Estate Sale

We have been asked to bring our stand for a large estate sale at the end of May. I need some suggestions on what type of food goes well at these events. We normally sell Hot sausage and Cheesessteaks, but I'm sure that wouldn't be enough. I was thinking maybe BBQ Sandwiches and maybe some sort of soup. I've never been to one of these before and don't really know what to expect. I was told that the sale is going to take two days and they will have two auctioneers going at the same time.
Thank you for any feedback

What time does the sale open for inspection ? Most of the sales I've attended open for a preview quite early and antique seekers are early birds. If so, have some breakfast sandwiches and danish available. In addition to your sandwiches, soup is a good idea. I'd also go with something like a chicken or crabmeat salad sandwich on home baked bread or croissants. Maybe fruit salad if it's warm there. You'll people watching calories who don't want sausage or beef.

I believe the sale begins around 8:00 AM and inpsection of the items begins the night before. Breakfast sandwiches do sound like a good idea for the AM. Hopefully it is warm. We are in central PA and it seems like spring is never coming! Thanks for your input!

For a good estate sale people will line up several hours early so breakfast items and hot drinks should do well. I've never seen a concession at an estate sale but they are common at auctions.

The biggest estate sale I've gone to was the mansion of the guy the founded the ButterBall Turkey (originally he started them butter pats you see in restaurants). Took like 2 hours to walk thru the house. But the only concession there was free coffee, and hardly seen anyone taking advantage of it. With these sales, it seems people are more interested in getting in and trying to find their treasure, vs. getting a snack or drink.

We are doing this at the request of a friend so I hope we get a little bit of traffic! It's been years since I've been to a sale and I can only remember a church stand set up with soup and drinks. We're not sure what to expect, how much food to bring or even what kind of food to bring.
I really like the breakfast suggestion. We do breakfast at alot of our shows so we know how to get the line moving so they can get back to the auction.

Small bags of Utz chips
bottle water
Good hot dogs
A soup or chili
Chicken Breast sandwiches
Peanut Butter Crackers
Kids dogs
Chocolate chip cookies
Power aid drinks
Coffee
fresh lemonade
sloppy joes

Just a few ideas!

quote:

Originally posted by jeffroz1
We are in central PA and it seems like spring is never coming! Thanks for your input!

I swap you. We got so much flooding because spring came all at once, although there's snow in the forecast on Saturday.

quote:

Originally posted by Big Ugly Mich

quote:

Originally posted by jeffroz1
We are in central PA and it seems like spring is never coming! Thanks for your input!

I swap you. We got so much flooding because spring came all at once, although there's snow in the forecast on Saturday.

Where are you from in Michigan? I am going to Battle Creek on Moday. The last thing I want is snow!!!

quote:

Originally posted by chewingthefat

Small bags of Utz chips
bottle water
Good hot dogs
A soup or chili
Chicken Breast sandwiches
Peanut Butter Crackers
Kids dogs
Chocolate chip cookies
Power aid drinks
Coffee
fresh lemonade
sloppy joes

Just a few ideas!

Lots of good ideas!!!!

Wisconsin forecast is from Big Ugly Mich.Having had an estate sale at my Mothers house,I think the food is a good idea.But keep it simple,especially for the a.m.People standing in line to get in would probably appreciate coffee,or juice.I would limit the food-something that can be hand held.I would not want people walking through my Moms house with the paper or plates from sandwiches they were eating.Danishes,bagels,chips-things like that.Plus, they ruined the lawn-so keep it easily accesible from the street..just my experience.

Try to determine if this is an estate sale or an estate auction. If its a sale people will line up to get in the house asap and probably take off when they finish going through the house. If it is an estate auction you will get people coming all day from the time the preview opens until the crowd starts to dwindle as they get to the end of the items. You will have significantly greater sales at an auction than at a sale.

Good advice,Brookerme.

quote:

Originally posted by Brookerme

Try to determine if this is an estate sale or an estate auction. If its a sale people will line up to get in the house asap and probably take off when they finish going through the house. If it is an estate auction you will get people coming all day from the time the preview opens until the crowd starts to dwindle as they get to the end of the items. You will have significantly greater sales at an auction than at a sale.

From what she told me last night, they are selling the Property and all of the contents inside and out. Her father passed away a couple of months ago. The sale of the property is scheduled for 4:00 PM and the sale of the contents begins at 8:00 AM.
The guy was some sort of mechanical contractor and has lots of contracting equipment to be sold.
It sounds like it might be a long day.

quote:

Originally posted by Brookerme

Try to determine if this is an estate sale or an estate auction. If its a sale people will line up to get in the house asap and probably take off when they finish going through the house. If it is an estate auction you will get people coming all day from the time the preview opens until the crowd starts to dwindle as they get to the end of the items. You will have significantly greater sales at an auction than at a sale.

