EstateSales.NET Blog

This week, we will take a look at something that changed the way we consumed media forever: the household radio. I could spend weeks writing about all of the radio manufacturers that came about in the early 1900s. Instead, I will focus on the true underdog story of the Philadelphia Storage Battery Company, more popularly known as Philco.At the turn of the 20th century, the options for entertainment were pretty limited. The few things hardworking folks had to do in their spare time were Vaudeville productions, early motion pictures, sporting events, and the occasional county fair. This was also around the period when people had more time on their hands due to reduced working hours and the introduction of the Saturday half day holidays. In a few years, families across the country would be gathering around the radio to tune into their favorite programs.A trend I have noticed in writing these articles is that companies who found success saw a void in the market and jumped at the opportunity to fill it. Philco was no exception to that trend...

Merry Christmas from everyone at EstateSales.NETAs the year winds down, we wanted to take a moment to wish you and your family Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays. Our Christmas “card” this year pays homage to the wild ride we’ve been on and the changes we’ve all embraced.Though businesses have had to operate a little differently over the past few months, your devotion to and love for estate sales hasn’t wavered. We’re eternally grateful for your commitment to EstateSales.NET and the support you’ve shown your local communities.We hope you enjoy our rendition of We Wish You a Merry Christmas!Micky McQuadeEstateSales.NET Co-Founder Searching For a Company Looking for a company to conduct your sale? Go to our Hire a Company page to find a company in your area.Find a CompanyGet Notified Sign up to receive free email notifications of estate sales in your area!Subscribe Now...

The inspiration for this week's article came from the middle of nowhere...literally. I was recently on a family trip and while driving through the Mark Twain National Forest, I saw something that looked like it was plucked straight out of an episode of The Andy Griffith Show. Sitting in the front yard of someone’s home was a full scale replica of an old service station. From an old soda machine to vintage advertisements (there’s an article on those coming soon), it was almost like time stood still in Iron Co. Missouri. While I barely had time to take everything in, one thing really stood out to me. There were a pair of antique gas pumps that were absolutely pristine. I wasn’t camera ready but we’re going back in a few weeks and I’ll make sure to post some pictures to our Facebook page. It looked a lot like the one pictured below. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Barry B. Brown (@coralreefphotos) on May 18, 2020 at 4:18am PDTMuch like with most of the things I write these articles about, two questions came to mind when I saw those gas pumps...

Have you ever had one of those “I wish I would have kept that” moments? While I was perusing my second favorite online selling platform (the EstateSales.NET Marketplace being the first, of course,) I came across a listing that made me look twice. Before I get into exactly what it was, let’s go back a few years to when I was just a little guy in a shopping cart.Now, those who know me won’t be surprised to find out that one of my favorite things to do as a kid was to tag along with my mom to the grocery store. While she navigated the aisles, I had one thing on my mind...all of the goodies at the checkout. Most kids would have gone for the candy bars and suckers but I always had my eye on what I considered to be the best possible combination of toy and candy, Pez. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Mark Morgan (@marksvintagetoys)Much like most of the things I collected as a child, my PEZ dispensers have disappeared over the years...

This week, we’re going to take a look at another vintage collectible born out of necessity, the lunchbox.When I was in elementary school, the kind of lunchbox you had quickly determined your place on the social ladder. Kids are strange, right? While my friends were bringing in Batman and Star Wars lunch boxes, I was fortunate enough to carry around my dad's old metal Stanley lunchbox. All I was missing was the hardhat, and it would look like I was headed to a construction site rather than going to 3rd grade.The story of how the lunchbox came about is pretty simple. In the 1800’s, most Americans were working outside of the home in an industrial setting. It became harder for them to go home for lunch, so they needed a way to take food from home to work. Working 12 hours in a factory didn’t exactly leave a lot of time to run home for lunch. Before lunch boxes came about, kids would often recycle old biscuit and tobacco tins to use to carry their lunches to school. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Mr...

