver robe or something, just let me know 63 00:03:35,610 --> 00:03:36,220 Speaker 1: and we can make a deal. 64 00:03:36,240 --> 00:03:37,680 Speaker 2: Will you bust it up for me if I need 65 00:03:37,720 --> 00:03:42,140 Speaker 2: you to? So a yard sale, you know that there is. 66 00:03:42,180 --> 00:03:46,940 Speaker 1: A more of a casual DIY event where the living 67 00:03:47,680 --> 00:03:51,710 Speaker 1: owner of stuff puts, like you said, a table out 68 00:03:51,750 --> 00:03:54,590 Speaker 1: in the yard and they sell some stuff. They've they 69 00:03:54,870 --> 00:03:58,470 Speaker 1: poster up some signs in the neighborhood to let people 70 00:03:58,510 --> 00:04:02,130 Speaker 1: know when to show up. Whereas an estate sale is 71 00:04:02,230 --> 00:04:06,460 Speaker 1: often professionally managed, it is the liquidation of an entire 72 00:04:06,600 --> 00:04:13,020 Speaker 1: household's contents. And it turns out we, all three of us, 73 00:04:13,160 --> 00:04:17,820 Speaker 1: kind of have varying degrees of the old. So we're 74 00:04:17,860 --> 00:04:21,490 Speaker 1: not plugged in necessarily to what the kids love, but 75 00:04:22,020 --> 00:04:27,809 Speaker 1: Millennial and Gen Z adults, Noel, apparently love estate sales. 76 00:04:28,310 --> 00:04:31,870 Speaker 3: Yeah, I see that. And I have read that. I 77 00:04:31,930 --> 00:04:35,920 Speaker 3: would also argue that there are plenty of Gen Xers 78 00:04:35,950 --> 00:04:37,580 Speaker 3: who also love estate sales. 79 00:04:37,620 --> 00:04:38,390 Speaker 2: There we go. 80 00:04:38,400 --> 00:04:41,000 Speaker 3: I don't know that this is particularly unique, but, you know, 81 00:04:41,400 --> 00:04:44,000 Speaker 3: who are we to say? I will say this. It 82 00:04:44,060 --> 00:04:46,700 Speaker 3: makes sense and aligns with some of the millennial and 83 00:04:46,800 --> 00:04:52,420 Speaker 3: Gen Z backlash against sort of like aggressive modernity. that 84 00:04:52,480 --> 00:04:55,020 Speaker 3: I think has come sort of post-COVID, like I mentioned 85 00:04:55,080 --> 00:04:57,060 Speaker 3: on Stuff They Don't Want You to Know, our sister podcast, 86 00:04:57,839 --> 00:05:00,760 Speaker 3: that my kid told me just the other day that 87 00:05:00,779 --> 00:05:05,580 Speaker 3: they have instituted a self-imposed hour screen time limit. And 88 00:05:05,620 --> 00:05:07,839 Speaker 3: I think that is very much hand in hand with 89 00:05:07,880 --> 00:05:13,080 Speaker 3: this sort of fascination with more vintage stuff and unplugging 90 00:05:13,140 --> 00:05:17,110 Speaker 3: and like using, say, more dated technology and dumb phones, 91 00:05:17,260 --> 00:05:21,050 Speaker 3: flip phones, listening to records instead of you know, endlessly 92 00:05:21,150 --> 00:05:23,450 Speaker 3: streaming playlists on Spotify or whatever. 93 00:05:23,490 --> 00:05:26,090 Speaker 1: A little more of an analog lifestyle. 94 00:05:26,380 --> 00:05:28,180 Speaker 2: And soon they'll be reading the broadsheets. 95 00:05:29,190 --> 00:05:33,500 Speaker 1: We can only hope the broadsheets survive long enough for 96 00:05:33,540 --> 00:05:38,480 Speaker 1: that renaissance to occur. There's a question here that bugged 97 00:05:38,540 --> 00:05:41,680 Speaker 1: our research associate Ames, and we wanted to attempt to 98 00:05:41,779 --> 00:05:45,490 Speaker 1: answer it today. How estate sales work. Now, it's No 99 00:05:45,570 --> 00:05:49,050 Speaker 1: secret that human beings have been selling off the possessions 100 00:05:49,130 --> 00:05:52,690 Speaker 1: of the dead for a long, long time. Even if 101 00:05:52,710 --> 00:05:56,479 Speaker 1: you go back to ancient Rome, states would be liquidated 102 00:05:56,700 --> 00:06:00,839 Speaker 1: and they would be sold often to cover remaining debts 103 00:06:01,160 --> 00:06:05,220 Speaker 1: after someone passed away or to give some sort of 104 00:06:05,279 --> 00:06:08,570 Speaker 1: financial safety net to the surviving family members. 105 00:06:09,089 --> 00:06:11,550 Speaker 3: Yeah, and where the modern concept of an estate sale 106 00:06:11,710 --> 00:06:14,310 Speaker 3: really started to take off, if you can imagine, which 107 00:06:14,330 --> 00:06:16,500 Speaker 3: I think you can, is in the Victorian era. Because 108 00:06:16,520 --> 00:06:19,140 Speaker 3: that's when we're starting to think about like fancy schmancy 109 00:06:19,260 --> 00:06:23,720 Speaker 3: furniture and silver and things like that. Much like the Egyptians, 110 00:06:23,779 --> 00:06:28,050 Speaker 3: wealthy Victorian families frequently held house sales where they would 111 00:06:28,520 --> 00:06:31,250 Speaker 3: portion off parts of the estate in order to pay 112 00:06:31,330 --> 00:06:34,839 Speaker 3: for a move. or perhaps to your point, Ben, covered 113 00:06:34,900 --> 00:06:39,350 Speaker 3: debts or split up an inheritance between beneficiaries. 114 00:06:40,410 --> 00:06:44,800 Speaker 1: Yeah. And this is where we see trust deployed often. 115 00:06:45,100 --> 00:06:48,600 Speaker 1: The trust are a common tool to ensure that the 116 00:06:48,920 --> 00:06:53,100 Speaker 1: the surviving children would over time benefit from the wealth 117 00:06:53,180 --> 00:06:57,250 Speaker 1: their parents left behind. So you're a property owner, you die. 118 00:06:57,750 --> 00:07:01,590 Speaker 1: The majority of your wealth passes to your appointed trustees. 119 00:07:02,089 --> 00:07:05,909 Speaker 1: And when your spouse dies or when the kids attain 120 00:07:06,110 --> 00:07:10,190 Speaker 1: their majority, when they reach adulthood, then all the assets, 121 00:07:10,270 --> 00:07:13,210 Speaker 1: all the property, all the stuff held in trust is 122 00:07:13,270 --> 00:07:17,420 Speaker 1: divided or sold off by the trustees. And in theory, 123 00:07:18,040 --> 00:07:21,840 Speaker 1: it is shared equally between all surviving children. But as 124 00:07:22,060 --> 00:07:28,460 Speaker 1: anybody who has participated in humanity knows, sometimes the surviving 125 00:07:28,550 --> 00:07:32,870 Speaker 1: family members fight, fang and claw, to get everything. 126 00:07:33,030 --> 00:07:35,270 Speaker 2: Bit of a squabble type situation. 127 00:07:35,850 --> 00:07:39,530 Speaker 3: So this period is marked, the Victorian period is marked 128 00:07:39,590 --> 00:07:46,880 Speaker 3: by more consumerism than the preceding economically depressed Georgian period. era, 129 00:07:46,960 --> 00:07:52,960 Speaker 3: thanks to industrialization, expansion of technology, transportation, things like that. 130 00:07:53,700 --> 00:07:56,840 Speaker 3: And so as such, folks with means had even more 131 00:07:56,920 --> 00:08:03,780 Speaker 3: means with which to furnish and bedazzle their homes, their estates. 