A family run Estate Sale ruined by one person
 

My MIL lived in The Villages for 20 Years and loved it. She died last month at 100. Our family organized a 3 day Estate/garage sale this week end to clear out the house.
There was a beautiful 1903 Singer treadle sewing machine in a wooden case with 6 side drawers. Someone took one of the drawers. WHY !!? And even how--there was one way in and one way out..They had to have hidden it in a bag or purse to get it out.

But another area of concern was the switching of price tags..If the check out person was not involved in the pricing of stuff, they were unaware they were being bamboozled. So let this be a warning to all of you thinking of doing a sale, not everyone is honest.

Sorry this happened to you. A friend of our selling a laptop was told no power cord so guy made low ball offer.

Of course sale started with power cord attached.

Absolute shame how low some people can be.

And the security camera couldn't identify the thief because they were wearing a mask.

I know what your going through, it’s sad when (a small percentage) people have the mentality, why pay when they can just get it. I’ve put up with theft for years in business. There are many ways to steal, and even when caught the thieves have thought out answers for you. When taken to the law and caught red handed with the merchandise, nothing happens! It’s not unusual for box stores to loose $50,000 to $100,000 a year in loss from thieves. Some much more than that! I know a Burger King manager who told me, he had all new shrubs and bushes planted only to come to work the next morning and all were stolen! It’s a crying shame! The system protects the thief. Some steal from their own mother. A SHAME!!!

The most important words in your original post are "FAMILY RUN"estate sale. When I retired from the real business world I ran a very successful antique shop and you have to have eyes in the back of your head when dealing with the public.

For anyone planning on running their own estate sale there are suggestions on how to do it safely all over the internet. From experience I can tell you there should be no more than 10 people in the sales area at the same time. No shopping or big bags, only small purses. Stickers with almost impossible to remove adhesive and lastly, but most importantly, the sewing machine handles should have been tied through together one over the other so that they could not be removed. If a buyer wanted to see how the drawers worked a helper in the room could have assisted. One last thing, all small items of jewellery etc., should be displayed on a separate area preferably in a glass china closet or similar, with two people watching and assisting.

I am truly sorry for the family of this lady, this is a rotten way to find out that there are people who will steal from you.

Yard sales invites everybody onto your property. In this world this could be very dangerous for a small amount of money.

Sorry for your experience…
Knowing the overall population and demographic breakdown within The Villages, I would have definitely hired a professional estate liquidation company to handle the Estate Sale if the value of the contents to be sold was of any significant value.

Therapy fee
 

I am sorry that you had this experience in tv. The next time you watch a police television or cable show take notice that the officer's lockers have locks on them.

Each of the three times we have moved, we contacted a reputable consignment company and let them handle it. Granted we didn't get anywhere near the true value, but will worth the lack of aggravation and waste of time.

That is because defense attorneys have been known to walk through police locker rooms on the way to court.

Because they allow lawyers in the Station
 

I remember one time a long time ago in Court a defense attorney was questioning a witness which was the arresting officer, he asked “does the Police station has a locker room for the officers” the officer replied yes, he then asked “does it have locks on the doors” the officer replied yes, then the defense attorney asked “why do you think locks are needed in a police station” without ant hesitation the officer replied, “that is because lawyers are allowed to roam in all the stations”

Exactly. Do some research before doing anything. Its not surprising that items were stolen. A little bit of thought before allowing strangers into your home is a necessity.

The day after my father had died at home, people came to our door asking to buy my parents' things. I had been living with my dad all summer during his last illness, I had no family to help me and I was in no frame of mind to be polite. There are people in this world who have no idea what compassion is.

sadden to hear your story...there is no excuse for that behavior

surprised that that happened in TV

I agree.

Inappropriate and beware you will get the virus.

There's always one.

Garage and yard sales usually bring out some good people and low lifes. We once did a yard sale before moving to the villages. I sold a small lava lamp we both knew worked for 4 dollars. The guy comes back about an hour later tells us it doesn't work. No problem. Ok. I took it back, handed him the 4 dollars. I chuck it in the trash can. We looks at me and says, why did you do that, it's mine!. We're all looking at him like, really, and on what planet pal? He actually expected I would hand it back to him. I've seen some real low ballers here in the villages.

Why would you think otherwise ? There is crime everywhere

When you invite stranger’s in the thief’s follow.

Think there are lowlifes who look for these sales as an easy way to get stuff for nothing

In the antique business it is known as having sticky fingers. The theft of the drawer is a different matter. Someone either has an antique treadle machine missing a drawer, or they have one they want to sell missing a drawer. But, there is something that they may not be aware of, those antique sewing machines did not have mass produced cabinets, the cabinets and the color of the wood would be slightly different on each machine; so there is a good chance that the thief is left with a drawer which is basically useless to them.

However, I do have a solution for the original poster
. Contact TV Woodworking Club on Rolling Acres and ask if they have a retired cabinet maker volunteering there. You could get a dummy front drawer made for the empty space, and there are various companies on the internet who deal in repro antique hardware.

In this wonderful age of the computer, most anything can be achieved. :icon_wink:

One—-hundred. :icon_wink:

I would rather donate to charity than hassle with the public plus it saves time.It all goes away in about one hour.

[QUOTE=daylilylady;1832106]My MIL lived in The Villages for 20 Years and loved it. She died last month at 100. Our family organized a 3 day Estate/garage sale this week end to clear out the house.
There was a beautiful 1903 Singer treadle sewing machine in a wooden case with 6 side drawers. Someone took one of the drawers. WHY !!? And even how--there was one way in and one way out..They had to have hidden it in a bag or purse to get it out.

But another area of concern was the switching of price tags..If the check out person was not involved in the pricing of stuff, they were unaware they were being bamboozled. So let this be a warning to all of you thinking of doing a sale, not everyone is honest. /QUOTE] You would think better of the people living here.

Hire a big security guard looking very mean to watch out for your stuff. Perhaps holding a shotgun might work even better.

Unfortunately this has been going on for years. I was helping my mother with a garage sale probably 25-30 years ago. An older lady was leaving with a sweater on a hanger. I asked her if I could help her check out and she quickly said "I paid the woman in the garage". Knowing that my mother wouldn't have given up one of her "nice" hangers I went in and asked my mother if the woman had bought it and was told no. If the woman couldn't afford it my mother probably would have given it to her, knowing her. But to just boldly lie right to my face ticked me off. I agree with the "eyes in the back of your head" statement. As my mother and I had garage sales frequently in our rural area of PA, I very quickly learned how to spot the potential thieves, especially kids, although I'm sure we lost other items.

Someone stole my husband's knock off Rolex watch. The straw that broke the camel's back was when my garage sale signs were stolen. I didn't give it much thought but about a month later, driving down the main road in our town, there were my signs. I recognized the print. So I turned and followed my signs to the place. I walked up and asked who the owner was. A lady came forward and I recognized her and said "those are great signs, where did you get them?" She says, "I bought them from a garage sale on Pinewood." "No", I say, "you took them without permission and I am going to take them back". So I stop and and pick up all my signs and go home. I can't believe the nerve of some people!

Some will remove signs to lesson the competition. Had that happen to me. And in some cases the property owner will remove them even though they are on county easements property.

Garage sales are not good for your neighbors. Brings in tons of strange traffic. Better to just donate to groups that help others.