THRIFT YOUR WAY
Online auctions
Everything in a home is photographed and sold online, and you collect what you win at a set time.
- Good for
- Whole households: furniture, art, kitchen, tools
- When to go
- Lots close on a set evening; pickup a day or two later
- Paying
- Card online, with a buyer’s premium added
How it works
- Each item, or group of items, is listed as a lot with photos.
- Bidding runs for several days. At the end, lots close one after another.
- A buyer’s premium, often 10 to 25%, is added to your winning bid.
- You pick up your lots at the home or a warehouse at a set time. Most don’t ship.
How to do well
- Decide your top price with the premium included, then bid near the end.
- Check the pickup day, time and place before you bid. Missing pickup usually means losing the lot and the money.
- Zoom into every photo for chips, cracks and marks, and ask the seller before bidding closes.
- Look at the mixed lots, like a box of frames or kitchen odds and ends. They often go cheap and hide the best value.
Bring
- Your receipt and ID at pickup
- Boxes and blankets
- Help for anything heavy
Where to find them
HiBid
Local auctioneers’ online sales. Search with your zip and the miles you’d drive.
Go to HiBid (opens in a new tab)AuctionNinja
Online estate auctions from estate companies, picked up locally.
Go to AuctionNinja (opens in a new tab)
How Thriftcraft helps
Look over a sale
Send screenshots of the lots and get a second opinion on what’s worth a bid.
How Look over a sale worksResearch
Ask what a lot might be worth before you set your top price.
On Scan, tap Research beside the shutter, then snap.
How Research works
The sites here belong to other companies. None of them pays to be listed.