• HOME
    • LMB x QVC
    • Decor By Season
      • Fall Decor
      • Spring Decor
      • Summer Decor
      • Winter Decor
    • DIY
    • Decor Tips & Tricks
    • Current Home
      • Home Tour
      • Outdoors (including Pool!)
      • Kitchen
      • Home Gym
      • Living Room
      • Guest Room
      • Mudroom
      • Laundry Room
      • Home Office
      • Master Bedroom
      • Bathroom
      • Boys Room
      • Dining Room
      • Girls Room
    • Second Home
      • Home Tour
      • Guest Room
      • Dining Room
      • Bathroom
      • Master Bedroom
      • Kitchen
      • Laundry Room
      • Boys Room
      • Girls Room
      • Living Room
    • First Home
      • Home Tour: Our First Home
      • Kitchen
      • Master Bedroom
      • Bathroom
      • Living Room
      • Dining Room
      • Nursery Room
        • Boys Nursery
        • Girls Nursery
    • Cleaning
    • HOLIDAY DECOR
      • Christmas
      • Easter
      • Halloween
    • Product Round Ups
  • TRAVEL
    • St. John, USVI
    • USA
    • Disney
    • Mexico
  • FASHION
    • Outfit Inspo
      • 2023
      • 2022
      • 2021
      • 2020
      • 2019
      • 2018
      • 2017
      • 2016
      • 2015
      • 2014
    • Kids Style
    • Fall Fashion
    • Summer Fashion
    • Winter Fashion
    • Spring Fashion
    • Special Occassions
      • Wedding Guest
      • Festival Style
    • Maternity
    • Fitness
    • Product Round Ups
    • Accessories
  • BEAUTY
    • Skincare
      • 2023
      • 2022
      • 2021
      • 2020
      • 2019
      • 2018
      • 2017
      • 2016
      • 2015
      • 2014
    • Hair
      • 2023
      • 2022
      • 2021
      • 2020
      • 2019
      • 2018
      • 2017
      • 2016
      • 2015
      • 2014
    • Makeup
      • 2023
      • 2022
      • 2021
      • 2020
      • 2019
      • 2018
      • 2017
      • 2016
      • 2015
      • 2014
    • Nails
    • Tips & Tricks
      • 2023
      • 2022
      • 2021
      • 2020
      • 2019
      • 2018
      • 2017
      • 2016
      • 2015
      • 2013
    • Product Round Ups
  • GIFT GUIDES
    • Mother’s Day
    • Father’s Day
    • Christmas
      • Kids
      • For Her
      • For Him
    • Easter
    • Valentine’s Day
  • LIFE
    • FAMILY
      • Pregnancy
        • First Child
        • Second Child
      • Kids
        • My Oldest
        • My Middle
      • Pets
      • Marriage
      • Christmas
    • Motherhood
    • Miscarriage
    • Wellness
      • Self Care
    • Fitness
    • Food
      • Recipes
        • Drinks
        • Christmas
        • Halloween
        • Thanksgiving
        • Valentine’s Day
        • Paleo
      • Allergen Specific Posts
    • Beach Favorites
  • BOOKS
  • SHOP
    • FAVORITE BRANDS
      • PRODUCT REVIEWS
        • Baby Products
        • Home Appliances
        • Cars
        • Beauty Products
      • Fashion
        • Abercrombie & Fitch
        • Amazon
        • American Eagle / Aerie
        • Athleta
        • Everlane
        • Faherty
        • Free People
        • Forever 21
        • H&M
        • Hunter Boots
        • Lulu’s
        • Madewell
        • Marshall’s
        • Nordstrom
        • Old Navy
        • SHEIN
        • Shopbop
        • Summersalt
        • Target
        • T.J. Maxx
        • Urban Outfitters
        • Vuori
        • Walmart
      • Home Decor
        • Amazon
        • HomeGoods
        • Minted
        • Pottery Barn
        • Serena & Lily
        • Target
        • Walmart
        • Wayfair
        • World Market
      • Beauty
        • Aveeno
        • Mario Badescu
    • SHOP MY FAVES
    • SHOP MY INSTAGRAM
    • SHOP MY AMAZON
  • SHOP THE LMB COLLECTION
  • VILLA DAL MARE

Lauren McBride

Uncategorized

Home // How To Shop for Vintage Finds At An Estate Sale

April 4, 2016

All the details on how to shop for vintage finds at an estate sale

If you follow me on Instagram, you’re no stranger to my snaps of our home decor. Many of you have asked where a lot of our vintage finds were purchased, but the truth is that the majority of the decor in our home was not purchased at a store. In our pre-children days, my husband and I spent every weekend browsing estate, tag, and garage sales for many of the pieces you’ve seen in my photos. This makes each item extra special to me because there’s usually a story about our “junking” adventure behind it. We’ve learned some tips on how to shop an estate sale along the way, so I thought I would share my knowledge with you today on how to scope out the best vintage items for your humble abode!

