Dig This Treasure!

Hm. This is a good question.  I am going to assume that you mean “dig” in the more literal sense, instead of the “Oh I totally ‘dig’ this thing I just found” kind of way…

That said, Sarah and I always carry hand sanitizer.  That is precaution numero uno.  Otherwise, we aren’t particularly careful about where and in what we hunt.  Sarah has walked out of sales a few times because the house clearly smelled like or had visible traces of animal urine or feces.  I have had asthma attacks from really dusty houses, although this is pretty rare.

We have also left houses because of serious mold problems in basements and attics.  The best “precaution” really is just caution in general.  No treasure is worth inhaling black mold or smelling like cat pee for the rest of the day.  That said, we have left many sales covered in general dirt/dust and with unexplainably sticky hands.

I’ll also add here that a good precaution when purchasing things is to never assume that because someone else sold the same thing on ebay for a high amount, means that you will.  Sarah and I have both been burned pretty bad by looking at completed listings on ebay and thinking we can get similar prices for items we’ve found.  Ebay auctions are insanely affected by all sorts of things:  the season, other listed similar items, the number of bidders, etc.  Ebay success can be pretty random, so don’t pay a huge price for an item unless you are TOTALLY SURE it is worth that price.  

Thanks for your question!  Keep 'em coming!

-Erin

Update from Sarah: I think this is clearly an example of someone f*cking with us, but I love that Erin answered this question seriously. Also, what is a treasuere?