132 00:08:04,930 --> 00:08:09,510 Speaker 3: So an important social marker of the Victorian era, which 133 00:08:09,550 --> 00:08:12,110 Speaker 3: was described here in the book Inside the Victorian Home, 134 00:08:12,460 --> 00:08:17,830 Speaker 3: by Judith Flanders. She goes through a typical bourgeois dwelling 135 00:08:18,010 --> 00:08:21,290 Speaker 3: room by room and looks at the material goods that 136 00:08:21,330 --> 00:08:23,670 Speaker 3: are likely to be found in each, and she describes 137 00:08:23,750 --> 00:08:28,500 Speaker 3: it as such. The ever-increasing number of objects in British 138 00:08:28,540 --> 00:08:32,780 Speaker 3: homes of the era, especially from the 1860s on, created 139 00:08:32,800 --> 00:08:36,180 Speaker 3: a deluge of things. So we are kind of entering 140 00:08:36,260 --> 00:08:38,630 Speaker 3: the era of hoarding. Yes. 141 00:08:38,929 --> 00:08:40,150 Speaker 2: And I love this. 142 00:08:40,630 --> 00:08:43,809 Speaker 1: I love this note. Our source here is Jennifer Howard 143 00:08:43,860 --> 00:08:49,140 Speaker 1: writing for LitHub.com. Do we have Victorians to thank for consumerism? 144 00:08:49,820 --> 00:08:53,960 Speaker 1: Jennifer says, quote, there were things to cover things, things 145 00:08:54,020 --> 00:08:57,500 Speaker 1: to hold other things, things that were representations of yet 146 00:08:57,600 --> 00:09:02,220 Speaker 1: more things, things to hold other things, prefiguring of the 147 00:09:02,420 --> 00:09:05,559 Speaker 1: organization of life in the age of the container store. 148 00:09:05,600 --> 00:09:09,270 Speaker 1: That last bit is from Ames. And We see this 149 00:09:09,870 --> 00:09:15,370 Speaker 1: establishment of material expectations that persist today. How do we 150 00:09:15,570 --> 00:09:21,590 Speaker 1: normalize what defines a good or well-appointed home? And if 151 00:09:21,650 --> 00:09:25,170 Speaker 1: you are listening from the hallowed halls of the United 152 00:09:25,230 --> 00:09:30,059 Speaker 1: States of America, you know that we are all material girls. 153 00:09:30,640 --> 00:09:34,120 Speaker 1: The aesthetic for the U.S. has always been, at least 154 00:09:34,140 --> 00:09:38,380 Speaker 1: the modern U.S., has always been bigger is better. supersize 155 00:09:38,420 --> 00:09:39,020 Speaker 1: this thing. 156 00:09:39,380 --> 00:09:40,700 Speaker 2: More is more. 157 00:09:40,860 --> 00:09:43,920 Speaker 1: And that leads to some crazy estate sales. 158 00:09:44,040 --> 00:09:47,300 Speaker 3: Ben, I like a twist on the we're all material 159 00:09:47,400 --> 00:09:50,120 Speaker 3: girls living in material world from the police, which is 160 00:09:50,160 --> 00:09:52,790 Speaker 3: we're all spirits in the material world. 161 00:09:53,210 --> 00:09:56,910 Speaker 1: And folks, obviously, you know that we are not living 162 00:09:57,150 --> 00:10:01,220 Speaker 1: in the Victorian era today. So modern estate estate sales are, 163 00:10:02,200 --> 00:10:05,360 Speaker 1: they're descended from Victorian estate sales, but they're a very 164 00:10:05,440 --> 00:10:08,650 Speaker 1: different thing. Now you don't have to be a highfalutin 165 00:10:08,830 --> 00:10:13,050 Speaker 1: aristocrat to have an estate sale. If you, you can 166 00:10:13,250 --> 00:10:17,579 Speaker 1: be anybody. who has passed away usually. And the stuff 167 00:10:17,600 --> 00:10:20,740 Speaker 1: that you'll see could be kitschy vintage items. That's what 168 00:10:20,780 --> 00:10:25,140 Speaker 1: my buddy Simon loves. But you'll also see expensive silver, 169 00:10:25,340 --> 00:10:31,810 Speaker 1: rare artwork, homemade gifts. You'll see things that might be 170 00:10:31,950 --> 00:10:34,870 Speaker 1: worth a ton of money on Antiques Roadshow. 171 00:10:35,270 --> 00:10:36,310 Speaker 2: Potentially, right? 172 00:10:36,470 --> 00:10:39,590 Speaker 3: And sometimes you do need an expert to help you 173 00:10:39,630 --> 00:10:43,150 Speaker 3: identify what those things are. And, you know, I'm certain 174 00:10:43,170 --> 00:10:46,860 Speaker 3: there are examples where folks just do all of this themselves, 175 00:10:46,940 --> 00:10:49,720 Speaker 3: but typically you do hire some sort of expert who 176 00:10:49,760 --> 00:10:52,520 Speaker 3: helps you go through everything, catalog everything, make sure you 177 00:10:52,600 --> 00:10:57,420 Speaker 3: know what the high value items are actually worth, and 178 00:10:57,520 --> 00:11:01,780 Speaker 3: then assist you in sort of like operating almost like 179 00:11:01,820 --> 00:11:05,850 Speaker 3: an open house, like a realtor almost, right? So this allows... 180 00:11:06,260 --> 00:11:11,770 Speaker 3: people in the streets to quite literally walk into other 181 00:11:11,809 --> 00:11:17,110 Speaker 3: people's homes, hence the traditional concept of an estate, and 182 00:11:17,210 --> 00:11:20,840 Speaker 3: pick through literally, or at least the remaining items that 183 00:11:20,880 --> 00:11:23,700 Speaker 3: have not been divvied up amongst the living heirs. 184 00:11:24,700 --> 00:11:27,900 Speaker 2: Just about everything is for sale. Yeah. Just about. 185 00:11:28,660 --> 00:11:32,230 Speaker 3: And it's important to note that there are, However, a 186 00:11:32,650 --> 00:11:36,230 Speaker 3: standard kind of set of rules and expectations, some spoken, 187 00:11:36,690 --> 00:11:40,309 Speaker 3: some unspoken, that are still in place regardless of how 188 00:11:40,450 --> 00:11:44,030 Speaker 3: fancy or expensive the sale is. So you definitely want 189 00:11:44,050 --> 00:11:46,310 Speaker 3: to come in armed with this information if you're going 190 00:11:46,330 --> 00:11:47,890 Speaker 3: to start going out picking. 191 00:11:48,380 --> 00:11:52,260 Speaker 1: Yeah, there are rules of the road. And just a 192 00:11:52,320 --> 00:11:56,360 Speaker 1: brief anecdote here. My pal Simon, who is very, very 193 00:11:56,380 --> 00:12:00,380 Speaker 1: into estate sales, as we mentioned, he taught me a 194 00:12:00,460 --> 00:12:03,660 Speaker 1: lot of this, and I didn't realize how serious this 195 00:12:03,700 --> 00:12:14,220 Speaker 1: can be for enthusiasts. We're going to give you, courtesy 196 00:12:14,240 --> 00:12:17,020 Speaker 1: of Ames, the top five things you need to know 197 00:12:17,059 --> 00:12:20,780 Speaker 1: about estate sales. The rule is, first come, first serve. 198 00:12:20,940 --> 00:12:23,760 Speaker 1: You're driving around a nice neighborhood. Why is there a 199 00:12:23,800 --> 00:12:26,580 Speaker 1: line of people outside of one house at 7 a.m.? 200 00:12:27,000 --> 00:12:30,700 Speaker 1: It is because they want dibs on the primo items. 