THE NEWS-PRESS: LEHIGH ACRES
BARGAINS ABOUND AT ESTATE SALES
Article published June 25, 2005
THRILL OF HUNT KEEPS MANY COMING BACK
By JOSEPH A. GONZALES SPECIAL TO THE NEWS STAR
It just might be a garage-sale-goers dream come true. Not only do they get to browse items for sale in space meant for vehicles, but they can freely roam an entire home. It's all for sale.
Known as estate sales or moving sales, it's a concept that Robin Gonzalez of Lehigh Acres can't resist.
"They always have quality stuff, and their prices are right on target," said Gonzalez, referring to a recent sale by Estate Sales by Lorraine, a Lehigh-based business that contracts with homeowners to sell the entire contents of their residence. "You definitely can get a good deal."
Gonzalez was on the prowl for linens and anything made of aluminum, deciding on a knitted quilt and an aluminum timer usually found in a kitchen.
It's an "everything-goes" approach.
Buyers at Lorraine's most-recent sale perused a 2,500-square-foot, three-bedroom home earlier this month on Dunndale Street. They strolled room by room, sifting through electronics, books, bedding, clothes, kitchenware, appliances, knickknacks, a hairpiece, a handcrafted turntable and a 1940's-era liquor cabinet, among other bounty.
Estate Sales by Lorraine co-owner David Kirk said Lehigh residents love a good bargain. He has seen upwards of 300 people at some sales, sometimes queuing up outside the front door by 6 a.m. -11/2 hours before the sale begins.
"For some of them, it's in their blood," Kirk said. "Others may just need a certain item and don't want to pay a lot of money for it. A lot of regulars maybe just want to replace something they bought from us a year ago."
Some buyers go from sale to sale looking for furniture to redo their entire house, he said. Others pick up items that they clean up or fix up to sell at online auctions such as eBay.
Estate sale companies are called upon when homeowners are selling their homes and do not want to - or cannot - deal with their household goods. Some home sellers are downsizing, moving to smaller homes or into assisted-living facilities, for instance. Others die, and their family members arrange the sale. Still others are moving out of state, maybe to rejoin family members, and find that shipping their household goods would be more expensive than their worth.
"It's too expensive to move furniture, maybe $6,000 or $8,000, to move up north, so these people just buy new furniture when they get there," Kirk said.
The three or four estate sale companies in the area typically get their business by word-of-mouth referrals from previous sellers, real estate agents and attorneys who are also dealing with the home sellers. They contract directly with the home seller to take care of the entire selling process - advertising, inventory, arranging, setup, pricing, removing and cleanup. The home owners are usually not involved, and most times have already moved on.
It takes four to five days for Kirk, his wife of 39 years Lorraine Kirk, and their crew to set up. Some of the rooms stay just as is. Others are staged with items taken on consignment that didn't sell in previous estate sales. There are tables in every room, stacked with all sorts of goodies, trinkets and bric-a-brac from closets, kitchen cabinets and drawers. In the garage, a worker mans three long tables stacked with tools, machines and gadgets. Garage items typically are the first to go.
Throughout the home, Items are tagged with prices ranging from 25 cents to $1,000. Each item is listed in an inventory, which is checked off and price noted as it is sold. By noon, asking prices are slashed by 50 percent as the sales nears completion. That's about the time garage-sale hoppers and stragglers are stopping by.
It's a buyer's ultimate open house.
Karen Pleasant has been on both sides of the transaction. In 2004, the contents of the home she purchased were sold by Estate Sales by Lorraine, and now she is a regular estate shopper.
"The home was in almost move-in condition, and they gave us a good deal on some of the items that were left over," said Pleasant of Lehigh Acres.
At one recent sale, she was able to locate two items for her sister-in-law who was having a difficult time finding certain household goods that matched her unique decor.
"It's like the thrill of the hunt, and there are very good items here that would cost $35 or $50 more at a store," said Pleasant, who found a curio cabinet for $50 that was just the right size for her dining room.
Lehigh resident Delia Bacallao was on the hunt for things for her Chihuahua, cocker spaniel and Maltese.
"I'm addicted to it," said Bacallao, an estate sale regular for the past seven years or so. On this particular day, she would only find an impulse sprinkler for her lawn.
By the end of the day, very few items remain. Whatever isn't sold is donated to the Kiwanis Club of Lehigh Acres or consigned for the next sale. Other items are bought by the Kirks themselves. The Kirks clean up the house and go about the paperwork business of divvying up proceeds from the sale. The home seller gets a percentage and the Kirk's earn an agreed-upon fee.
"It's a marginal business as far as revenue," David Kirk said.
