08/13/2026
At estate sales, elbows are out as resellers compete for vintage treasures.
You can pin some of the blame on influencers who have showcased their estate-sale finds—and healthy profits—across social media.
Dahlia Yablon gained thousands of followers on TikTok after posting videos about her estate-sale adventures around Los Angeles, from celebrity sightings to dramatic confrontations.
“People are so intrigued by what this world is because a lot of people don’t want to get up at 4 a.m. and go wait in the cold to possibly not even get anything,” she said. “I think they like the voyeurism of it.”
While estate sales sometimes do just offer up one man’s trash, the videos have introduced viewers to a world where a $10 painting can sell for thousands, forgotten heirlooms can fund a weekend getaway and suburban garages can hide jewels.
Juliette Whittington, a frequent attendee post retirement, said she found a Baccarat crystal cocktail shaker at a sale in North Hollywood that she bought for $5 and sold for $850. “I have a friend that is an accountant, and he says I’m a total capitalist for the way that I buy low and sell high,” she said.
Craig Bonnell found a $1 first edition of “The Velveteen Rabbit” at an estate sale in Chicago. He sold it for $750 on eBay. At another sale, he picked up limited-edition books on Picasso for $10 and resold them for more than $300 a piece.
As more shoppers show up hoping to strike gold, competition has intensified.
