Daryle Lambert Blog: Unexpected House and Estate Sale Treasures

When you go to house sale, where do you start? In the past, my suggestion would have been to start looking where the most valuable items were placed. Often this is in the living or dining rooms, but would I have been right?

How about the garage? Could this be the right place to start? Most of you know that the garage is where you run through after there is no other place left to look in the house, right? Well, you may have been wrong, and I may have been wrong, too.

Why didn't I see this before? It was right there before my eyes. Am I blind, or what?

Now I'm not taking about gardening or shop tools. But, what else could you find in a garage that might convince you that this is the place to look for treasure? It’s not automobiles, bicycles, sports equipment or fishing gear. But, is there anything else in that trash filled garage that the man of the house hasn't cleaned in years? They might be hanging on the wall in full view of everyone that enters the garage. Look closely, and you might see those little pieces of metal hanging there so neatly in rows. How about those old license plates? I’ve seen them at so many of the sales I’ve attended and never really gave them a thought.

Do me a big favor, and go to eBay and type in "license plate" in the search box. Then go to “completed items” and click for the results. Then arrange the listing to show from highest price to lowest. Can you believe it? I didn’t until I saw it with my own eyes.

I found a 1915 Tennessee license plate finishing at $17,119.15 with 30 bids. Closely followed by this was a 1933 inauguration D.C. Plate at $3,500. I had to go past 20 plates to find one that sold under $1,000 and a thousand plates to find one under $100. Does this make me sick? You bet it does because I can think back to the times I’ve been in garages and the walls were almost completely covered in license plates from before the second World War.

I BELIEVE I HAVE JUST ADDED THESE TO THE LIST OF ITEMS I WATCH FOR, AND MIGHT JUST HAVE COME ACROSS A NEW POSSIBLE COLLECTION IN MY FUTURE.

As a side bar -- I did complete my echo stress test yesterday, and even though my wife sometimes says I don't have a heart, I do. I’m waiting for the test results, but I think everything is going to be all right. It had been over four years since my last one, and the doctor thought it was about time to take another look. I ask you to keep me in your prayers and in God’s will.

Don’t just follow the daily Blog. Join with like-minded 31 Club Members. Turbo charge your treasure hunting. Learn Inside the Industry Secrets. Learn to build a bank account to last a lifetime, buying and selling antiques, fine art, and collectibles. My 220 page book, 31 Steps to Your Millions in Antiques & Collectibles is FREE with your membership. The book is also available on Amazon.com. If you buy the book on Amazon, then the membership is FREE.

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Daryle Lambert Blog: Spring has Sprung For Antiques and Collectibles Season

Hot Wheels Redline Custome Mustang sold for $810.99 USD recently on eBay.

Get your best fitting shoes out, because the season for Antiquing is about to begin. The number of events will start picking up which means the treasures we hunt will be harder for just the few to find.

Because the crowds will be spread out, you’ll find your chances at treasure will increase. This is a perfect time to go back to your book, 31 Steps to Your Millions in Antiques and Collectibles, for all those tips on preparing for these opportunities.

This season, I will be looking for the items on my “ What’s Hot List,” and members of 31 Club can find the 2008 list in the members only section of the website. I hope you’ve already looked at it and have taken the time to acquaint yourself with these items I’ve picked items I believe the general public might overlook, and your knowing their value will greatly enhance your bank account.

As spring rolls in, people will be bringing out the things they think will interest prospective buyers attending their sales. This is a great time to find that sports item not mark up to its right value. Old baseball gloves can bring thousands of dollars, and you could find one marked $10 because it looks so unusable. It might even be flat as a pancake, what if it’s a Wilson Roy Campanella catcher’s mit from the 50s. It could fetch as much as $7,500. Be sure to watch for signed balls and bats, too. I once sold a baseball for $1,000 and that was when a $1000 looked big to me.

As “spring cleaning” comes upon us, people often are in a rush to clean house, so much so that they sometimes “throw the baby out with the bath water.” Make sure you look in every box, leaving no rock unturned.

