I drove by an Estate Sale on Friday & stopped to check it out. It was packed with people. There must have been over 300 pieces of furniture all over the front yard, plus endless accessory pieces. When I started asking the seller/owner how much a few pieces were, he stated outrageous prices. I tried to negotiate with him, but he was not lower any prices (since it was the 1st day).
So, I mentioned to the seller that I owned a Home Staging business & that I would stop by on Sunday to look at the left over items. Come to find out, he is flipping the house. He bought it at auction a month ago with everything in it, no wonder all the furniture was in the front yard! He also mentioned that he owns a high-end furniture store. So we exchanged business cards and I offered to give him a presentation on Staging. Maybe I can "Stage" this house, of course using his beautiful furniture, not the stuff on the front yard.
Well, it started pouring on Sat morning & continued raining all day. I was on my way to Best Buy around 7pm & decided to stop by again to see him. He already had 2 trucks packed up with stuff he was taking to storage. He was so frustrated with the weather. He had to pack everything up or else it was going to get ruined with the rain. He obviously didn't have the outcome he wanted.
I asked him what he would sell me certain pieces for, that were still on the front yard under tarps & he said "make me an offer". So I did.... I spent $225 dollars & this is what I got:
2 Chairs
2 Side Tables
1 Coffee Table
1 Gorgeous Marble Table
4 Bedside Tables
2 Beautiful Antique Bedside Tables
1 Wood Stand (I don't know what I'm going to do with this yet)
1 Huge Wall Mirror (4x5ft)
So remember Stagers, when buying items at an Estate/Garage Sale:
1- ALWAYS START BY OFFERING THE SELLER HALF OF THE ASKING PRICE & WORK FROM THERE.
2- DON'T LOOK DESPRATE & SAY YOU LOVE THE PIECE
3- TALK TO THE SELLER ABOUT YOUR BUSINESS, LET THEM KNOW WHAT YOU DO
4- LEAVE YOUR BUSINESS CARD & ADVISE THEM TO CALL YOU ON SUNDAY IF THEY STILL NEED TO SELL THE PIECE(S) YOU LIKED.
5- AND FINALLY... BE FRIENDLY. YOU NEVER KNOW WHO COULD BE A FUTURE CLIENT / BUSINESS ASSOCIATE
Good Luck Everyone :)
Sandra Montemayor ~ All In One Staging, Inc Bartlett, IL http://www.allinonestaging.com/
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