Garage Sale - Good and lousy junk. I like garage sales btw.

Moving Sale - Lots of decent furniture, dishes, etc.

Estate Sale - Antiques, bedroom sets, dining room sets, nice glassware, etc.

I would do a moving sale if I were you. Good luck!

Garage sale = stuff piled up outside.

Moving/ estate sale = going into the house. Going from room to room. Furniture for sale, not just a random mish mash of stuff.

If something is advertised as an estate sale and we get to the house and don't go in, I feel annoyed. Sometimes, I will see the stuff piled in the driveway and just leave w/o looking b/c I just assume it is a bunch of junk.

I don't do piles. ;-)

I use tables with table clothes, all clothes on hangers, lots of clear signage and everything is sectioned by category. Everything that belongs in the house will be in the garage and everything that belongs outside, in a garage or shop will be in the driveway.

The public expectation of garage sale is items for cents. For moving sales, in my area the public expects significant furniture, sports equipment, and furnishings such as sets of dishes (not one offs). Estate sales are run by estate sales agents and could include whole rooms of furniture/furnishings.

I agree with madielee! LOL!

I think you should use Moving Sale -- the moving sale is more/better stuff, an estate sale is a whole household including alot of furniture and housewares, etc.

I had a garage/moving sale earlier this year. I had one big sign by the main road that said moving sale because I borrowed it from a neighbor. The rest of the signs directing people to our house said garage sale - borrowed those too. I think my CL ad referenced a moving sale - believe I said moving/garage sale. I was actually moving so I didn't think I was being misleading. However the people who bought our house came by the night before the sale and bought a lot of the larger items (I told them they could just do that as I didn't know what I would be selling when they asked if we wanted to sell any furnishings).

So the day of the sale I still had a few items of furniture left but they sold pretty quickly. After that I did have a few people ask if this was the moving sale as I do think they were expecting more furniture and it was looking more like a garage sale at that point.

I think we all agree about the perceived hierarchy. Since you are moving, the only one that seems disingenuous to me is "estate"… And to me that implies a third-party and a whole house liquidation

I've done two. The first one was a huge success. In the ad I said I had moved and was unloading extras.

Second was more of a house sale. Mistake was doing it with a friend who then invited others. I had the most stuff. Didn't make anything near what the first one brought in. Donated a lot but it had to go.

Definitely moving.

How much do you think a victrola would sell for? It doesn't work and DH's mom had it refinished. It does have a beautiful finish but the original would have been better. It was DH's grandfather's victrola. We've been lugging that thing around for 20 years and it's just too big and useless for sentimentality.

I also agree with Maddielee. Unless you are going to have another sale closer to moving, I'd probably call it a moving sale. Estate sales in our area are after a death, or closing out a house, etc. Often run by someone else, but I've been to those that the family had. In fact, we were going to have one at my grandmother's house (she 98, in assisted living, her house has been empty for 5 years and I'm getting ready to rent it), but we had a better offer! We have someone who will come and empty the house of anything and everything we want to sell. He has a shop and runs an auction. He charges a percentage but it is well worth it (for us in our situation). I am thrilled! My grandparents even had some old (but in good shape) stuff I thought we would trash - very outdated looking but this guy has buyers for it! They are in Asheville, NC (artsy/fartsy LOL) and love the 60's look stuff! I couldn't believe it.

Around here, clothing, etc. does not seem to sell well, unless it's childrens.

I vowed I would never do another garage sale (actually we have had 2 moving sales) and I would never want people coming into my home. I don't even want people coming into my grandmother's home - and it's empty!

Moving Sale is what I'd call it. Maddielee hit the nail on the head about an estate sale.

Re Victrola - Figure the price you want for it. Add 15% for bargaining. Don't get insulted by lowball offers. You'll find out fairly quickly if there is interest or it needs to be donated.

Also, look at completed auctions on EBay for your model Victrola. Emphasis on Completed.

I would advertise any of my larger or higher price items on Craigslist on the day of my sale.

(post a photo and your question on the Antiques forum, there are a few people there who might be able to help you.)

I think we all agree with the definitions, but since you mention the Victrola, are there other pieces that might be considered 'estate-quality'? If so, you might consider having an 'estate' sale of those pieces, by someone qualified to hold it, after you have your moving sale. You could even have it after you move your other things out so that the house is empty of everything not for sale. Generally, you get more money for those pieces because they are priced for what they are worth and not negotiated until the very end of the sale period. At least that is how they work here.

I would call it a garage sale unless you were really getting rid of lots of furniture and appliances too...