201 00:12:31,059 --> 00:12:34,380 Speaker 1: Some of these folks are collectors and they might be 202 00:12:34,559 --> 00:12:38,679 Speaker 1: looking for a specific piece or type of artifact. Some 203 00:12:38,700 --> 00:12:42,940 Speaker 1: of these people might be working for film or production companies, right? 204 00:12:43,120 --> 00:12:44,620 Speaker 1: And they want some set dressing. 205 00:12:45,090 --> 00:12:45,380 Speaker 2: Correct. 206 00:12:46,830 --> 00:12:48,410 Speaker 3: So there are folks that are going to come in 207 00:12:48,470 --> 00:12:52,229 Speaker 3: with a much more honed eye, maybe like, you know, 208 00:12:52,250 --> 00:12:54,370 Speaker 3: go to these things all the time. And they might 209 00:12:54,410 --> 00:12:58,410 Speaker 3: be going to one of these in particular because of something. 210 00:12:58,130 --> 00:12:59,220 Speaker 2: They know in advance. 211 00:12:59,580 --> 00:13:00,020 Speaker 1: Right. 212 00:13:00,080 --> 00:13:02,400 Speaker 2: Like a little intel. Correct. 213 00:13:03,440 --> 00:13:07,480 Speaker 1: And everybody who comes into the estate sale first come 214 00:13:07,580 --> 00:13:12,390 Speaker 1: first serve. It's everybody being treated equally. There is one 215 00:13:12,650 --> 00:13:16,280 Speaker 1: other rule you need to know from the jump. take 216 00:13:16,320 --> 00:13:19,240 Speaker 1: a little pee break first because rule number two is 217 00:13:19,400 --> 00:13:20,920 Speaker 1: no using the bathrooms. 218 00:13:21,370 --> 00:13:24,850 Speaker 2: Makes sense. I mean, the bathroom is, you know, a 219 00:13:24,929 --> 00:13:26,270 Speaker 2: very private place. 220 00:13:26,350 --> 00:13:28,910 Speaker 3: Yeah, and you are essentially entering someone's home and this 221 00:13:28,950 --> 00:13:31,809 Speaker 3: could be a home that is still, you know, occupied 222 00:13:31,910 --> 00:13:36,000 Speaker 3: by whether it be living heirs or perhaps a spouse 223 00:13:36,140 --> 00:13:38,939 Speaker 3: that has survived the individual who passed away. 224 00:13:39,320 --> 00:13:42,640 Speaker 2: So yeah, bathrooms are indeed off limits to shoppers. 225 00:13:43,120 --> 00:13:47,290 Speaker 3: Discounts, however, are not off limits, are in fact the 226 00:13:47,330 --> 00:13:50,030 Speaker 3: order of the day, and they are staggered by day. 227 00:13:50,910 --> 00:13:54,070 Speaker 3: Haggling on the first day is usually considered poor form, 228 00:13:54,960 --> 00:13:58,200 Speaker 3: but as the week goes on, or the weekend rather, 229 00:13:58,240 --> 00:14:02,420 Speaker 3: it's easier to snag a good deal, typically with 25% 230 00:14:02,420 --> 00:14:07,040 Speaker 3: applied in discount per day as things remain. You are 231 00:14:07,100 --> 00:14:11,000 Speaker 3: going to see people lining up first thing in the morning, 232 00:14:11,580 --> 00:14:14,860 Speaker 3: That's because they want to catch those really, really special items, 233 00:14:14,900 --> 00:14:16,760 Speaker 3: and those things are going to go first. And then 234 00:14:17,160 --> 00:14:19,910 Speaker 3: as the dregs, let's call it, not to diminish anyone's 235 00:14:20,670 --> 00:14:24,489 Speaker 3: remaining property as the dregs, but as far as the 236 00:14:24,530 --> 00:14:28,070 Speaker 3: shoppers are concerned, that is what would be left, typically 25% 237 00:14:28,070 --> 00:14:30,880 Speaker 3: a day. Second day would be 50%. Third day, towards 238 00:14:30,920 --> 00:14:33,140 Speaker 3: the end, you're going to see a lot of crazy 239 00:14:33,180 --> 00:14:34,560 Speaker 3: deals with whatever's left over. 240 00:14:34,980 --> 00:14:38,600 Speaker 1: Yeah, because the companies– and it is often a third-party 241 00:14:38,640 --> 00:14:41,860 Speaker 1: company that runs these things– Their goal is to get 242 00:14:42,220 --> 00:14:45,970 Speaker 1: as much as possible gone as quickly as possible. So 243 00:14:46,000 --> 00:14:49,530 Speaker 1: that's why number three discounts are staggered by the day. 244 00:14:50,030 --> 00:14:54,550 Speaker 1: Number four, and we don't want to ruin anybody's family 245 00:14:54,770 --> 00:14:55,970 Speaker 1: adventure for the weekend. 246 00:14:56,410 --> 00:14:57,070 Speaker 2: No children. 247 00:14:57,650 --> 00:15:02,390 Speaker 1: Pretty often estate sales will say we can't have kids around. 248 00:15:02,430 --> 00:15:05,280 Speaker 1: They're a liability. They might mess with stuff. They might, 249 00:15:05,880 --> 00:15:10,610 Speaker 1: you know, touch something dangerous, hurt themselves, etc., Some estate 250 00:15:10,650 --> 00:15:15,660 Speaker 1: sales don't mind kids, but there's there's one big rule 251 00:15:15,800 --> 00:15:18,240 Speaker 1: that I've actually seen people fight about. This is our 252 00:15:18,340 --> 00:15:21,880 Speaker 1: fifth rule of the top five. It's the law of 253 00:15:21,940 --> 00:15:23,280 Speaker 1: the hold table. 254 00:15:23,720 --> 00:15:25,220 Speaker 3: Yeah. I mean, even if you've been to like any 255 00:15:25,300 --> 00:15:27,780 Speaker 3: antique stores like here in Atlanta, we have a really 256 00:15:27,800 --> 00:15:32,770 Speaker 3: cool spot called Kudzu. and they have a hold table, 257 00:15:32,890 --> 00:15:37,170 Speaker 3: which is a table, literally, designated for shoppers to store 258 00:15:37,550 --> 00:15:39,020 Speaker 3: their potential purchases. 259 00:15:39,040 --> 00:15:41,380 Speaker 2: Because oftentimes these things can be chunky. 260 00:15:42,620 --> 00:15:44,460 Speaker 3: Or it could well be they write hold on the 261 00:15:44,500 --> 00:15:46,940 Speaker 3: back of a tag if it is a giant article 262 00:15:47,080 --> 00:15:48,580 Speaker 3: of furniture, for example. 263 00:15:48,600 --> 00:15:49,940 Speaker 1: Like a church pew or something. 264 00:15:50,240 --> 00:15:52,560 Speaker 3: Yeah, but this is a designated space for shoppers to 265 00:15:52,620 --> 00:15:55,650 Speaker 3: hold their potential purchases while they finish roaming around the 266 00:15:55,670 --> 00:15:56,710 Speaker 3: house looking for other deals. 267 00:15:57,050 --> 00:16:01,970 Speaker 2: The hold table is considered sacrosanct, so... Hands off. Hands off. 268 00:16:02,650 --> 00:16:06,950 Speaker 1: Don't be that person. There is an entire industry of 269 00:16:07,030 --> 00:16:11,950 Speaker 1: professionals who run the estate sales circuit. These estate sale 270 00:16:12,030 --> 00:16:15,380 Speaker 1: companies are the best way to describe them. We've already 271 00:16:15,390 --> 00:16:17,880 Speaker 1: kind of said this. They're a business that comes into 272 00:16:17,960 --> 00:16:21,380 Speaker 1: a home. They sort and price everything inside it. They 273 00:16:21,460 --> 00:16:24,780 Speaker 1: stage the home like it's a pop-up store. They advertise 274 00:16:24,840 --> 00:16:27,940 Speaker 1: the sale. They will have staff there for one to 275 00:16:27,980 --> 00:16:31,500 Speaker 1: three days. They'll run the checkout. and they will clear 276 00:16:31,820 --> 00:16:36,670 Speaker 1: whatever is left over. And they do this for a percentage, 277 00:16:37,270 --> 00:16:40,310 Speaker 1: usually going to be 30 to 50% of the total sales. 