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This local estate sale company received a big boost in attendance thanks to TikTok
Best Rate Cleanouts & Estate Sales, based in Milford, had a line out the door at one of their most recent sales after a sudden bout of internet fame.
A local estate sale company has seen a big bump in attendance thanks to an unlikely source — TikTok.
For Best Rate Cleanouts & Estate Sales it’s been a long 12-year road towards building a solid email list of around 6,000 locals who are interested in their sales. However, a few popular TikTok videos later and the Milford-based company’s estate sale events have a line around the block for hours.
“There’s been a lot of people who have come to the sales recently saying they saw the TikToks for them,” said Alexa Jordan, the company’s TikTok aficionado.
The first TikTok to receive attention was about an estate sale happening in Danvers, and it received around 50,000 views. The content of the video was pictures of what attendees could hope to purchase at the sale, including at the end an entire deer head. “Wait until the end for a surprise,” the video said. Surprise indeed.
One particular Newton estate sale garnered a ton of attention for unique items. So much so that two TikToks in a row were in order. The highlights included clothing, a vintage Mercedes, a large set of classic comics, an extensive record collection, and a pair of original Levis.
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“See you Saturday!” commented one TikTok user.
“It looks like this person lived a rich and interesting life. I hope these belongings find people that loved them as much as they did,” wrote another.
The usual schedule of an estate sale begins when a sign-up sheet is posted at midnight the night before, and the most dedicated shoppers pre-register. Then at 7 a.m. the Best Rate team arrives to hand out entry numbers to the rest of the buyers.
From 9 a.m. through the early afternoon, the sale is on. Shoppers can continually hop in line when they arrive by receiving a number, but if the sale is busy the wait could be a few hours.
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“At that (Newton) sale, the last person to get in that had a number didn’t get in until 1:00 p.m. And the sale runs until 2:00 p.m.,” said owner Chris Jordan, “People just kept showing up. It was crazy.”
The recent increased interest in sustainable shopping and shopping second-hand has been reflected in Best Rate’s clothing sales as well.
“I think it’s crazy, because 10 years ago, I couldn’t even sell clothing at estate sales. Now, it’s one of the first things people are looking at,” said Chris Jordan.
The overlapping interests of TikTok and second-hand clothing could be the perfect intersection for Best Rate’s attendance. But one thing’s for sure, the TikToks won’t stop anytime soon.
“We have a lot of plans for our TikToks,” said Alexa Jordan.
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