I got my Cuisinart from a thrift shop. I don't know if it's the same model. I figure either people got them as a gift and didn't want it, or they don't know how to properly line up the top with the bottom to make it run, or they died and the family didn't want it!

Enjoy your new bargain.

Best estate sale bargain I ever found: several old carbon steel knives for a couple of bucks each. Sharpened 'em up, they work great and should last longer than me.

Another bargain: was at a junk shop and found a non-functioning grain mill that I got for under $20. All that was wrong was a screw had fallen in between the grinding plates and jammed it; once I reassembled it, it worked fine.

Sally, what a great deal. Yes, I love those sales, and I've also gotten some pretty good deals at second hand stores and thrift shops, like Makayla's bread machine which cost $7 or $8 at goodwill. I also bought a brand new really large OXO salad spinner there for $3, brand new in the box. Of course, I've never used it either, it's still on the shelf, LOL.

Annie

Oh man I love a bargain! I just last weekend scored one at Goodwill. Found a cuisinart Ice cream maker there. Just like the one Loves2cook4six send me, the sweetheart that she is! I love that machine - just recently made peanut butter ice cream (yum) and coffee ice cream which is my favorite kind.

Well there was an identical one sitting in the goodwill store selling for $10. With a cracked outer casing. I called my son and asked if he'd like it. Yeah! he said. So I said, find out what it will cost to replace that piece, although, really, I think it won't matter because the ice cream stays in the freezer bowl and doesn't really get to that part of the machine. He found a replacement part on ebay for $4 but I don't think he bought it. I told him to wait and see if he really needs it.

I toted the machine up to the counter and asked if I could have a discount due to the crack. Yup. They took off 50%. Bought that sucker for FIVE bucks!

I want to say that I never woulda bought it, wouldn't've even known what it was much less if it had all its parts, if I didn't already own one. So another huge thank you to L2C46 for being responsible for our family being flush with homemade ice cream!

Love love estate sales....bought my daughter a Cuisinart DLC 10 at one, my son and DIL a bunch of Cuisinart stainless cookware and bought me a Tiffany Chippendale style 14 inch sterling tray for $22 at the same sale.
I think half my house came from estate sales!!

Oh yeah! They were my favorite way of furnishing my home, and I still catch a little flutter when I see a sign in my neighborhood. Some of my best buys have come from there.

Great Score Sally! I think the 7-cup model is a good size to have, especially if you don't need a giant food processor. It's certainly big enough to do dough in, which is great.

I can't go to estate sales because I work every Saturday until 2PM (Farmers Market only Saturdays). Here in NC no one has them on any other day, not even on Sunday, and they are only from 8 to noon! When in CA they had them any old day of the week. I really, really do not need anything at all, at all. Really. Well, maybe. LOL

What I really need is to set up my own estate sale. But, I'd have to rent someone's driveway since I live off a gravel road, up a 1/4 mile long gravel driveway, and NO one would travel "over the river (stream) and through the woods to Grandma's house" like the Christmas song says. I've been giving stuff away on FreeCycle, and my daughter takes metals to the recycling shop, but I still have too much other "good stuff" worth something, the someone else could use. Maybe Craigslist is next?

Nancy

Sally, the link below is a thread on older Cuisinarts.

The people who answered me said the DLC-7 is the best model Cuisinart ever made. I like mine a lot. For $25 with all the accessories you scored, in fact you practically committed grand theft.

Here is a link that might be useful: Link

In my town, we are fortunate enough to have a "thrift store mall". Basically, it's an old shopping center (outside doors) whose rent is low and attracts church-run thrift stores, consignment shops, a used book store, a pawn shop, a repair shop, a key shop, and one restaurant. One can spend an entire afternoon going from one thrift store to the next, to the next, finding bargains or just looking to see if anyone has what you're looking for. I've managed to find some treasures at this little "mall" over the years. Our church runs the biggest thrift store in it, too.

Conversely, if you're trying to get rid of clutter around your house, you just load it in the back of your car and then drive around the back of the mall. Some store will be glad to take the stuff off your hands and give you a receipt for it!

The only bummer to these stores are their limited hours: 10 am to 4 pm on weekdays, same on Saturdays and closed on Sundays.

I've been able to replace broken pieces from dish sets or cup sets, find the pot for an old coffeemaker, etc. But I've never been fortunate enough to be at one of them in the right place at the right time to score an appliance that I really wanted and didn't already have. Your stories have been great!

Donna

In our area of PA, it seems like the majority of estate sales are auctions and they can take place any day of the week. Most of my U.S.- made "diner plates" on the WFD thread came from estate sales. My latest purchase was a beautiful old bean pot in a box lot of junk.

Without a doubt, best estate sale buy was our current house, which we bought at an estate auction on a snowy Saturday morning. They auctioned off all the contents first so by the time they got to the house, it was getting deep and freezing so a lot of bidders left.

Wow, Ruthanna, that's cool. (So to speak).

John, thanks for the link. I read a little bit of it, and will go back to read it all later.

Annie, I've never managed to put my salad spinner away long enough to make it worth putting it away. I use it every single day, sometimes several times a day. wash produce in it, then can spin it dry. I can't imagine life without one.

Nancy, I don't know if it's governed by law or tradition, but estate sales and garage sales can run from Thursdays through Fridays. Some are only one or two days. The last day whatever is left is usually half price. Thursdays are when you get the good stuff, but at full price. Both DH and I have to work Saturdays, but he doesn't go into work until noon on Thursdays, so he frequently goes to estate sales then.

Great stories about what y'all have found!

Sally

ruthanna, now that's what I call an estate sale!

Sally, I just don't care for lettuce based salads. I was sure I'd use it in the summer time when I had lettuce in the garden, but Amanda ate most of the lettuce, and I gave the rest away, I don't think I ate a single leaf of lettuce from the garden at all.

I also thought I'd use it for greens, but I had collards and there were so many of them it was fruitless to try to wash and spin them using the spinner.

So, it sits on the shelf, waiting for me to learn to like salad...

Annie

I'd like to go to some estate sales. How do you find out when and where they happen?
James

Many years ago I bought a stainless steel large spatula for 50 cents at an estate sale. It's my favorite and I've never seen one like it in any store. Even my kids want one for their own kitchens; it's probably the one thing they'll fight over once I'm gone.

Jim, your local paper probably has a whole section advertising estate sales and garage sales. The Dallas Morning News has listings on line. I don't know about small town papers, but the bigger cities have them.

I'll post a link to the DMN listings, to give you an example. Just scroll past the real estate ads at the top.

Sally

Here is a link that might be useful: Dallas Morning News estate sale listings

I agree, here the ads are in the local papers. A couple of the auctioneers now have on-line advertisements, some even have pictures, but they are mostly in the weekly paper.

Yes, weekly. Our county has one newspaper and it is published weekly, LOL.

Annie

James, Craigslist is a great place to find estate sales and garage sales.

Sally you got a wonderful deal. Enjoy your purchase!

I love estate sales and thirft shops also. Of course, I posted earlier about the great find of the Le Creuset cookware that I found at an Estate sale while we have been here in Florida. Back in Michigan we just don't have as many, I suppose because we are a pretty rural area. I'm going to miss these great deals when I leave.

Karen

I got

Lars

Jim, in your neck of the woods, garage sales may be known as "tag" sales.

Jo, here Estate Sales are different than yard/garage/tag sales.

They are normally one day only and are actually auctions, although some small household items may be priced individually. They are held when the homeowner dies and either the family needs the money to pay the estate debt and the court orders a sale, or the family decides to liquidate the assets and split the proceeds as per the will or family agreement.

That's how a lot of old china, antique furniture and "collections" are sold, to the highest bidder.

Annie

Estate sales are big business here, it seems. There are companies that run them much of the time. Yes, they happen here when when people die, and also can happen if an estate is being broken up, but usually is due to death. They open up much of the house, and sell pretty much everything in it. You can walk through the house, yard and garage, shopping for almost anything and everything you need, from kitchenware, and dishes to clothing, tools, collectibles, curtains, and furniture. What doesn't sell, the estate sale people take to their stores. Yes, they even have estate sale stores. I like being nosey, though, and going to estate sales in interesting neighborhoods with the cool houses.

To get back to cooking, I've found some interesting cookbooks at estate sales, too. I just remembered about one I picked up that had arabic recipes. It was one of those fund raiser cookbooks that churches and civic groups do. This was done by an Arabic church, and has half Arabic recipes and half American recipes. I have yet to cook anything out of it yet, but found it fun to read through.

Sally