278 00:16:40,850 --> 00:16:45,530 Speaker 1: It's pretty hefty, right? You'll also see similar companies operating 279 00:16:45,880 --> 00:16:47,820 Speaker 1: in office building liquidations. 280 00:16:48,400 --> 00:16:48,840 Speaker 2: For sure. 281 00:16:49,480 --> 00:16:51,680 Speaker 3: And this doesn't just happen when a family member dies. 282 00:16:51,740 --> 00:16:54,680 Speaker 3: It could involve someone moving out of the home into 283 00:16:54,700 --> 00:16:58,020 Speaker 3: an assisted living facility or someone that maybe simply just 284 00:16:58,070 --> 00:17:03,540 Speaker 3: wants to considerably downsize or maybe they decided to become 285 00:17:03,600 --> 00:17:05,500 Speaker 3: a Buddhist and they want to, you know, part with 286 00:17:05,560 --> 00:17:08,639 Speaker 3: all of their worldly possessions. Or this can also happen 287 00:17:08,740 --> 00:17:11,380 Speaker 3: in the event of divorce. 288 00:17:11,840 --> 00:17:12,159 Speaker 1: Yeah. 289 00:17:12,359 --> 00:17:12,639 Speaker 3: Yeah. 290 00:17:12,820 --> 00:17:16,439 Speaker 1: And we can understand this. We can exercise empathy for 291 00:17:16,460 --> 00:17:19,500 Speaker 1: these situations because if you are trying to get rid 292 00:17:19,540 --> 00:17:22,830 Speaker 1: of all the stuff that you have accumulated and you're 293 00:17:22,980 --> 00:17:25,790 Speaker 1: on your own, What, you're going to take a second 294 00:17:25,850 --> 00:17:30,740 Speaker 1: job on eBay and Facebook Marketplace selling stuff piece by piece, 295 00:17:30,920 --> 00:17:33,109 Speaker 1: doing yard sales as often as you can? It's a lot. 296 00:17:33,119 --> 00:17:35,320 Speaker 3: I mean, people, you know, think of the kind of 297 00:17:35,359 --> 00:17:38,030 Speaker 3: people whose their whole job is to, like, set up 298 00:17:38,810 --> 00:17:42,590 Speaker 3: stands at flea markets or various, like, record fairs and 299 00:17:42,609 --> 00:17:44,370 Speaker 3: stuff like that. I mean, it is, you know, usually 300 00:17:44,690 --> 00:17:47,229 Speaker 3: when people are doing this and selling things in these 301 00:17:47,270 --> 00:17:49,950 Speaker 3: physical spaces, they're also listing things. 302 00:17:49,770 --> 00:17:52,959 Speaker 2: On eBay or Discogs or whatever. It is a whole thing. 303 00:17:54,060 --> 00:17:56,120 Speaker 2: job unto itself. It's a career. 304 00:17:56,200 --> 00:17:59,400 Speaker 3: Definitely not something that the average person wants to mess with. 305 00:17:59,460 --> 00:18:01,979 Speaker 3: So that 30 to 50%, while it might seem steep, 306 00:18:02,020 --> 00:18:04,659 Speaker 3: you are getting quite a lot for your money. At 307 00:18:04,700 --> 00:18:06,919 Speaker 3: the very least, you're getting more than you would if 308 00:18:06,960 --> 00:18:09,080 Speaker 3: you just let the stuff sit in storage like I've 309 00:18:09,100 --> 00:18:11,560 Speaker 3: been doing. I do want to point out, too, that 310 00:18:11,580 --> 00:18:13,600 Speaker 3: there is another version of this that I think is 311 00:18:13,640 --> 00:18:18,550 Speaker 3: kind of interesting. The idea of a storage unit auction, 312 00:18:18,920 --> 00:18:22,880 Speaker 3: which happens when people don't pay their bills. Maybe there's 313 00:18:22,900 --> 00:18:25,730 Speaker 3: stuff in storage and someone passes away and then the, 314 00:18:26,310 --> 00:18:29,470 Speaker 3: you know, the bill for the storage facility gets delinquent. 315 00:18:29,890 --> 00:18:33,050 Speaker 3: And it varies, I suppose, place to place, you know, 316 00:18:33,430 --> 00:18:37,560 Speaker 3: organization to organization, how long they let that go before 317 00:18:37,580 --> 00:18:41,760 Speaker 3: they literally take a pair of bolt cutters, open up the, 318 00:18:41,980 --> 00:18:44,150 Speaker 3: you know, crack open the unit and bid. 319 00:18:44,619 --> 00:18:47,020 Speaker 2: All the items inside off, you know, to the public. 320 00:18:47,240 --> 00:18:48,680 Speaker 1: It's like a blind box, really. 321 00:18:48,980 --> 00:18:49,540 Speaker 2: It can be. 322 00:18:49,640 --> 00:18:51,960 Speaker 3: And I know people that do this and they can, 323 00:18:52,020 --> 00:18:54,040 Speaker 3: you know, they'll buy up a whole, the whole unit. 324 00:18:54,619 --> 00:18:57,220 Speaker 3: They sell them as lots sometimes. And this is also 325 00:18:57,460 --> 00:19:01,120 Speaker 3: the business behind shows like Storage Wars. Yeah. 326 00:19:01,380 --> 00:19:06,080 Speaker 1: And you also, as a normie, as a civilian or 327 00:19:06,100 --> 00:19:11,020 Speaker 1: estate sale enthusiast, you can download apps in the digital age, 328 00:19:11,119 --> 00:19:15,640 Speaker 1: things like estatesales.net, and you can scan your city. This 329 00:19:15,720 --> 00:19:20,340 Speaker 1: will show you the locations of current estate sales. And 330 00:19:20,520 --> 00:19:23,980 Speaker 1: in bigger cities, they're typically going to be a baker's 331 00:19:24,020 --> 00:19:26,940 Speaker 1: dozen or more each and every weekend. And you might 332 00:19:27,090 --> 00:19:30,490 Speaker 1: at this point wonder, like we did, how are there 333 00:19:30,609 --> 00:19:36,129 Speaker 1: so many estate sales? The answer is the baby boomer generation. 334 00:19:36,170 --> 00:19:39,130 Speaker 1: We talked in a previous episode about the great vowel 335 00:19:39,210 --> 00:19:43,600 Speaker 1: shift in silent letters. This is the great stuff transfer. 336 00:19:44,600 --> 00:19:46,020 Speaker 2: Yeah, for sure. 337 00:19:46,440 --> 00:19:48,970 Speaker 3: According to the Pew Research Center, there were an estimated 338 00:19:48,970 --> 00:19:52,730 Speaker 3: 65 million baby boomers in the US as of the 339 00:19:53,060 --> 00:19:57,840 Speaker 3: year 2024, currently ranging in age from 62 to 80 340 00:19:57,840 --> 00:20:00,660 Speaker 3: years old. So no matter how fit you might be. 341 00:20:01,359 --> 00:20:04,800 Speaker 3: They're approaching their departure from. 342 00:20:04,690 --> 00:20:05,470 Speaker 2: This mortal coil. 343 00:20:05,990 --> 00:20:06,770 Speaker 1: Or retirement. 344 00:20:06,830 --> 00:20:08,470 Speaker 2: Well, that as well. Good point, Ben. 345 00:20:08,950 --> 00:20:11,649 Speaker 3: Though their generation is more likely to stay in the 346 00:20:11,690 --> 00:20:14,229 Speaker 3: workforce a bit longer than previous generations, many of these 347 00:20:14,270 --> 00:20:18,590 Speaker 3: folks are reaching an age where downsizing is necessary. And 348 00:20:18,710 --> 00:20:24,050 Speaker 3: it is incredibly necessary because the boomers were the generation 349 00:20:24,330 --> 00:20:25,209 Speaker 3: of acquisition. 350 00:20:25,730 --> 00:20:26,619 Speaker 2: Yeah, yeah. 351 00:20:26,760 --> 00:20:33,330 Speaker 1: This is a halcyon time for The boomers are coming 352 00:20:33,410 --> 00:20:36,550 Speaker 1: about in the they're called boomers because the post World 353 00:20:36,570 --> 00:20:39,970 Speaker 1: War Two economic boom, the United States is one of 354 00:20:40,030 --> 00:20:44,200 Speaker 1: the only Western nations that didn't get its infrastructure absolutely 355 00:20:44,300 --> 00:20:48,659 Speaker 1: rocked by a global conflict. And then as a result. 356 00:20:49,510 --> 00:20:52,840 Speaker 1: The boomers become the first American generation to grow up 357 00:20:52,890 --> 00:20:57,060 Speaker 1: in the era of mass production, blatant consumerism, buy that house, 358 00:20:57,440 --> 00:21:00,620 Speaker 1: buy that car, buy a second car, where's your microwave? 359 00:21:01,240 --> 00:21:04,330 Speaker 1: And a lot of the things that they bought, unlike today, 360 00:21:04,680 --> 00:21:08,150 Speaker 1: were built to last. They didn't have the planned obsolescence 361 00:21:08,530 --> 00:21:12,030 Speaker 1: so common in most modern products. So if you go 362 00:21:12,070 --> 00:21:15,520 Speaker 1: to the houses of the boomer generation, you're going to 363 00:21:15,580 --> 00:21:18,869 Speaker 1: see One, a bunch of stuff from the mid-century to 364 00:21:18,890 --> 00:21:21,850 Speaker 1: the current day. And two, a bunch of the stuff 365 00:21:21,890 --> 00:21:24,990 Speaker 1: you see is going to be very durable. 366 00:21:25,550 --> 00:21:28,580 Speaker 2: Right. The stuff is very well built for the most part. 367 00:21:28,619 --> 00:21:31,740 Speaker 3: This is like a version of mass production that still 368 00:21:31,840 --> 00:21:36,000 Speaker 3: had some degree of quality control, it would seem. Also, 369 00:21:36,020 --> 00:21:40,220 Speaker 3: you know, boomers were it's almost like the luxury of 370 00:21:40,359 --> 00:21:43,469 Speaker 3: having this much stuff can kind of become a hobby 371 00:21:43,550 --> 00:21:45,190 Speaker 3: in and of itself, a.k.a. 372 00:21:45,369 --> 00:21:47,760 Speaker 2: Collecting. Uh, I am guilty of this. 373 00:21:47,980 --> 00:21:50,920 Speaker 3: I am not a boomer, but I love collecting trinkets 374 00:21:51,020 --> 00:21:55,619 Speaker 3: and various things, musical equipment, and, uh, of course records. Um, 375 00:21:55,880 --> 00:21:58,859 Speaker 3: so you're going to often in these types of estate sales, 376 00:21:59,060 --> 00:22:02,940 Speaker 3: see massive amounts of books and, uh, and vinyl records 377 00:22:03,200 --> 00:22:04,260 Speaker 3: and sure. 378 00:22:04,680 --> 00:22:08,760 Speaker 1: Yeah. And, and party stuff because these folks were, it 379 00:22:08,800 --> 00:22:13,280 Speaker 1: was much more common in their generation. to have a 380 00:22:13,320 --> 00:22:16,120 Speaker 1: bunch of people over at your house and to entertain, right, 381 00:22:16,140 --> 00:22:17,179 Speaker 1: to have a dinner party. 382 00:22:17,340 --> 00:22:20,010 Speaker 3: Right, you might have different sets of china for various 383 00:22:20,050 --> 00:22:22,550 Speaker 3: types of dinner parties, or you have the fancy silver, 384 00:22:22,570 --> 00:22:25,210 Speaker 3: the kind that's just for, like, a smaller, you know, 385 00:22:25,330 --> 00:22:26,210 Speaker 3: intimate gathering. 386 00:22:26,630 --> 00:22:26,850 Speaker 1: Right. 387 00:22:26,930 --> 00:22:30,380 Speaker 3: My mother, very much of this era, like, has, you know, 388 00:22:30,520 --> 00:22:32,739 Speaker 3: definitely has a chipper robe that was stuffed full of 389 00:22:32,760 --> 00:22:36,200 Speaker 3: these kinds of things. Cocktail carts, things like that. 390 00:22:36,880 --> 00:22:39,959 Speaker 1: We also, I think it's crucial that we point out 391 00:22:40,260 --> 00:22:42,889 Speaker 1: this concept for a lot of folks, this is a 392 00:22:43,050 --> 00:22:48,810 Speaker 1: generational reaction to the scarcity of the Great Depression. And 393 00:22:48,850 --> 00:22:53,199 Speaker 1: you see this scarcity or this anxiety about not having 394 00:22:53,280 --> 00:22:57,320 Speaker 1: enough writ large in so many other countries where there's 395 00:22:57,359 --> 00:23:02,660 Speaker 1: been a huge industrial shift. So the idea of having 396 00:23:02,800 --> 00:23:06,850 Speaker 1: stuff meant that you would never have to be like 397 00:23:06,910 --> 00:23:10,750 Speaker 1: your ancestors or your parents who grew up in the 398 00:23:11,070 --> 00:23:14,409 Speaker 1: horrors of the Great Depression. Too long, didn't read, as 399 00:23:14,510 --> 00:23:16,570 Speaker 1: Ames says. Isn't that funny, though, Ben? 400 00:23:16,670 --> 00:23:19,790 Speaker 2: It seems like you would maybe learn some. 401 00:23:19,710 --> 00:23:22,450 Speaker 3: Lessons from the Great Depression, and instead of just buying 402 00:23:22,490 --> 00:23:25,130 Speaker 3: and collecting all the crap, you might be a little 403 00:23:25,170 --> 00:23:28,080 Speaker 3: more frugal. But it is funny how people react differently 404 00:23:28,220 --> 00:23:29,740 Speaker 3: to different kinds of traumas. 405 00:23:30,280 --> 00:23:33,660 Speaker 1: Yeah, they were nesting. They were seeking material security, right? 406 00:23:34,140 --> 00:23:37,820 Speaker 1: And again, TLDR, as Ames says, boomers love stuff. They 407 00:23:37,859 --> 00:23:40,500 Speaker 1: have a lot of it. So that's why at any 408 00:23:40,560 --> 00:23:45,810 Speaker 1: given estate sale, you can find collections of quite esoteric things, 409 00:23:46,090 --> 00:23:50,330 Speaker 1: colored glass, vintage clothing, records that are sealed in their 410 00:23:50,369 --> 00:23:53,030 Speaker 1: original packaging, which I know you and I both love, 411 00:23:53,790 --> 00:23:58,860 Speaker 1: the china, the silver. And this is something I was 412 00:23:58,910 --> 00:24:03,040 Speaker 1: not aware of. I'm not the demographic. A Christmas room. 413 00:24:03,520 --> 00:24:04,740 Speaker 2: Yeah, I don't know about that. 414 00:24:04,859 --> 00:24:07,620 Speaker 3: I guess I understand sort of like Elvis had like 415 00:24:07,680 --> 00:24:09,680 Speaker 3: the jungle room, you know, I guess there are folks 416 00:24:09,720 --> 00:24:14,900 Speaker 3: that kept a year round Christmas room. But either way, 417 00:24:14,960 --> 00:24:16,810 Speaker 3: whether you had a Christmas room or not, a lot 418 00:24:16,850 --> 00:24:20,450 Speaker 3: of these folks like my mother had just piles of 419 00:24:20,530 --> 00:24:24,630 Speaker 3: decorations for every season, the kind so many they would 420 00:24:24,670 --> 00:24:27,310 Speaker 3: have to go in their own color coded bins. 421 00:24:27,670 --> 00:24:29,210 Speaker 2: There we go. Yeah, yeah. 422 00:24:29,490 --> 00:24:33,770 Speaker 1: And Experts have taken the calling this tsunami of boomer 423 00:24:33,850 --> 00:24:37,970 Speaker 1: to millennial inheritance. Yes, just so. They've started calling it 424 00:24:38,119 --> 00:24:42,320 Speaker 1: the great stuff transfer. It's a conscious call back to 425 00:24:42,340 --> 00:24:46,840 Speaker 1: the great wealth transfer from the so-called silent generation to 426 00:24:46,859 --> 00:24:51,300 Speaker 1: the boomers. Boomers will keep it. Naturally, the youths and 427 00:24:51,359 --> 00:24:55,670 Speaker 1: the sort of youths of today typically don't have as 428 00:24:55,750 --> 00:24:59,270 Speaker 1: much space nor as much of a desire for that 429 00:24:59,470 --> 00:25:04,199 Speaker 1: sheer wealth. a flood of stuff, of junk, of tchotchkes. 