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Tuesday, August 20, 2013

A Bundle of Estate Sale Bargains


I don't know about your neck of the woods,
but around these parts, estate sales are rarely
held on a Tuesday.  Today was an exception.


Ridgewood, New Jersey, is a village in Bergen County
with fabulous - and I do mean fabulous - old homes.


All eras.  All styles.  Nearly all gorgeous.

I can stalk these houses for hours.
 Street after street of beautiful homes.

So when the estatesales.net website told me that there was a 
one-day estate sale in Ridgewood . . . well, you know I was going to be there!

Especially since these were among the for-sales:
Drexel shield-back dining room chairs, 6 of them.

Howard and I had tried to win 8 Drexel shield backs at Sunday's auction, 
but got skunked.  So I thought, today's my chance!

But after I saw them, I decided no.
They were marked at $495 for all 6, but I could
have made an offer.  However, while they 
were lovely, they are not as heavy as the Drexel shield backs
we already own; I'll hold out to find their siblings, instead.

But I did get this at today's estate sale:
An old washstand, pine, nice patina and wear.
(The CD shelf does not go with it, lol.)
Heading for our antiques booth!

And also this:
A sack-back Windsor chair by S. Bent & Brothers, a Massachusetts maker
of fine furniture, especially Windsor chairs.  It's prettier in real life!
It will go to the booth, too.  It's reproduction, but really attractive.

And finally - a maple drop leaf, gateleg table.  No picture!
It will be pressed into duty at the booth to hold "smalls" and
all those things I have so much trouble finding room for.

I made an offer on all 3 pieces at once -- it's called "bundling," and if an estate sale
is amenable to bargaining (check first!), this is definitely a good way to do it.
I paid 65% of the asking prices by offering a single price for all three pieces.  It's a win-win;
I got a bargain, and the estate sale sold three pieces at once for fair prices.

And now I'm going to go wax my new old furniture, so it's all
ready for a trip down Route 287 tomorrow to Somerville Center Antiques.

I hope your Tuesday was as rewarding as mine.
Cass
And now, trot over to Coastal Charm blog, to join Linda
in her Nifty Thrifty Tuesday blog party.  Click here, now!

6 comments:

  1. I adore estate sales and estate sales.net is just the best site!!! Mainly because they include PICTURES so you're not going to the sale blind -- what looks good in writing MAY NOT be the same IRL!!!

    You scored! Love all of your purchases. I would assume that these Drexels were of a different era than yours or the ones you got skunked on! They don't make things like they used to!

    You have the BEST stuff in your area! Sigh!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. We DO have good stuff for the picking around here - I think perhaps people here are more ready to "get rid of" the old stuff, and I am more than ready to say "Why, thank you!" and take it away!

      Plus, there's just so danged many people in the NYC area - there's bound to be good stuff at least some of the time.

      And I've seen you get some amazing things, Martha!

      As for the Drexel chairs - the ones at the auction were exact duplicates of the 4 we already have, very sturdy and heavy. The ones today were slightly smaller scale, and were paired with a more petite dining room table, so they were either of a different era, as you say, or they just may have been geared for smaller scale dining rooms!

      We need us some Big Ass chairs here at That Old House.
      :-)
      How's that baby?
      Cass

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  2. Hey I wish I'd known you'd be out here by me - we could have met up for a cup of tea! I have lots of friends in Ridgewood, the town is very similar to Tenafly ... lots of old houses and very few estate sales!!!!

    sounds like you had a great day!

    gena

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It was great fun - and I had my daughter Anne with me, who thankfully is young and strong! Otherwise I'd have been doing a whole lot of grunting getting that stuff into the minivan.
      Next time, Gena, I'll let you know!
      Cass

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  3. Loving that first house....all pretty.

    ReplyDelete
  4. The homes are stunning. Wow you really got a good deal.
    Mary

    ReplyDelete

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