I think of estate sales as happening only when the owner of the goods has passed away and someone else is clearing out the home...

I disagree that estate sales only happen when the owner has passed away or is moving into assisted living. My DD just helped her father (my ex) move to a smaller home. His wife passed away a couple of years ago and they had a LOT of antique furniture, silver and glassware, linens, etc. She kept some, he kept some, but a lot was sold at an estate sale after they moved out what he wanted to his new house. Some was pre-sold (pre-estate sale) to a local dealer and a couple of friends.

i don't like it when I (rarely) go to estate sale only to find junk but then again, why do we expect deceased not to have had incredibly bad taste??? Whatever it's called its a treasure hunt but for accuracy's sake yours is like a moving sale

Outsideplaying wrote: 'I disagree that estate sales only happen when the owner has passed away or is moving into assisted living. My DD just helped her father (my ex) move to a smaller home. His wife passed away a couple of years ago and they had a LOT of antique furniture, silver and glassware, linens, etc.'

But in this case one of the owners did die.

:)

ML

I wasn't really considering estate sale. Just wanted to know what you guys expected from one. I've been to a couple of them, where you walk through the house. Even though one was because the owners were dead and the other was a foreclosure/divorce, I found them both creepy. I know, it's because I'm just weird that way!

So it will be a moving sale. Outsideplaying, the phonograph is the only antique I was considering getting rid of. Maybe a couple of rugs too but there will only be a few pieces of furniture.

Regarding the phonograph: I did a bunch of research last night (did you know that Victrola is a brand name and that, at one time, there were over 400 phonograph manufacturers?) and figured out that our phonograph is a Silvertone made by Columbia Phonograph Co for Sears. It was probably made in about 1915 and one of the cheaper models, about $15 brand new. The grill on the front was replaced and the doors were replaced as well, plus it was refinished and it doesn't work. So it's not worth squat but it has personal provenance. The phonograph was actually owned by DH's great grandparents and his granddad learned how to dance listening to it. DH's mom had it in her room as a teenager and she painted it green. Then she had it refinished and gave it to DH. DH comes from West Texas cotton farmers so I'm sure purchasing the phonograph was a really big deal. Anyway, I told DH that we can keep it if he wants to refurbish it completely. He's thinking about it.

Thanks all and wish me luck in getting rid of a bunch of stuff!

Just one bit of advise. The die hards will come early, maybe even before your starting time. Start thinking of lowering your prices by noon.

I have only done a few garage sales, but I found I got swept up in how much you can get for something. Then, at the end of the day, you are left to donate it.

I like a neighbor's approach. Everything was priced. But, when you picked something up that was for example five dollars, she would say, "For you, it's three dollars."

At my last garage sale, I was selling a brand new decorative platter from Cracker Barrel that I had been given but was not my style. I had $5 on it and someone offerred $2 early in the sale and I countered with $4 and she walked away. No one else touched it and I still have that damn thing.

ellendi's advice is very sound...:)

ugh, rubyclaire... that's why I just prefer to donate!

I'm no stranger to garage sales. I've probably had about six or seven. After my last sale, I decided that if I think I can only make about $300 then I'm donating everything. I think I might be able to make about $1000 on this one so it's worth it to me.

I excel at organizing for a garage sale. I don't know why, but I kind of enjoy it. I start by clearing out the garage (it's already pretty sparse, we don't store things in the garage except for cars and bikes) about two weeks in advance. Set up the tables, shelves and poles for hanging clothes. Then I put out all the items for sale, then price everything and hang signage.

I'll be advertising in the local paper, FB, CL, a local garage sale website and a neighborhood website. I'll have directional signage posted around the neighborhood as well. I'm thinking about creating a one page website listing items for sale and including the address in my other advertising. It won't cost me anything and I can do it pretty fast. However, that might be overkill - still thinking about it.

Day of sale, everything in the garage is in place so I just open the doors at 6am and start setting everything out that goes in the driveway. The sale starts at 7am so if anyone shows up early, my policy is to say they can shop but they first have to help me set things out. It works! Then I'll give whoever helped 25% off whatever they buy.

I price things to sell, so very little haggling is necessary. If anything is left at about 1pm. I set everything outside and leave a "FREE" sign. By 3pm everything is gone and nothing comes back into the house. I only sell what I intend to not keep.

It's a lot of work, but like I said, I kind of enjoy it. It's a fun day too, I offer bottles of cold water, have music playing and get to meet lots of nice people and hear some cool stories. Neighbors usually come by and it's a chance to chat with them as well.