Q&A - How does estate sales work

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1. What is an estate sale? 

An estate sale, estate liquidation, estate auction or a tag sale is an event where personal property is sold to the general public due to a variety of reasons, including but not limited to, probate, legal dissolution of a marriage, downsizing, moving, or decluttering. