Thrift Share Monday

Every week I receive emails from different Estate Sale companies about their upcoming sales. Within the email there are usually a selection of photos showing off the contents of the home. I will study these in depth, decide if there is something that I really want and then plan my morning accordingly. Last week I spotted this very cool cabinet with thin drawers. I wanted it and was going to wake up as early as possible to get it.

I don't have an alarm clock because when I set them they tend to stress me out which results in me waking up every single hour. So I trust in my internal clock to wake me up. Friday morning I woke up at around 4 a.m and was out there door within 20 minutes and signed up on the list at 4:40 and was number 4. My chances for finding my cabinet were pretty good. I knew that it was in the back on a porch and I would make my way through that house in that direction when they opened. I fell asleep until some of my favorite dealers woke me up by talking and laughing out on the sidewalk. I joined them at around 6:30 and visited with them until the sale began at 9 a.m.

To some this may sound crazy. Why wait so long? Well part of it is just the fun of going after certain items. Also, they typically let only 10 to 15 people in at a time. If I had arrived at 6:30 there would have been a good chance that I would be left standing outside at 9 a.m. while my fellow friends and dealers shopped. When the door did open, I found the porch immediately and slapped my Sold sticker on the cabinet.Thrift mission accomplished.

Do you wake up early to attend sales? What's the earliest time you've ever arrived at a sale? My earliest was the night before at 9:30 p.m. It was worth every hour of waiting. It was an incredible sale.

Did you go thrifting this weekend?

Thrift Share Monday celebrates the Art of Thrifting. As a community of readers and bloggers we are able to connect through the process of buying second hand, selling and sharing.

We Thrift  - We Share

Here are some guidelines if you would like to join Thrift Share:

• Your Thrift Share Monday blog post should include your thrifted finds from the weekend.
• Create a blog post with photos of your items.
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If you are interested in becoming a Thrift Share Monday Sponsor for a month, feel free to contact me. Included in my TSM post will be your banner and short description of your business with links to your site and social media pages. Cost is $50 for one month that includes 4 Thrift Share Monday posts.

Comments

[maria]

The assigning numbers system is awesome. Nobody does that in the DFW area. You get in line and stay in line, but luckily it's way less aggressive here. If you're in line 2 hours before start you're going to be first in line!

[Shara]

I love those drawers ~ I rarely see anything like that here, great find! Thanks for hosting (:

[Linda H]

In my town, we all pretty much get to most garage/estate sales 30-60 min early and that seems to be early enough. If it's a professionally run estate sale, they give numbers out and you come back at opening time. We're in the central valley so I'm sure it's much different compared to the bay area.
Btw, I like your idea of bringing along "sold" stickers!

[Thrift Shopper for Peace]

This whole estate sale thing is like the hole in the market where i am. We just don't have this the way you do - but i think if i was looking for something specific, i'd totally get up early to get the best chance at nabbing that thing! the closest we get to here are garage sales (i think folks in the states refer to them as yard sales or tag sales, right?) and people do get up early to go to those, in fact people holding the sales often include "no early birds" in their advertising to keep people from getting them out of bed at 6 am!

[Denise@SecondTimeAroundFinds]

Thanks for hosting, love joining in. I mostly thrift at flea markets and thrift store.
Denise

[Gina @ VintageJunkinMyTrunk]

I love to hear your estate sale stories--so much fun! Estate sales work pretty much the same here on the East Coast too, although I've never gotten there quite that early!

I'm not sure if the "sold" sticker is used here like that by buyers though; most times you have to approach one of the workers and let them know you want it and then they mark it sold. Does the sticker have your name on it, or does it just say SOLD?

[Steph]

I really like to read your post, makes me feel normal to get up early to go thrifting. In Germany estaste sales are not that common.
Thanks for hosting.
Steph

[Cassandra]

I think the earliest I've gotten to an estate sale is an hour early. Sales are half and half here, by means of giving out numbers, and wait wise. Last week I got to a sale 20 minutes 'til and was 5th in line. (OMG I so know what you mean about alarm clocks, constantly waking up to see if I missed the alarm....such an awful feeing).

[nicole]

I just found your blog and I so enjoy it! Thanks for hosting this great party!!

[Heather]

I so admire your dedication...I could never get up that early, even for a promising estate sale. And definitely NEVER without an alarm clock! :)

[rivka]

Question about your "sold sticker." This is a genius idea, but do the other buyers honor that sticker? Couldn't someone just run to the check out and buy the item even though you have the sold sticker on?

Do you put the sticker on and then go pay for the item so for sure it's yours?

Also are the estate sale people okay with you putting stickers on their items? Or once you put the sticker on it's yours to do what you want?

Just that sold sticker is such a great idea, but can't imagine how it works out for you. Thanks ahead of time for answering!

[Make do mum]

We don't have Estate Sales here in the UK (as far as I know) but they sound like a great way to get bigger pieces. Not sure I could do a 4am wake up though!

[Laurie]

I'm piping in a bit late with some thrifty finds -- it's nice to be "back"!

[Guusje]

It's a map cabinet - libraries used to have those in the pre intent days when they had stacks of paper maps.

[Lunettes de soleil pas cher]

"I was born in California."
　　"Which part?"
　　"All of me."
　　

[Toni Randal]

I love to look for thrift stores... I just found one near our school selling lovely jeweleries and of course for for a very cheap price... ^_^

[cheap iphone cases]

Tre bona blogo, estis feliĉa lerni multe ĉi tie, mi esperas ke mi povos ofte aspektas, thank you very much!