Everything But the House

Have you seen the on-line auction site, Everything But the House? It’s my new addiction. A very chic and fabulous friend told me about it last fall when she was selling the remaining contents of her former shop.

From EBTH’s website:

EBTH combines the service component of a traditional estate sale or consignment shop with the excitement of an auction and the unmatched exposure and convenience of the World Wide Web.

Each item is photographed and descriptions are added. It is much more curated than eBay and much less expensive than 1st Dibs. You can sort by location, I use both Baltimore and Washington, DC. and within each sale, you can further sort by what you’re interested in, like china, housewares, clothing or furniture. Some sales are private parties, and others are showrooms and shops.

There’s a sale in Baltimore I was looking through. It has just ended, but I thought I’d share some of the pieces which caught my eye.

Since there’s no livestock allowed in the city, and I am having a wee bit of cow envy, this might substitute. Current bid: $183.

This particular sale had a lot of vintage and antique French plates. Current bid: $10

Tole flowers, 37” long. Current bid: $30

Tole Chandelier with three lights. Current bid: $1.00!

Hermès Marché Flottant Du Lac Inlé II silk scarf. Current bid: $96

Ferragamo bag. Current bid: $140

I can add this to my collection of bamboo-style chairs. Current bid: $50

Birdcage chandelier. Current bid: $80

There is some dreck and lots of things that I just click right by, but it’s worth taking some time to view the items at auctions near you. One small issue is that this site allows “auction snipers”. I know that you should put your top price in and be done, but there’s nothing more irritating/frustrating than watching an auction and thinking you’re winning, but losing in the last two seconds due to a sniper.

With EBTH, you can pick up items that are in close proximity, or arrange for shipping, which does add to the cost. But it’s another resource for happy hunting!