Box Lots at Auctions, Garage Sales & Estate Sales

Do you like surprises? This is the season when you can strike some good cash by looking into every box you see at estate sales, garage sales, yard sales and auctions. Many times, I have found real treasure in boxes when others passed them by as trash.

Unless the value of something is obvious, many people at auctions, house sales, and most often, at garage sales, fail to examine things that are in these box lots. I have learned a very important lesson by understanding that many times, when auction houses or homeowners are preparing a sale, anything that they don't recognize as valuable goes in a box, along with other items perceived to be of little value.

Remember what I've told you before -- that the knowledge we need comes to us by layering knowledge of one item upon the other. By studying, researching and experiencing this for ourselves. Now, think about the average person and about how much knowledge in the Antique and Collectibles field we might expect them to have. I think you'll agree most average people will have very limited knowledge at best. So, understand this, and look under every table, inside every box, and under every item in every box at every sale.

I have known people who found books worth thousands of dollars in boxes stuffed in a corner. They've found Indian Artifacts they've been able to sell for up to $10,000 that they purchased along with a box of miscellaneous items. The best I've seen was a purchase made by a friend of mine at a local auction I also attended. He came to me, shaking all over, after he had purchased a box lot of letters. We went to a corner of the room and he began to thumb through the letters, showing me the signatures. Each one was a personal letter written by Martin Luther King. Can you imagine what they are worth today? After a box lot is sold at an auction, it amuses me when I hear someone say, "Can you believe that brought $75? It was a bunch of junk." All the time the purchaser can barely contain their excitement over this find.

Cindy and I attended a sale last week and bought a few box lots. In one lot, there were several Mercury Candles plus a host of other things. When I got home, I checked the candles and realized that they should bring from $50 to $100. The whole box cost us $10, so there is a very good chance that the contents of the box could approach $200 to $300. I have said that we want to be buying the better things, but if you can accumulate enough items at one place to take you closer to the next step in your race to the one million dollars, don't hesitate to do it. Just don't make buying a host of small items your priority. However, money is money, and in some cases, it might take several items to get you to your next step.

Let's say your account is up to $50,000. You might have to spend $25,000 for one item, two items at $10,000 and then $1,000 on five more items to have spent it all. That is perfectly okay. You see, if you aren't successful at selling these items at retail or near retail and have to wholesale them at twice what you paid, the total will still be $100,000. And that will be another step toward your goal accomplished. But, what if there is a special piece among your purchases? The final total could take you past several steps. This is what I experienced when I purchased the Frederick Morgan painting for $16,000 and sold it for $115,000.

I'm eager to hear from more of our participants about their progress. Have you saddled up? Then, I want to hear from you, as do our other members.

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