Don’t make the mistake of assuming that because the first piece in the box has very little value that nothing in the box has worth. Remember, I found a Saturday Evening Girls plate about seven plates down in a box. I bought for twenty-five cents and sold it for well over $300. The Grueby vase that I sold for over $13,000 was found in a garage, and a painting a friend found was in the basement among items that weren't worth $1.00, but he took it to auction and sold it for over $21,000.

What a great time to find those toys that kids have out grown. I am trying to patiently wait until one father I’ve been speaking with gives me the go ahead to buy his sons' cars and trains. Tin toys like Tonka and Structo are going up in value every year, so keep you eye out for them. Don't forget the Red line Hot Wheels cars. One sold not too long ago for over $18,000. Look to see these cars and the Match Box cars on Ebay’s completed listings to see the kind of prices some of these items go for.

Don’t forget about the more expensive items during these early months. If your account is up to $5,000 try to buy two or three higher end items you might be able to purchase with that money, while still meeting the goal of a profit of at least 100%. We don’t want to stay with the low end merchandise even though these purchases get us started on the journey toward our million dollars. The more quickly we begin to deal in the rare and more valuable, the sooner our goal will be reached. Your hibernation should be over and your energy levels high. I'll see you at the finish line.

Don’t just follow the daily Blog. Join with like-minded 31 Club Members. Turbo charge your treasure hunting today and start building a bank account big enough to last a lifetime. My 220 page book, 31 Steps to Your Millions in Antiques & Collectibles is FREE with your membership. The book is also available on Amazon.com. If you buy the book on Amazon, then the membership is FREE.

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STARTING AT HOME - There isn’t a Better Place for Finding Antiques and Collectibles.

I am talking to several new members of the 31 Club each day now, and the first thing they want to know is "How much time will I have to spend away from my house?" The answer, surprisingly, might be quite simple.

Just today I was talking to someone about how to get started on the journey to completing the 31 Steps in our guide book "31 Steps to your millions in Antiques and Collectibles." Believe it or not, after a few minutes of conversation, I was able to share that they probably wouldn’t even have to leave their home to complete the first five steps.

You see, this person was a empty nester. They began to ask me what this was worth and what that was worth. So my question to them was, "Why don’t you start your 31 Steps with what you already have." They didn't know they could do that. Then they really started opening up, " I have things of my mothers I would like to sell, and how about all the comic books and cars my children left here, would it be all right to sell those?" Surely these could all be a great start.

Could you be like this person, wondering where you could start, when all along it's been right in front of your face. You might find that while you are ridding yourself of the things that have been stored for years, this time will give you a great opportunity to study in preparation for the time that you will venture outside in search of more Treasures.

Cathy, one of our members, was the first to bring this to my attention. She has a shop and asked if it would be okay to start with some of the things that she already owned. That started me thinking.

Most of use have found that after a few years, we decide that it is time to have a garage sale. Putting an ad in the paper we get up early Friday or Saturday morning and wait impatiently for the bargain hunters to come by. They say we are asking too much, and finally, we give in and sell our items at what ever we can get for them.

Now you have a better option. The 31 Club. All you have to do is compile a list of what you have for sale, and we will tell you the value, or where to find its value, and then the best place to sell these items. I promise that your return will be greater than if you were to sell them in a garage sale.

If you go the garage sale route, within two months the money will be gone, and I doubt that you could even account for it. But, if you do as we suggest, it can start you on a journey that will astound you. That simple beginning might be your way to comfort during your retirement years

A great example of what being a part of this wonderful group can mean to you comes from a moment I had at church yesterday. One of our church members who has recently joined our group told me about an Amberina punch bowl that she had. It had been her mothers pride and joy and had managed to stay in mint condition all these years. She was wondering if it had value.

The strange thing about this conversation was that a few months ago, I met one of the most knowledgeable people on Amberina Glass in the country. I assured her that she wouldn’t have to wonder about its value much longer, because I was going to get her in touch with this gentleman. The same thing happened when a lady asked me about some of her oriental items. I was able to direct her to a wonderful gentleman that could answer all of her questions.

Working together, we are going to move mountains.

Be sure to visit our web site for more information about how you can join the 31 Club and start your own race to your millions! Read more about it here!"The Guy in the Red Tie" --- Daryle Lambert

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