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