Quad-City estate sales remain a treasure hunt, even during a pandemic (2024)

In spite of COVID-19 and the politics surrounding the guidelines to stop its spread, estate sale hosts and goers are rolling with the punches and working to establish a new normal.

It’s very challenging,” said Jennifer Goldsberry of Bettendorf who owns Doodads in Davenport, which hosts more than 90 estate sales a year around the Quad-Cities.

In March, Goldsberry began limiting the number of shoppers at a sale at once, recommending shoppers wear face coverings and providing hand sanitizer. Then, Illinois issued a stay-at-home order, and Iowa, while not fully doing so, closed non-essential businesses, including Doodads.

Goldsberry was under a “time crunch,” — booked with clients whose closing dates were approaching.

So she moved the sales to Facebook live.

Items and lots were assigned numbers, and Goldsberry and her staff would move from item to item and box to box, describing items to viewers who could claim whatever they liked in real time. No-contact pickup was arranged to retrieve purchases.

“I was so incredibly honored,” Goldsberry said. “The encouragement in attendance and the results that we got from that? … I am so lucky to have such a tremendous following.”

Goldsberry worked out glitches as she went, and each virtual sale got a little easier.

“It was a dream,” she said. “We were so grateful to be able to work during those times when nobody else could work.”

As an added bonus, Goldsberry said, “so many people (were) messaging me, telling me (the virtual sales) made them feel normal again for a moment. … That was beyond flattering.”

In pre-COVID times, Liz Nolte of Rock Island was known for heading to sales in the wee hours of the morning to secure her chance at highly sought-after items.

“Half the fun is seeing everything all at once and getting an inside look at the homes, too,” she said. “There's an excitement and energy about estate sales and getting up early to get a good number to take part.”

Nolte has been thankful for virtual sales. “Virtual sales really had a perk, and it was a different kind of fun energy,” she said.

“Jennifer did an amazing job going item by item. You had to be quick, though, and hope your wi-fi was faster than everyone (else's) if you really wanted to purchase something," she said. "It was a safe, fun alternative to have and still ‘treasure hunt.’”

As Iowa and Illinois began to reopen, Goldsberry hosted some sales by appointment only. This was challenging, as many customers wanted to shop at the same times, and some needed to reschedule.

As states reopened further, Goldsberry followed federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines. Staff controls how many people shop at once to allow for social distancing. Shoppers enter through one door and exit through another, and are asked to socially distance and be mindful of how many objects they are touching.

Hand sanitizer is provided, and commonly touched items are sanitized throughout the sales, Goldsberry said. Customers bag up their own purchases to limit excessive handling, and Doodads requests that all shoppers wear masks/facial coverings.

Doodads prefers customers wear masks, she said. “It might not be a popular preference, but it seems to be what everybody is gravitating toward.”

Goldsberry said about 80% of shoppers wear masks, even at outdoor sales. “We just want everybody to be respectful and just be courteous,” she said.

Dan Verscha and his wife, Jennifer, of Rock Island, hosted an estate sale for his mother last month in Coal Valley, and had the same rules.

“We followed the Illinois governor’s social-distancing recommendations,” Verscha said. Out of roughly 275 attendees, “we only had one person walk away when we asked her to wear a mask.”

It was definitely strange, but “everyone was pretty understanding," he said.

“I definitely have a preference (for) other thrifters maintaining social distancing, wearing masks,” thrift shopper Sarah Johnson of East Moline said.

“Thrifting is the only hobby I have that is affordable to me, so I was excited when sales started back up. I feel, personally, (that) it's safer than stores at the moment.”

Johnson said estate sale-shopping with masks and other recommended guidelines isn’t weird at all. “It's about the same experience.”

If a sale is more crowded than she’d like, she browses areas with fewer people until things clear out.

Faced with uncertainty for the future, Goldsberry plans to keep chugging along and adapt as needed.

“We’re operating in the safest capacity as possible,” she said. “We invite everybody to come out at a distance.”