Do your research. My husband and I would start searching tag sale listings on Craigslist earlier in the week. People sell a lot of crap, but that’s not what we were looking for. We specifically wanted vintage or antique items, so those were the keywords we were looking for in the listing. We also loved “barn sales” because I knew there would be some amazing items to be found in there. “Everything must go” was another favorite phrase because we knew people just wanted to get rid of the stuff! Sometimes people would include photos, so we would put together a general list of where we wanted to go.

All the details on how to shop for vintage finds at an estate sale

Start early. From the list we created, we would map out where we wanted to start first. We would try to be the first ones at whatever sale seemed the best. The earlier you start, the more you have to pick through!  We would go about our day in that way, trying to get to the best sales early and push the mediocre ones towards the end of our route.

All the details on how to shop for vintage finds at an estate sale

Estate sales are the best sales. When you see the word “estate” it usually means the owner of the contents has passed on and the family needs to rid of everything in the home. Sometimes the family will hire an estate sale company to come in and manage this for them, which means the prices are higher because the company takes a cut. These are usually the best sales because the owner has incredibly valuable items. However, it sucks for the buyer because bargaining is minimal and the prices aren’t exactly budget friendly. They’re still worth browsing because, if you love the same items I do, vintage decor items like picture frames, glass bottles, mason jars, etc are usually the items people don’t care about and aren’t priced too high. Now if you come across an estate sale that ISN’T held by a company…GO TO IT. That’s where we found our best finds. Usually the family is overwhelmed with the contents of the home and just wants everything gone. This makes bargaining a lot easier.

All the details on how to shop for vintage finds at an estate sale

Always bargain! If you’re purchasing more than one item, it’s easier to bargain a set price for the lot. Don’t be afraid, the worst they will do is negotiate. Again, it’s a sale because they want things sold. 

Check the basement and garage. If it was open to the sale, the basement or garage was usually the first place my husband and I would go. I’ve found incredible vintage scales, suitcases, books, bottles, jars, crates, etc. in both of these places. 

All the details on how to shop for vintage finds at an estate sale

Take your time. Look above and below, in and out, and really go through the areas of the home open to the sale thoroughly. I promise, this is to your benefit. If you rush, you might miss something! I once found 4 amazingly gorgeous vintage suitcases buried in back of boxes in a garage at a family-run estate sale. The seller charged me $1 for each. $1!!!! I love vintage suitcases, so this was a total score for me. And those suitcases are freakin’ amazing, so much so that I’ve had photographers ask to use them in photo shoots. I was so happy I found them that day! Same with my favorite vintage bottles. I found them buried in a box in a garage, and the old man selling them charged me 25 cents for each. You bet I bought the entire box. 

All the details on how to shop for vintage finds at an estate sale

I so miss our estate-saling days, as these were some of our favorite moments before we had our kids! Once they’re a little older, we totally plan on starting back up again, but right now I think it will be more stressful than fun 😉 I hope these tips help you score some great vintage finds!

MORE HOME POSTS: Quartz Countertop Review // DIY Planked Walls // Pergo Flooring Install // Farmhouse Dining Room // How to Choose a Farmhouse Sink

LMB-Signature

Share this post:

  • Email
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Pinterest

Reader Interactions

Leave a Comment Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Trackbacks

  1. Home // How To Shop for Vintage Finds At An Estate Sale – Lauren McBride – Best Home Decorating Ideas says:
    December 31, 2016 at 1:04 pm

    […] Source: laurenmcbrideblog.com […]

    Reply
Previous Style // Striped Button Down
Next Sales // Shop Bop Friends and Family Sale 2016

Related Posts

Easter Basket Ideas for Baby

Shopbop Black Friday Sale

Presidsent’s Day Sale

Four Skincare Products You Should Add Into Your Routine...

Primary Sidebar

VISIT

Villa Dal Mare

St John, USVI

As Seen On:

  • Instagram
  • Instagram Stories
SHOP THE

LAUREN MCBRIDE COLLECTION

#LMBXQVC

Subscribe

Subscribe to the list for exclusive content from Lauren! From exclusive sales and codes to the best things you can find across the web in home decor, easy style and motherhood.

SHOP

MY AMAZON

FAVES
Summer send off. ☀️ I miss it already. 🫶🏻
on instagram@laurmcbrideblog

FOLLOW ALONG ON SOCIAL

  • ABOUT LAUREN
  • COLLABORATE
  • DISCLOSURES
  • F.A.Qs.
  • PRESS
  • CONTACT
on pinterestfollow pins

AMAZON AFFILIATE DISCLAIMER

We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites.
  • ABOUT
  • CONTACT
  • COLLABORATE
  • LEGAL TERMS
  • PRIVACY POLICY
Copyright © Lauren McBride | Design By: MLL Branding +Design Studio
loading Cancel
Post was not sent - check your email addresses!
Email check failed, please try again
Sorry, your blog cannot share posts by email.