Let’s face it, we’re living in an ever-evolving, tech-driven world that will leave us in the dust if we don’t keep up with it. From new cell phones coming out a few times a year to video games and TV’s, new technology always seems to be popping up. When we decide it’s time to upgrade to the latest and greatest, what do we do with the old stuff? We are big fans of recycling your old electronics but you might want to wait before you ditch that old tech. Let's take a look at some of the electronics you may own or see at an estate sale that could bring in some serious cash.1st Generation iPhoneReleased in the summer of 2007, the iPhone would change the mobile game forever. For over a decade, Apple has stayed consistent with its release of new iPhones, giving us a new one every year since its inception. While some of the newer models don’t come with a very good return on investment, if you’re lucky enough to have one of the 1st generation models in perfect condition and in its original packaging, you could be looking at a resale value of well over $10,000.00...

Now that we’ve taken a look at antique pencils and how they changed the history of correspondence, we’re going to fast forward a few years. We’re going to dive into the collectibility and value of another invention that would change the way words would appear on paper forever, the typewriter.I could spend the next few hours going through the history of the typewriter, but I think I'll let the fine folks over at The New Yorker give you the lowdown. I’m here to highlight a few typewriters that changed the history of writing and maybe a few that could bring a serious payday with collectors.Hansen Writing BallIf we’re going to talk about value, let's begin with something many collectors consider to be the holy grail of typewriters: the Hansen Writing Ball. Resembling an oversized pincushion rather than your traditional typewriter, the ergonomic design and ease of use made the Hansen Writing Ball the first commercially successful typing tool. So, what are the odds of you running onto one of these bad boys in a sale? Unfortunately, not very good...

I was perusing the EstateSales.NET Marketplace a few days ago, and I came across a gorgeous antique Magic Chef stove and instantly fell in love. It looked like something you would see in “A Christmas Story” or an episode of “Leave it to Beaver.” Seeing that beautiful piece of culinary history sent me down an antique stove rabbit hole, and I had to learn as much as possible. We’re going to look at a few of the manufacturers that brought these works of art to kitchens across the country.Magic ChefStarting as a tin shop in St. Louis in 1850, Magic Chef eventually came about from a collaboration between ten different stove companies across the country. Magic Chef has changed hands several times over the years and was ultimately bought by Whirlpool in 2006. After seeing a growing interest in nostalgic brands, the MCA corporation repurchased the Magic Chef name from Whirlpool in 2010. Magic Chef continues to churn out quality appliances to this day, but it’s their vintage stoves that enthusiasts are after...

Now that you know some of the guitars you should be on the lookout for, you’re going to need something to bring that guitar to life! Today we’re going to be talking about vintage guitar amps.Guitar amplification has been around for nearly 100 years, and there have been a ton of technological advancements in that time. However, the vintage stuff is still king when it comes to guitar amps. There are quite a few online resources where you can find a complete history of amplification, so I won’t dive too deep into it. If we’re going to go back, let’s go all the way back.The first amp and speaker sets were initially designed for PA systems and movie theatres. They were too big and very expensive, so it wasn’t practical for touring musicians to use them. After a few failed attempts and making a more portable solution, Stromberg-Voisinet developed the first amp/stringed instrument combo. Anyone who played through this combo, however, found it to be pretty unreliable and it just didn’t sound very good...

The year is 1959, and you have just settled in to watch the latest episode of The Mickey Mouse Club. All of a sudden, a commercial comes on that unveils a toy that will change the world. This toy would go on not only to be the most popular but also one of the most valuable to collectors.This week we will take a look at Barbara Millicent Roberts, known better to the world as Barbie. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Melissa Ashe (@melissasdolls) on Apr 29, 2020 at 7:57pm PDTBarbie is the brainchild of Ruth Handler, wife of Elliot Handler, the co-founder of Mattel. Ruth would watch her daughter Barbara playing with her dolls, and she would often give her dolls adult roles. Ruth knew there was a gap in the market for adult-like dolls, thus came the idea for Barbie. Although the concept of the Barbie doll wasn’t welcomed with open arms at first, Mattel eventually came to their senses. On March 9th, 1959, Barbie was born! The iconic doll had her retail launch at the New York Toy Fair. With her initial release, Barbie was only available in blonde and brunette hair color...