Estate Sales

Take a bunch of naturally competitive people who are desperate to get ahold of rare and sometimes valuable treasures, sprinkle in a few crazies and weirdos, add a bit of sleep deprivation/exposure to the elements, and mix in vague, contradicting rules and conventions and you've got a recipe for drama.  Anticipation, disappointment, joy, regret, frustration, conflict - It's all there.

I've only been attending since I bought my first home several months ago, but If you've ever been to an estate sale, you're bound to have a few stories.  There's always the rule-breaker, "the item that got away", fist fights, or people who do some straight-up bizarre stuff.

So let's hear 'em.  What's your best estate sale tale?

My favorite so far was the sale where the family members came in about an hour before the sale started and cleared out all of the decent items in the entire place.  People were LIVID.

source: smugmug