Twenty-plus years of running estate sales in St. Louis have taught us which categories move fast, which surprise families with their value, and which are harder to place. Here is the honest breakdown.
Categories that almost always sell well
- Mid-century furniture — teak, walnut, Danish modern, Lane, Heywood-Wakefield. The St. Louis buyer base for mid-century is strong and knowledgeable.
- Sterling silver & fine jewelry — always priced against current spot and trade guides.
- Coins & bullion — we test, weigh, and sometimes bring in a specialist.
- Vintage tools — Stanley planes, Starrett precision tools, old American-made hand saws, machinist chests.
- Christmas decor — Shiny Brite, blown glass, vintage village pieces. Reliable crowd-pleasers.
- Fishing & hunting gear — quality reels, decoys, old lures, well-kept rifles (sold through a licensed dealer per law).
- Cast iron cookware — Griswold, Wagner, Erie. A cast iron collector network in Missouri is real.
Categories that surprise families
- Sewing, knitting and craft supplies — loose notions, buttons, fabric bolts, vintage patterns. Sewing rooms often produce $500–$2,000 on their own.
- Cookbooks & church cookbooks — local parish cookbooks from the 1960s–80s have surprisingly loyal buyers.
- Vintage electronics — turntables, amplifiers, speakers from the 1960s–80s can be significant if clean.
- Lego & original-box toys — if the box is in good shape, the price triples.
- Old advertising & petroliana — service-station signs, Coca-Cola, railroad memorabilia.
- Star Wars, Hot Wheels, vintage Barbies — the 1970s–80s childhoods are now midlife hobbies.
Categories that are slower (but still sell)
- Crystal and china sets — modest prices, but they do move, especially incomplete sets at bargain prices.
- Brown furniture — traditional mahogany dining sets are out of fashion. They sell, but for a fraction of their original prices.
- Pianos — sadly, most uprights are free-for-hauling today. Grand pianos can still have value.
- VHS tapes, CDs, DVDs — by the bulk lot only, except for rarities.
Bottom line: We price honestly to market. We will not pretend that a 1980s dining set will bring 1989 prices — but we will find the right buyer at the right price for nearly everything in the house.
What we do with unsold items
Any item that does not sell at the main sale becomes a candidate for the Sunday half-price round, consignment, donation (with tax receipts through a reputable charity), or — if you choose — full cleanout service. You are always in the driver’s seat.