At estate sales you can find mundane items and valuable pieces worth anywhere from zero to hundreds and thousands of dollars.

Being a successful flipper with estate sales requires a keen eye, a lot of knowledge, and some old fashioned luck. Do it right, and some people can be financially set for life from estate sales. Just ask any of the team members at Busy Beever.

Once, a second-hand antique card table purchased for $25 ended up being worth over $200k. Another example included an old Chinese statuette bought for $100 and was later auctioned off for $2.1 million.

So the first thing you'll want to do is maximize your chance of success. Then you'll need to learn about the valuable items to watch out for, which we'll discuss below.

Show up early. If there's a signup list on the door, then make sure that your name is near the top to improve your chances of finding a good deal. Don't sweat it if you can't make it on the first day. Many estate sale companies in Kansas City offer discounts on the last day of the sale. You can score big on the last day by finding something hidden and valuable that other antique dealers may have overlooked.

You might have to go out on a limb and take a risk, but if you find one of these items, then all the effort you've spent so far will have been worth it. As an antique hunter, the thrill is in the hunt. The joy is in the journey, not the destination and all of that…

Now, here are some of the items you'll want to watch out for.

Vintage Jewelry

Don't expect to find gold and silver jewelry at estate sales. These are usually sold before the sale. Do keep your eyes out for vintage jewelry. Costume jewelry, in particular, can be worth a fortune. Signed pieces and those made of quality materials such as glass and crystal can be incredibly valuable. The more unusual the piece is, the more it can be worth.

Rare Books

Antique books can vary in value. The determining factors include:

● Whether it's leather-bound

● Signed on the cover page

● First edition or limited edition

Old toys

These can be worth a fortune to the right buyer online. Look out for antique vintage toys. These toys can often go unnoticed in estate sales, so you can score a great bargain for the perfect and rare memorabilia. Pay attention to toys made of wood or metal that are in good condition.

Antique Furniture

For the average person, furniture is hard to appraise. But you don't want to be average. You'll want to start by looking to see if the furniture was handmade or not. Does it look old? Victorian and mid-century furniture is common at estate sales. These can be worth a few hundred bucks up to several pretty pennies. Note that the most valuable antique furniture is signed mid-century furniture or Georgian era wooden furniture in original condition.