430 00:25:04,520 --> 00:25:09,879 Speaker 1: That's why the estate sale happens, because God forbid your 431 00:25:10,060 --> 00:25:13,419 Speaker 1: parent passes away or your great aunts or what have you, 432 00:25:14,020 --> 00:25:16,280 Speaker 1: God forbid they pass away, and then you are left 433 00:25:16,320 --> 00:25:19,450 Speaker 1: to figure out what to do with all of their stuff. 434 00:25:19,490 --> 00:25:22,490 Speaker 1: A lot of younger generations don't want all that stuff. 435 00:25:29,330 --> 00:25:29,610 Speaker 1: For sure. 436 00:25:29,670 --> 00:25:31,889 Speaker 3: And it's also like for me, for example, there's definitely 437 00:25:31,910 --> 00:25:33,410 Speaker 3: some of my mom's stuff that I'm going to keep 438 00:25:33,450 --> 00:25:37,070 Speaker 3: in certain pieces that I'm looking forward to finding. I 439 00:25:37,540 --> 00:25:40,540 Speaker 3: ended up with it all in storage because after she 440 00:25:40,560 --> 00:25:42,820 Speaker 3: had passed away, her house, I was able to keep 441 00:25:42,880 --> 00:25:45,740 Speaker 3: it furnished and largely untouched. I was renting it to 442 00:25:46,300 --> 00:25:50,620 Speaker 3: a family friend. But it was sadly destroyed by Hurricane Helene. 443 00:25:51,190 --> 00:25:54,400 Speaker 3: And so I then was great, lucky enough to have 444 00:25:54,460 --> 00:25:58,320 Speaker 3: insurance pay for this professional packing company to salvage everything 445 00:25:58,340 --> 00:26:00,920 Speaker 3: that was salvageable, pack it all up. I've got like 446 00:26:00,960 --> 00:26:03,040 Speaker 3: a manifest, like an inventory. So when I actually do 447 00:26:03,100 --> 00:26:06,109 Speaker 3: go through it, it's going to be. not super hard 448 00:26:06,150 --> 00:26:08,330 Speaker 3: because I'll have like, you know, lists of the contents 449 00:26:08,450 --> 00:26:12,820 Speaker 3: of each particular box. But for me, a big part 450 00:26:12,880 --> 00:26:14,920 Speaker 3: of the issue is I love stuff and I do 451 00:26:14,960 --> 00:26:16,879 Speaker 3: have room, but I have plenty of my own stuff 452 00:26:16,900 --> 00:26:17,580 Speaker 3: taking up that room. 453 00:26:17,920 --> 00:26:19,480 Speaker 2: It's a difference in style. 454 00:26:19,859 --> 00:26:23,760 Speaker 1: Yeah, very much so. It's a difference in aesthetic. It's 455 00:26:23,780 --> 00:26:28,770 Speaker 1: a difference in prioritization. Younger generations have found estate sales 456 00:26:29,070 --> 00:26:33,290 Speaker 1: useful for several, through several fronts. One of the big 457 00:26:33,390 --> 00:26:36,850 Speaker 1: ones is what we call upcycling. That's where instead of 458 00:26:36,890 --> 00:26:41,070 Speaker 1: buying something new that'll zip, zap, and zing until it breaks, 459 00:26:41,630 --> 00:26:46,990 Speaker 1: you are practicing more sustainable consumption by getting higher quality 460 00:26:47,070 --> 00:26:50,230 Speaker 1: items that have been kept and cared for for decades. 461 00:26:51,300 --> 00:26:56,320 Speaker 1: Then you have, of course, the idea of tick-top shop 462 00:26:56,359 --> 00:27:01,119 Speaker 1: style fair. You get unique decor for your decorations at 463 00:27:01,140 --> 00:27:04,020 Speaker 1: a much more affordable price than you would get if 464 00:27:04,040 --> 00:27:08,680 Speaker 1: you went to like a fancy anthropology or a designer boutique. 465 00:27:08,780 --> 00:27:12,720 Speaker 3: Well, and mid-century furniture is mega, mega hot and sought 466 00:27:12,810 --> 00:27:15,470 Speaker 3: after and, you know, quite expensive. 467 00:27:17,450 --> 00:27:20,510 Speaker 1: Yeah. And then this is the reason we're kind of 468 00:27:20,550 --> 00:27:25,600 Speaker 1: talking about the blind box comparison earlier. Because every estate 469 00:27:25,660 --> 00:27:30,720 Speaker 1: sale is its own creature, you will always have the 470 00:27:31,050 --> 00:27:36,770 Speaker 1: possibility of winning the lottery. You may find a diamond 471 00:27:37,010 --> 00:27:40,389 Speaker 1: in the rough. You may find something that is a 472 00:27:41,030 --> 00:27:44,740 Speaker 1: once in a lifetime treasure. It's something you can keep 473 00:27:44,820 --> 00:27:49,300 Speaker 1: and pass down to your later descendants in even this, 474 00:27:49,580 --> 00:27:52,860 Speaker 1: an increasingly unaffordable world. Now, we do have to point 475 00:27:52,960 --> 00:27:57,159 Speaker 1: out Real quick, folks, because a lot of estate sales 476 00:27:57,310 --> 00:28:02,130 Speaker 1: are run by professional third-party companies, they are very good 477 00:28:02,210 --> 00:28:04,990 Speaker 1: at identifying those diamonds in the rough. 478 00:28:05,359 --> 00:28:07,739 Speaker 2: So typically they know you're not going to like necessarily 479 00:28:07,800 --> 00:28:11,199 Speaker 2: get an amazing deal on that. 480 00:28:11,760 --> 00:28:13,439 Speaker 3: But that's also kind of just the product of the 481 00:28:13,500 --> 00:28:14,929 Speaker 3: information age that we live in. 482 00:28:14,940 --> 00:28:16,540 Speaker 2: It used to be like early days of eBay. 483 00:28:16,580 --> 00:28:18,580 Speaker 3: You might stumble across a thing and get like a 484 00:28:18,640 --> 00:28:20,939 Speaker 3: mega deal on something someone didn't know what they had. 485 00:28:21,300 --> 00:28:23,440 Speaker 3: But that's just not as much the case anymore because 486 00:28:23,480 --> 00:28:26,150 Speaker 3: things are so easily Googleable and cross-referenceable. 487 00:28:26,230 --> 00:28:29,090 Speaker 2: And, you know, you're going to most often than not, 488 00:28:29,130 --> 00:28:30,010 Speaker 2: people know what they have. 489 00:28:30,650 --> 00:28:30,830 Speaker 1: Yeah. 490 00:28:30,869 --> 00:28:30,949 Speaker 3: Yeah. 491 00:28:31,280 --> 00:28:35,080 Speaker 1: Yeah. And there is a secondary industry here. So we 492 00:28:35,140 --> 00:28:38,080 Speaker 1: mentioned folks who might be working for film or production. 