Excellent commentary on buying stuff from dead people, Laura.

Personally, at estate sales I focus on the kitchen. The deceased's kids have probably raided the valuable china and silver. What is left are tried-and-true cookware and utensils. Imagine an 80 year old granny who has baked cookies every Christmas since 1950. You know she has the perfect cookie sheet, mixing bowl, and spatula! Maybe she was a champion of the potluck supper and therefore has an awesome casserole dish and serving spoon. It is likely she was born in the first Great Depression and knew how to stretch the leftovers: soup ladle! The beneficiaries of her will can easily overlook these common things.

The basements and garages of dead people are well-stocked, too. Think tools, machines, and devices. After 60 years of putzing around with miscellaneous home repair, you know the deceased man-of-the-house had acquired the perfect screwdriver, vice, and tin snips.