Apparently according to the original post it's an auction.
Poster stated that they will have two auctioneers selling at times.
Chow Jim

quote:

Originally posted by Brookerme

Try to determine if this is an estate sale or an estate auction. If its a sale people will line up to get in the house asap and probably take off when they finish going through the house. If it is an estate auction you will get people coming all day from the time the preview opens until the crowd starts to dwindle as they get to the end of the items. You will have significantly greater sales at an auction than at a sale.

As a former and now aspiring "hot dog guy" I have been to a few estate sales. I agree with brookerme, if it is an actual auction, with an auctioneer, sales will be alot better than just an estate sale. The estate sale people want to get into the house as quick as possible ( so they don't miss that treasure) and the auction folks stand around the auction ring ( lots of folk standing around in a group ). In any event I think highly portable food ( Hot dogs / wraps/ etc) would do well.

A local civic organization I belong to holds an auction every month

We have a concession stand at this auction

We do

Donuts & Coffee for the morning crowd

then switch to lunch mode

PB&J
Hot Dogs
Chili Dogs
Sloppy Joe or Pulled Pork
Chili
Soup of the Month
Chips

Home Made Pie
Ice Cream


We keep it simple, there is usually 200-300 people at this auction

Id expect yuppsters. With the whole new RoadShow craze these days they love them things. Dogs and staples items should sell but Id expect a crowd that would go for the foo-foo stuff. A bucket of tuna and chicken salad(preferably made with fruit rather than eggs-have ann assortment of breads or croissants I think you could have a blast and makes some good money as well.
Have your kid slap them together to order while you tend the grill. How about deviled eggs and fresh fruit or fruit salad and a plenty of icecold sweet tea.
Have a blast and make some bux(you might even find a treasure yourself)
britt

you cant have a auction without bbq sammys and stew can you? aint that illegal/ lol
any way to get an idea on the guest count? maybe call the autioneer, and ask their opinions.
peace out
mike

Thanks for all of the great ideas everyone. My daughter loves helping us make this thing we do a family affair. I think it'll be an interesting day anyhow. We are used to selling mainly cheesesteaks and hot sausage, so trying some new things may be kinda fun! My daughter would love to make PBJ's!!!!

Just a thought, but if you don't have some sort of guarantee and deposit from whomever invited you, you may wind up losing money, especially with more than just plain old hot dogs. People tend to be overly optimistic as to how many people may show up. We did a catering job a few weeks ago for an outdoor event and got a deposit for 75 dogs and drinks. The sponsor of the event was paying for the food. They called back and said they were now expecting close to 400 people. My mistake was not getting a bigger deposit. We took 400 dogs, buns and canned drinks and only served around 140. It was cloudy and drizzling that day.

We were lucky, because we own a brick and mortar hot dog joint, so we had 2 large signs made and gave away free hot dogs for a week. It was a good promotion and we got a lot of new customers to come in, and it was money well spent as compared to print ads. So be careful on this. If they say there should be 500 people show up but don't want to give you some sort of guarantee, you're really rolling the dice and could be throwing a lot of food (read: money) away.

People don't want to sit down to eat stuff. Hand held is the best route. I f you delay their shopping, they'll be PO'ed.

The Sellers may not allow Food & Drink IN THE HOUSE so whatever you have should be able to be eaten standing up outside unless you or they are going to supply tables. Hot Dogs, HAM, EGG or TUNA Salad Sandwiches should sell.

Chopped BBQ sandwiches, hot dogs, chips, drinks sounds good to me...no need to
over work yourself with a bunch of stuff. But I've never tried to sell food at a estate sale either so who am I to know. Thats what I would try to do if it were me...hope that helps...good luck.

You're catering. Catering jobs get a deposit for a minimum number of servings. Otherwise you can take a serious financial beating unless you're supremely lucky and guess almost exactly how many people show up and what they'll order....if anything. "We're not sure what to expect, how much food to bring or even what kind of food to bring." They might all come with their own buckets of KFC and a trunkful of beer. Most smart caterers want an exact guest count and payment in full up front. Gambling is for casinos. If it rains and 10 people show up, can you salvage the food and sell it by the next day or does it go in the dumpster?

Ham, egg and tuna salad use mayo. Unless you can force them to eat them immediately, someone may take a sandwich or half-sandwich home with them, leave it on the counter for 2 days and then eat it. When they wind up in the ER, the health department is notified and their first question is what did you eat and where did you get it. I wouldn't chance it and stranger things have happened.