![\"\"\/](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/Berkeley-Estate-Sales-03.jpg\")
The line started early at this May 22 estate sale on Webster Street in the Elmwood. Credit: Kelly Sullivan for Berkeleyside<\/p>\n
May\u2019s business partner, Rachel Ericsen, opened the front door \u2014 and they were off.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The first 30 customers strode into the house, silently scanning the carefully arranged goods, organized by category. Bower headed to the glass-enclosed jewelry case. Nate S. plucked a small aqua vase from a pottery display and quickly moved on.<\/p>\n
Welcome to a typical scene at a Berkeley estate sale, a Saturday morning amusement for some, and provider of a living or a side hustle for others, including brick-and-mortar stores that often resell what they find at estate sales. Unlike garage or yard sales, estate sales are public sales of a person\u2019s belongings, often held after a death or major life change like downsizing, and typically include the entire contents of a home and take place at the home. Both shoppers and estate sale companies dream of finding hidden gems \u2014 and sometimes they do \u2014 but more often they simply add to their collections or hunt for bargains priced low enough so they can, as Bower put it, \u201cbuy on Sunday and sell on Monday.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Such sales help families with what can be the Herculean task of clearing out a lifetime\u2019s worth of possessions. From an ecological standpoint, they also reduce carbon emissions by bypassing buying new, and by keeping stuff out of landfills.\u00a0<\/p>\n
UC Berkeley sociologist Ann Swidler and her husband recently hired Dan May to sell off the items in their Elmwood home of 38 years so they could downsize into Piedmont Gardens in Oakland, a senior residence. It is part of a long-term plan \u201cto spare our children from worrying about us,\u201d she said.\u00a0\u201cYou\u2019re saving things from the landfill, but they also have intrinsic value,\u201d she said. \u201cYour discarded things can be used by someone and valued by someone. \u201cWe made a fair amount of money.\u201d<\/p>\n
A Picasso bowl, and a diamond ring in a coffee can<\/p>\n
![\"\"\/](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/Berkeley-Estate-Sales-12.jpg\")
Harry Bower, who was first in line for the Webster Street estate sale on May 22, checks out rugs for sale. Credit: Kelly Sullivan for Berkeleyside<\/p>\n
By far, the biggest attraction of such sales is the possibility of finding the proverbial masterpiece hidden away in an attic for decades that a savvy buyer recognizes as the work of a great artist. A slew of TV programs \u2014 from \u201cAntiques Roadshow\u201d to \u201cAmerican Pickers\u201d \u2014 promote this fantasy, which sometimes does come true.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s what we kind of live for,\u201d May said. \u201cThe whole industry is based on people finding treasure and things slipping through the cracks and getting a bargain. That\u2019s the reason it\u2019s so exciting.<\/p>\n
Over the 20-plus years he\u2019s been in the business, May has found a Picasso bowl and a Chinese silk robe from the 1880s, both equally valuable, although he does not want to reveal their worth. Estate sale companies typically take a percentage of sales, and since they get first dibs at the contents of a house, if they are collectors, like May, they might pluck a few items for themselves, which they might part with later.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Kathy Pimpan, the owner of Total Estate Liquidation<\/a>, a 24-year-old Oakland-based company that holds many Berkeley sales, once found more than $20,000 in cash wrapped up in tin foil in garbage bags in a \u201choarder house\u201d in South San Francisco. She and her crew have also unearthed diamond rings under a kitchen sink in a coffee can filled with greasy screws and another diamond ring in a sugar bowl in a kitchen cabinet.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cWe always give all these treasures\/cash back to the family,\u201d Pimpan said.\u00a0<\/p>\n Geneva Addison, a veteran antique dealer who for the past 30 years has operated Addison Studio Sale<\/a>, which typically operates on a slightly different business model, culling items from estates and selling them in her 3052 Telegraph Ave. storefront, once found a telegram signed by Martin Luther King Jr. when he was jailed in Selma. She sold it to a collector for $5,000.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cIf there\u2019s something that needs to be found, we find it before the [buyers] come in,\u201d said Addison. \u201cWe search for gold jewelry. We search for money. We search for valuables.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m looking for what they don\u2019t know they have,\u201d said Bower, the antiques dealer, who once bought a painting for $5 at a rummage sale that he sold the next day for $4,500. \u201cIgnorance is a big part of our business,\u201d although that\u2019s gotten harder to combat with prices of most anything available on the internet, he said.\u00a0<\/p>\n Mullen once found an obscure LP called \u201cReachin\u201d by Ron Arcesia, which he bought for $1 and sold for $1,300. He joked that it is the one record he sold so he \u201ccould take my family on summer vacation to Cape Cod.\u201d<\/p>\n Because of the risk involved in such speculative purchases, May said estate sales are a bit like gambling, with windfalls likely to be offset by the occasional loss. He said he perpetually loses money on Oriental rugs because the market is \u201csoft.\u201d But he just loves them and is happy if he just breaks even.<\/p>\n Mullen once bought three jam-packed carloads of 45s for $1,000 at the estate sale of a hoarder. After going through them, he learned they were worth half as much. \u201cSometimes you eat the bear and sometimes the bear eats you,\u201d he said. \u201cIt\u2019s all part of the game.\u201d<\/p>\n What\u2019s hot, and what\u2019s not, reflects the culture<\/p>\n Like fashion, the best-selling items at estate sales reflect larger trends. Mid-century modern, a style that started to see a revival in the \u201990s, continues to be in high demand and the best examples across all categories are snapped up quickly.\u00a0<\/p>\n Julian Goldklang, owner of Mid Century M\u00f8bler<\/a>, a West Berkeley emporium of mid-century furniture, said Berkeley is a hotbed for such furnishings because that\u2019s when a lot of homes were built here, especially in the hills.\u00a0<\/p>\n Arts and crafts, meanwhile, continues to be popular \u201cbecause it is simple and has good lines,\u201d Bower said. The 19th century style is also popular regionally, especially in Berkeley, where it has a long architectural history.\u00a0<\/p>\n Both May and Bear Sawtelle of Golden Bear Estate Liquidation<\/a>, a Berkeley-based company he\u2019s owned for the last 10 years, noted that vintage clothing is currently wildly popular among 20- and 30-somethings. Addison added that art has also been, \u201cI hate to use the term, \u2018trending\u2019\u201d in that age group.<\/p>\n The antiques market bottomed out after the 2008 recession, so much so that nowadays Sawtelle \u201ccan\u2019t even give away\u201d Victorian furniture. Most wooden tables and chairs are now known simply as \u201cbrown furniture,\u201d which \u201cdoesn\u2019t sell at all,\u201d May said.<\/p>\n Fine china, crystal and silverplate have also fallen out of fashion, especially in casual California.<\/p>\n \u201cGo to a dinner party and if someone puts fine china in front of you, it feels too formal,\u201d May said. \u201cIt\u2019s a different world. Today, nobody touches such pieces. We end up donating a lot of that.\u201d<\/p>\n Clear glass, office desks and filing cabinets, less needed in the so-called paperless economy, are also among the items that will not sell, May said. Giant TVs from the 1990s are not likely to find a buyer, Pimpan of Total Estate Liquidation added, with a 50% chance beds and sofas will.\u00a0<\/p>\n The appeal of certain Berkeley neighborhoods<\/p>\n Berkeley, in particular, is a favorite shopping ground for dealers, due to a large aging, well-educated and well-traveled segment of the population whose homes are filled with books, ephemera and collections from all over the globe that they have accumulated over decades. Such sales in the Elmwood, the Berkeley Hills and Thousand Oaks can cause traffic jams and generate tremendous foot traffic.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cWhat makes a good estate sale is when the people who lived there were passionate about several things,\u201d said May. \u201cThey knew what they were collecting.\u201d<\/p>\n According to May, Berkeley may be home to a disproportionate number of sales because it\u2019s affluent and \u201cnobody wants to leave their beautiful houses.\u201d Proposition 13, he said, is also a factor since it encourages homeowners to stay put. As a result, May said, you\u2019ll find dozens of houses in the Berkeley Hills that are occupied by one elderly woman. \u201cThey\u2019re trying to hold out as long as they can.\u201d Berkeley\u2019s aging demographic may have something to do with it. Because boomers make up from 17% to 22% of Berkeley\u2019s population<\/a>, some of them are downsizing, aging out of their homes or dying, their homes make up the majority of those that are now being opened up for sales.\u00a0<\/p>\n Pimpan disagreed, however, saying that Berkeley does not have more sales than surrounding communities where she also sells, such as Kensington and the Oakland Hills.