Weekend House Sales By Organizers In Buenos Aires

[jantango]

I read the classifieds and know that people work hard in getting rid of their furniture when leaving Argentina. There is a simpler way than doing it yourself.

Weekend house sales have been organized in the capital and provincia since the 1960s when USA companies started transferring their executives to Buenos Aires for a couple of years. Before returning, they sold everything. The weekend house sale business, also known as Ferias Americanas, was launched. I started going to these weekend sales in 2000, where I bought many furnishings and clothing bargains.

One of the first to take up this work was http://www.pilarperez.com.ar/

Another organizer I saw regularly was http://www.roxanaventas.blogspot.com and always received a warm welcome from Roxana (speaks English) and her staff.

Years ago they all advertised their sales in La Nacion; that was years before they needed to have websites where they post photos for all their sales in advance.

www.cecilgoitia.com.ar
www.margaritahopff.com.ar
www.smith-garcia.com.ar

Today, one organizer has practically taken over the weekend house sale business in Buenos Aires -- www.mariamaranessi.com -- who ran 300 sales in 2013. She doesn't have the friendliest staff, but they have a corner on the weekend sales.

The advantage of using an organizer for a one-day sale is their staff arranges everything in your house or apartment, advertises your sale to their mailing list, does the pricing, handles bagging and moving arrangements, provides a security guard at the door who obtains the name and DNI of every person entering the premises, and collects the money and writes sales receipts. You sit by and watch it all happen and pay a commission for the work.

If you have a large house with lots of furniture, it's wise to hire one of these organizers unless you prefer doing the work. The sales are held on Saturday, Sunday and holidays from 10am to 5pm, with the last hour for price reductions. The organizers know what things will sell for and price them accordingly. People line up hours before the doors open for these house sales, especially when there are antiques that interest dealers. Depending on the size of the apartment, the first ten or so on the list are first to enter the sale.

 

[lucha54]

"Doesn't have the friendliest staff" is stating it lightly. (Also they are much nicer in the morning than in the afternoon after working all day).

The first one we went to on Dorrego and LMC, we found so many great things. We arrived 15 minutes before, and were #12 to enter. Every sale we went to after, I guess they had put up the signup list outside the night before and several people go in the middle of the night or at 5AM to write their names down. Once, I arrived 2 hours early (at 8 in the morning on a Saturday!) and this was in the middle of a residential neighborhood in Zona Norte, I #53 on the list!! Which means I'd have to wait hours after they opened and probably miss out on the best stuff, because they let 6 people in at first and then 1 out/1 in until the crowd dies down. They have pictures of a few things before the sale, but don't list any prices. If there's a lot of nice clothing for sale, forget it, too crowded. The first one we went to seemed cheap (30-50% off retail prices) but the last few ones earlier this year were not that cheap. The clothing prices were determined by brand (i.e. clothes that were from brands that don't exist here were going for like $20 for a tshirt, $85 for a jacket) and, as a foreigner, I would sooner go abroad to a regular store than pay that much for someone else's used smelly clothes.

That being said, we did get some great and cheap kitchen stuff at the first sale we went to; esp great since we had just moved into our new flat.

 

[allcraz]

They're good to know about, I agree. But yes, I stopped going to these. I went to several when we were looking to furnish a rental apt. and my experience pretty much resembled lucha54's. It's a great service if you're selling, but as a buyer I felt it was a waste of time. I remember thinking the furniture was WAY overpriced and felt I could get a much better deal for a similar item on MercadoLibre or at Mercado de Pulgas. The only thing I ever bought was a vintage dress I have enjoyed wearing, but would never again go wait in line to get into someone's apartment to find it. I always got the feeling it was more of a haunt for book, art, antique, etc dealers.

 

[lucha54]

It's IDEAL for re-sellers, esp books. They go in and get a steal on possibly hundreds of books, then that's their stock. Some people have big antique collections in their house (tiny tea cups and spoons etc.) so it's popular too for the antique dealers. I thought Mercado de las Puglas was overpriced (maybe i went the wrong day when only a few booths were open) but for used stuff I check craigslist sale section, Couchsurfing sale section, and BA expats classifieds. Still I'd recommend to get on the Maranessi mailing list and if there's one with good photos that's nearby your house, why not check it out! Just dont waste time driving to Benavidez for that perfect fridge if you don't even know the price.

 

[jantango]

If you see items that interest you on the organizers' sites prior to the sale date, you can inquire about the price before going.

 

[cbonanni]

Way over priced , stupid sign up lists ( where first there signs up a dozen of their friends), dni require to enter , and mostly a bunch of junk. Will never waste my time on these again.......

 

[Davidglen77]

I've been to a couple of these sales and some of them had some really nice things for sale. I didn't find the prices to be low, however I did find them to be lower than the mercado de pulgas and MUCH lower than the antique shops in San Telmo. I think it was a good idea that people were asked for their DNI prior to entering. I wouldn't allow someone in my house / apartment without knowing who they were. Even the times I've had repair people come to my place. I don't let them in unless they show me a DNI and give me their cell phone number. Call me paranoid but you can never be too careful.

 

[cbonanni]

I've been to a couple of these sales and some of them had some really nice things for sale. I didn't find the prices to be low, however I did find them to be lower than the mercado de pulgas and MUCH lower than the antique shops in San Telmo. I think it was a good idea that people were asked for their DNI prior to entering. I wouldn't allow someone in my house / apartment without knowing who they were. Even the times I've had repair people come to my place. I don't let them in unless they show me a DNI and give me their cell phone number. Call me paranoid but you can never be too careful.

All the ones I have been too were situations where the people already moved out , and whatever is left is for sale. I do not mind the dni requirement , although they were happy to take my US passport number . I have waited outside in the cold for over an hour , while the glorified groupies who have signed up all their friends , go through everything , and do not give a damn about anyone waiting. Then they walk out with one Item. It is like a sub culture of freaks who like to paw through other peoples junk.

What does not sell get tossed , or the organizers buy it for pennies on what they priced it at. I know of a few houses where they take all the un sold crap too , and then try to have sales there. Although I did but a backgammon set at one once.......

 

[allcraz]

Poor jantango! We totally brought you down, sorry! But I'm sure there are those out there who are interested in knowing they exist, so thank you for sharing.

 

[jantango]

Poor jantango! We totally brought you down, sorry! But I'm sure there are those out there who are interested in knowing they exist, so thank you for sharing.

I post useful information on Buenos Aires for the thousands who visit this forum. A few expressed their opinions which they have a right to do. It doesn't bother me.

There is an apartment sale this weekend in Congreso. A single woman is selling everything she owns, including lots of clothes. http://mariamaranessi.com/2014/07/23/impecable-guardarropas/ I'll be going to concerts on Saturday, otherwise I'd be going to this sale in my neighborhood.