493 00:28:38,140 --> 00:28:43,790 Speaker 1: We mentioned very specific collectors and hobbyists. There's another group 494 00:28:43,850 --> 00:28:47,410 Speaker 1: of people, the resellers. These are the folks who go 495 00:28:47,550 --> 00:28:51,410 Speaker 1: in and run the margins, right? They know a lamp 496 00:28:51,730 --> 00:28:56,380 Speaker 1: is being sold for price X, and they can go 497 00:28:56,640 --> 00:28:59,620 Speaker 1: right to an online shop that they run and sell 498 00:28:59,680 --> 00:29:02,700 Speaker 1: it at a, with a vigorous, right. With a profit. 499 00:29:03,080 --> 00:29:05,700 Speaker 2: Or they might even already have a client, like. 500 00:29:05,580 --> 00:29:08,950 Speaker 3: A buyer that they know, you know, that's the case 501 00:29:08,970 --> 00:29:11,890 Speaker 3: with like fancy watches, for example, like folks are going 502 00:29:11,910 --> 00:29:13,770 Speaker 3: to buy something knowing they can sell it to a 503 00:29:13,810 --> 00:29:15,270 Speaker 3: particular customer right away. 504 00:29:15,750 --> 00:29:16,090 Speaker 2: Yeah. 505 00:29:16,310 --> 00:29:20,200 Speaker 1: And this is huge for platforms like eBay or Depop 506 00:29:20,260 --> 00:29:25,200 Speaker 1: or whatnot. Tons of people are eager to make a career. 507 00:29:25,640 --> 00:29:29,400 Speaker 1: Flipping used stuff. It starts as a side hustle, but 508 00:29:29,640 --> 00:29:32,380 Speaker 1: it's a it can be quite a lucrative full time 509 00:29:32,420 --> 00:29:36,890 Speaker 1: gig if you if you're on point and if you're 510 00:29:36,950 --> 00:29:38,630 Speaker 1: willing to invest the time. 511 00:29:38,650 --> 00:29:39,970 Speaker 2: Generally. 512 00:29:40,950 --> 00:29:44,930 Speaker 1: The market sees these resellers as a positive for the 513 00:29:44,990 --> 00:29:48,430 Speaker 1: estate sale industry because the goal is to get rid 514 00:29:48,470 --> 00:29:51,410 Speaker 1: of everything in the house, right? And ultimately, if you're 515 00:29:51,430 --> 00:29:54,860 Speaker 1: the company and your only job is to liquidate everything, 516 00:29:55,120 --> 00:29:58,200 Speaker 1: get your percentage and give the rest to the surviving 517 00:29:58,260 --> 00:29:58,900 Speaker 1: family members. 518 00:29:59,470 --> 00:30:00,410 Speaker 2: Why would you care. 519 00:30:00,530 --> 00:30:03,430 Speaker 1: If somebody triples the price and slaps it on eBay? 520 00:30:03,790 --> 00:30:07,850 Speaker 3: Well, but you're obviously also going to be looking for 521 00:30:08,270 --> 00:30:12,740 Speaker 3: hopefully selling those higher priced items to individuals on day one, 522 00:30:12,880 --> 00:30:15,050 Speaker 3: you know, who are going to pay top dollar for it, 523 00:30:15,080 --> 00:30:17,300 Speaker 3: whereas a reseller might be looking to get a little 524 00:30:17,340 --> 00:30:21,260 Speaker 3: bit better deal so they can improve their margins and 525 00:30:21,320 --> 00:30:23,620 Speaker 3: often a better deal than they're going to find on 526 00:30:23,640 --> 00:30:27,160 Speaker 3: day one. So that also requires a little bit of patience. 527 00:30:27,200 --> 00:30:29,910 Speaker 3: Like there was, for example, at that Kudzu place, Um, 528 00:30:29,970 --> 00:30:31,710 Speaker 3: there was this really cool coffee table that I really 529 00:30:31,770 --> 00:30:34,030 Speaker 3: liked and I just, it was brand new in the 530 00:30:34,050 --> 00:30:36,510 Speaker 3: store day one. And I asked them if they would 531 00:30:36,550 --> 00:30:38,390 Speaker 3: cut me a deal on it and very similar rules. 532 00:30:38,570 --> 00:30:39,670 Speaker 2: Absolutely. They would not. 533 00:30:39,750 --> 00:30:41,880 Speaker 3: That was what it was. And they said to check back. 534 00:30:42,020 --> 00:30:43,990 Speaker 3: And so I would check back periodically and it was 535 00:30:44,040 --> 00:30:46,800 Speaker 3: still there. They still wouldn't cut me a deal. Uh, 536 00:30:46,840 --> 00:30:48,380 Speaker 3: and then I checked back finally in one day and 537 00:30:48,400 --> 00:30:51,060 Speaker 3: it was gone. So, uh, that's sort of how it works. 538 00:30:51,100 --> 00:30:53,160 Speaker 3: If it had been around maybe a couple of weeks longer, 539 00:30:53,500 --> 00:30:55,020 Speaker 3: they might've, they might've budged. 540 00:30:55,440 --> 00:30:56,940 Speaker 1: How often do you go to Kudzu, man? 541 00:30:57,500 --> 00:31:00,190 Speaker 2: Uh, you know, when I'm, You know, go into the 542 00:31:00,410 --> 00:31:02,070 Speaker 2: market over there. I'll pop by sometime. 543 00:31:02,090 --> 00:31:05,510 Speaker 3: There's a really cool DeKalb Farmer's Market here that has 544 00:31:05,550 --> 00:31:08,950 Speaker 3: all kinds of amazing, like, international foods and stuff like that. 545 00:31:08,990 --> 00:31:11,209 Speaker 3: And it's right down the street from Kudzu. But I 546 00:31:11,250 --> 00:31:12,990 Speaker 3: quite like it. It's a fun place because Kudzu is 547 00:31:13,030 --> 00:31:15,150 Speaker 3: neat because it is. There's a couple of places in 548 00:31:15,210 --> 00:31:18,729 Speaker 3: Atlanta like this where it's sort of like one giant shop, 549 00:31:18,900 --> 00:31:22,020 Speaker 3: but it's comprised of lots of different individual sellers. 550 00:31:22,080 --> 00:31:24,360 Speaker 1: Lots of different stalls, like a swap meet. It's a 551 00:31:24,680 --> 00:31:29,000 Speaker 1: flea market. And don't sleep on First Oriental if you 552 00:31:29,040 --> 00:31:31,360 Speaker 1: find yourself in the neighborhood, folks. They're one of my 553 00:31:31,400 --> 00:31:33,000 Speaker 1: favorite Asian grocery stores. 554 00:31:33,020 --> 00:31:36,600 Speaker 2: Nice. I know the one. Yeah, right by Pinup's. Yes, 555 00:31:36,760 --> 00:31:38,959 Speaker 2: which is a different kind of establishment. 556 00:31:39,740 --> 00:31:43,790 Speaker 1: So there is a reputation that some of the resellers 557 00:31:43,890 --> 00:31:47,110 Speaker 1: have in the industry that they're a little pushy when 558 00:31:47,130 --> 00:31:49,430 Speaker 1: they're asking for the deals. Because as you pointed out, 559 00:31:49,710 --> 00:31:53,330 Speaker 1: they want to increase their own profit margin by This 560 00:31:53,430 --> 00:31:57,750 Speaker 1: leads folks like Business Insider to say the career is 561 00:31:57,810 --> 00:32:01,210 Speaker 1: not for the faint of heart. Not everybody is cut 562 00:32:01,310 --> 00:32:06,130 Speaker 1: out for estate sale shopping. You can get an amazing deal. 563 00:32:06,320 --> 00:32:09,040 Speaker 1: You can make a killer find. But to do that, 564 00:32:09,640 --> 00:32:15,640 Speaker 1: you are forensically examining the traces of another person's life, 565 00:32:15,760 --> 00:32:19,290 Speaker 1: their photos, their old bed sheets, a basement that might 566 00:32:19,330 --> 00:32:23,050 Speaker 1: have a bunch of cans, homemade cans or jars of beans. 