\u00a0<\/p>\n How estate sale companies work<\/p>\n You don\u2019t need to hire an estate sale company to hold an estate sale, but it\u2019s often the choice families make when the homeowner dies, is headed to assisted living, or is downsizing. <\/p>\n The homeowner, their heirs, realtors or fiduciaries usually reach out to the estate sale company, who then visit the home.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cThe first thing we ask is, \u2018have you gotten rid of anything?\u2019\u201d said May. \u201cThey\u2019re always trying to clean up so it doesn\u2019t look like a mess. There\u2019s usually a lot of linens and a lot of nice clothes. A lot of it gets donated before we even get there and that is one of the mistakes people make when they\u2019re inviting an estate sale company in \u2014 they prejudge. They think the furniture is where they\u2019re going to make money.\u201d<\/p>\n Estate sale companies are bonded and insured to cover potential accidents or losses. In addition to auction house referrals, some companies also help homeowners or heirs with eBay listings and consignments services.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n Different estate sale companies have different pricing policies that likely vary per house.\u00a0<\/p>\n Estate sale companies typically take 40%-50% of sales, depending on the condition of the items and the home. For example, if the homeowner had been a hoarder and the home is filled with boxes stacked to the ceiling, \u201cthat would take a lot more time to go through,\u201d Sawtelle said, and therefore raise the company\u2019s cut.<\/p>\n He estimated that a large Craftsman home filled with items like paintings, art pottery and high-value copper would probably create $15,000 in sales.<\/p>\n For a recent sale, May paid the homeowners $6,000 for select items; then the homeowners agreed to pay May $5,000 to haul away debris, mattresses and other unsalable items. \u201cBasically I wrote them a check for $1,000 and we cleaned out their house.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n From estate to retail store <\/p>\n Some homeowners eschew an estate sale and invite companies in to scour their homes for valuables \u2014 and possibly buy its entire contents. Mid Century Mobler\u2019s Goldklang has, for the past 20 to 25 years, supplemented his European imports with pieces he has culled from Bay Area estates. But, since the Trump administration\u2019s 15% tariff on European imports went into effect last year, he has relied more on local estates. Before the tariffs, Goldklang gleaned maybe 2% of the store\u2019s inventory from estates; now it\u2019s more like 10-15%.\u00a0<\/p>\n In March Goldklang acquired furniture from a Berkeley Hills home, half of which was filled with midcentury pieces, \u201calmost untouched,\u201d that the husband had bought new in the late 1960s. \u201cWe took all the Danish pieces and they\u2019re finding new homes,\u201d Goldklang said.\u00a0<\/p>\n Addison and her mother, Julie, a letterpress printer whose by-appointment shop, Addison Endpapers<\/a>, is also on Telegraph Avenue, have done some of Berkeley\u2019s most legendary sales, among them the estates of Alan Cohen<\/a> in 2019, a prolific collector across several vintage categories, and Eli Leon<\/a> in 2017. Leon\u2019s African-American quilt collection was donated to BAMPFA. But typically, she and her mother select items from estates to sell out of the Telegraph Avenue storefront.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re less mainstream and more niche,\u201d Julie Addison said. \u201cWe\u2019re really picky about the sales we take. A lot of things we get are weird.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n Some companies, like the Berkeley-based Simple Estate Liquidation<\/a>, act solely as liquidators, clearing out a house without holding a public sale. The company pays one lump sum for the home\u2019s contents.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cCustomers are not trying to make money on the possessions,\u201d said owner Dennis Jenkins. \u201cWe come in and in one or two days it\u2019s done.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n The pain of giving away<\/p>\n Estate sales can reveal a lot about a person\u2019s life through their possessions. At the Webster Street sale, the homeowner clearly had a refined aesthetic and collections galore.\u00a0<\/p>\n Sometimes such voyeurism can feel icky, such as when the doors and drawers of the previous homeowners are opened to reveal personal items like undergarments and pajamas. Sales can also take on a sad undertone if homeowners had been hoarders.\u00a0<\/p>\n Other homes can reveal that the elderly had lived alone and in unkempt conditions for years. Plus, there\u2019s the occasional seller who might not be ready to let things go. That\u2019s why estate sale companies will tell family members not to be on site during the sale. It can be painful for them to see customers sifting through possessions loaded with meaning and memories.