567 00:32:23,510 --> 00:32:27,670 Speaker 1: It reminds me of dendocrinology, right? When you learn about 568 00:32:27,710 --> 00:32:31,650 Speaker 1: a tree by studying the pattern of its rings, you're making, 569 00:32:31,950 --> 00:32:36,880 Speaker 1: you're conducting a kind of dendocrinology on a person that 570 00:32:36,920 --> 00:32:37,740 Speaker 1: you will never meet. 571 00:32:38,220 --> 00:32:38,840 Speaker 2: For sure, Ben. 572 00:32:38,900 --> 00:32:41,140 Speaker 3: And also, like, it's important to remember, and I think 573 00:32:41,200 --> 00:32:44,680 Speaker 3: anybody that lives this life would tell you, they're not 574 00:32:44,720 --> 00:32:50,100 Speaker 3: going to make typically you know, their month's rent selling 575 00:32:50,280 --> 00:32:52,980 Speaker 3: one item. It's going to be a numbers game where 576 00:32:53,020 --> 00:32:55,280 Speaker 3: they're making a little bit on a lot and they 577 00:32:55,320 --> 00:32:58,240 Speaker 3: go to a lot of these things and they, you know, 578 00:32:58,400 --> 00:33:02,160 Speaker 3: are almost dealing in volume unless you're just a really 579 00:33:02,220 --> 00:33:07,450 Speaker 3: bespoke particular type of like literally forensic picker, you know? 580 00:33:07,710 --> 00:33:10,330 Speaker 1: Yeah, it's grind time for a lot of these folks. 581 00:33:11,190 --> 00:33:13,930 Speaker 1: We also want to, as we get closer to wrapping up, 582 00:33:13,970 --> 00:33:20,580 Speaker 1: we got to shout out modernretail.com. modernretail.com talks about two people, 583 00:33:21,080 --> 00:33:25,380 Speaker 1: Sean Lane and Clay Mormon. Mormon's also a lamp designer, 584 00:33:25,760 --> 00:33:30,380 Speaker 1: and they have started using estate sales to source inventory 585 00:33:30,840 --> 00:33:34,750 Speaker 1: for a content series they call Will It Lamp? This 586 00:33:35,270 --> 00:33:37,470 Speaker 1: launched in November of 2024. 587 00:33:37,470 --> 00:33:38,170 Speaker 2: Will it lamp? 588 00:33:38,810 --> 00:33:43,330 Speaker 1: So basically, they take all sorts of strange things they 589 00:33:43,350 --> 00:33:47,940 Speaker 1: can find and try to turn them into light fixtures, 590 00:33:48,540 --> 00:33:50,980 Speaker 1: like a bowling ball or a cutting board. Can we 591 00:33:51,040 --> 00:33:55,600 Speaker 1: make it a lamp? So that means there's space for 592 00:33:55,680 --> 00:33:58,660 Speaker 1: creativity in this industry as well. That's the kind of 593 00:33:58,880 --> 00:34:00,480 Speaker 1: upcycling I dig. 594 00:34:00,760 --> 00:34:03,220 Speaker 3: And funny thing is at some of these shops, there's 595 00:34:03,280 --> 00:34:05,100 Speaker 3: another one that I'm totally forgetting the name of here 596 00:34:05,120 --> 00:34:06,620 Speaker 3: in Atlanta that's even bigger than Kudzu. 597 00:34:07,420 --> 00:34:12,239 Speaker 2: You will even find upcycled items for sale. Yeah, yeah. 598 00:34:12,420 --> 00:34:13,160 Speaker 2: There's a crossover. 599 00:34:13,870 --> 00:34:17,209 Speaker 1: Yeah, probably fresh from an estate sale. And we do 600 00:34:17,270 --> 00:34:22,710 Speaker 1: know that estate sales have a- Motherlode. Motherlode, that's the one. 601 00:34:22,750 --> 00:34:23,330 Speaker 2: Yeah, yeah. 602 00:34:23,610 --> 00:34:26,610 Speaker 1: We do know that estate sales have a huge future, 603 00:34:26,880 --> 00:34:30,400 Speaker 1: at least here in the US. As of 2023, the 604 00:34:30,700 --> 00:34:36,560 Speaker 1: industry contributed roughly, get this folks, 9.8 billion to the 605 00:34:36,660 --> 00:34:40,299 Speaker 1: US GDP. And that's coming to us straight from the 606 00:34:40,340 --> 00:34:46,390 Speaker 1: Department of Commerce. Overall- the industry is valued at 16 607 00:34:46,390 --> 00:34:48,670 Speaker 1: billion fellow ridiculous historians. 608 00:34:48,989 --> 00:34:53,770 Speaker 3: Yeah, and according to the website auctionwriter.com, an estimated 32 609 00:34:53,770 --> 00:34:57,029 Speaker 3: million U.S. baby boomer estates are expected to transfer at 610 00:34:57,090 --> 00:35:03,060 Speaker 3: least $ 68 trillion in assets by the year 2045, which 611 00:35:03,120 --> 00:35:08,320 Speaker 3: means that the golden age of estate sales has barely begun. 612 00:35:09,239 --> 00:35:12,930 Speaker 1: Has not yet begun to peak. As Dennis Reynolds was 613 00:35:13,030 --> 00:35:17,490 Speaker 1: wont to say, folks, we wish you the best in 614 00:35:17,719 --> 00:35:21,299 Speaker 1: checking these things out. Please just be respectful, because as 615 00:35:21,360 --> 00:35:25,419 Speaker 1: we said, estate sales are sometimes a consequence of not 616 00:35:25,500 --> 00:35:26,640 Speaker 1: great life events. 617 00:35:27,420 --> 00:35:28,880 Speaker 2: And for God's sakes, pee before you go. 618 00:35:29,430 --> 00:35:32,010 Speaker 1: And for God's sakes, pee before you go. Have fun. 619 00:35:32,219 --> 00:35:35,879 Speaker 1: Be careful. And hopefully you get a good deal. Big, 620 00:35:35,900 --> 00:35:38,700 Speaker 1: big thanks to our super producer, Mr. Max Williams. Big 621 00:35:38,739 --> 00:35:41,700 Speaker 1: thanks to our research associate, Ames, who has just been 622 00:35:41,800 --> 00:35:42,879 Speaker 1: knocking it out of the park. 623 00:35:43,120 --> 00:35:45,610 Speaker 2: Oh, 100%. Huge thanks to A.J. 624 00:35:45,680 --> 00:35:49,330 Speaker 3: Bahamas-Jacobs, the puzzler, and a tepid how do you do 625 00:35:49,390 --> 00:35:50,890 Speaker 3: to Jonathan Strickland, the quizster. 626 00:35:53,550 --> 00:35:56,190 Speaker 1: I think we're off mic for this, but Noel, my 627 00:35:56,230 --> 00:36:00,480 Speaker 1: buddy Simon goes to estate sales so often. that he 628 00:36:00,580 --> 00:36:04,549 Speaker 1: has regulars like people he sees at these various sales 629 00:36:04,860 --> 00:36:07,790 Speaker 1: and he has a nemesis dude a guy named donovan 630 00:36:08,030 --> 00:36:11,390 Speaker 1: who apparently snipes all the board games first. 631 00:36:11,150 --> 00:36:14,830 Speaker 2: Thing that's that's so like a donovan so. 632 00:36:14,969 --> 00:36:17,620 Speaker 1: Shout out to donovan shout out to alex williams who 633 00:36:17,660 --> 00:36:19,219 Speaker 1: composed this slap and bop. 634 00:36:19,160 --> 00:36:20,860 Speaker 2: Ah yeah and huge thanks to you ben this is 635 00:36:20,920 --> 00:36:22,299 Speaker 2: fun we'll see you next time folks 636 00:36:29,310 --> 00:36:32,140 Speaker 3: For more podcasts from iHeart Radio, visit the iHeart Radio app, 637 00:36:32,280 --> 00:36:35,239 Speaker 3: Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.