<\/p>\n How to find estate sales<\/p>\n Local estate sales are posted on Craigslist<\/a>, estatesales.com<\/a>, estatesales.net<\/a> and estatesales.org<\/a>, which is Sawtelle\u2019s favorite because it\u2019s the best source of Bay Area sales. Shoppers can also get on the mailing lists of individual estate sale companies. Estate sale company websites also advertise the sales, sometimes showing up to 1,000 photos.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n The low-tech method of placing sandwich board signs at strategic intersections with arrows pointing the way can also be highly effective. May, who typically puts up 20 signs in a neighborhood, said they draw about half the customers who end up at a sale.<\/p>\n \u201cNobody drives more than 10 or 15 miles for an estate sale unless there\u2019s something special they\u2019re shooting for,\u201d he said.\u00a0<\/p>\n The finds at an Elmwood estate sale<\/p>\n By 10:45 a.m., the line at the Webster Street house went as far as the neighboring property. Lai and Mendoza didn\u2019t find what they were looking for, but snapped up two armloads of items for $170, including watercolor paper, clothing, three cameras, a portable radio and a whole set of knitting needles.<\/p>\n For $5, Mullen walked away with a 45 titled \u201cChairman Mao\u2019s 4 Minute Physical Fitness Plan\u201d that came with a booklet. He said it\u2019s so weird that he plans to keep it.\u00a0<\/p>\n Nate S. was last seen headed to his car with a framed artwork in each hand.<\/p>\n Bower didn\u2019t buy any beads or silver, but did snag an arts-and-crafts vase for $60. He sold it to a collector a few days later for $100.<\/p>\n \u201cThis is a kind of a cut-throat business,\u201d he said, \u201cbut it\u2019s a wonderful way to earn extra money.\u201d<\/p>\n We know that most readers don’t get to the end of the article. But you did! To support our in-depth, rock-solid reporting, please consider making a donation to our nonprofit newsroom today. We rely on our readers \u2014 particularly the ones who read the whole story!<\/p>\n “*” indicates required fields<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The first to arrive, at 7:45 a.m. \u2014 more than two hours before the doors opened at 10…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":415758,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[34],"tags":[2333,29028,2465,2466,143,145,144],"class_list":["post-415757","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-oakland","tag-editors-picks","tag-elmwood","tag-home-highlight","tag-home-lead","tag-oakland","tag-oakland-headlines","tag-oakland-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/415757","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=415757"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/415757\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/415758"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=415757"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=415757"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=415757"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"\"\/](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/Berkeley-Estate-Sales-10.jpg\")
Jadeite and vintage serving ware at the Elmwood estate sale on May 22. Credit: Kelly Sullivan for Berkeleyside<\/p>\n![\"\"\/](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/Berkeley-Estate-Sales-13.jpg\")
Vintage clothing is enjoying a revival of interest. Less popular: Victorian furniture, which is collectively and dismissively referred to as \u201cbrown furniture\u201d in the trade. Credit: Kelly Sullivan for Berkeleyside<\/p>\n![\"\"\/](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/Berkeley-Estate-Sales-24.jpg\")
Salegoer Erik examines the information on the back of a framed piece of art at the May 22, 2026 estate sale in the Elmwood. Credit: Kelly Sullivan<\/p>\n![\"\"\/](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/Berkeley-Estate-Sales-28.jpg\")
Old photographs up for grabs at the May 22 estate sale on Webster Street. Credit: Kelly Sullivan for Berkeleyside<\/p>\n![\"\"\/](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/Berkeley-Estate-Sales-25.jpg\")
Hand-embroidered items at the Elmwood estate sale on May 22. Credit: Kelly Sullivan for Berkeleyside<\/p>\n![\"\"\/](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/Berkeley-Estate-Sales-23.jpg\")
A salegoer checks out a beaver skull for sale at the May 22 estate sale in the Elmwood. Credit: Kelly Sullivan for Berkeleyside<\/p>\n![\"\"\/](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/Berkeley-Estate-Sales-18.jpg\")
Edgar Mendoza holds items for his partner Maggie Lai at the May 22 estate sale in the Elmwood. Credit: Kelly Sullivan for Sullivan<\/p>\n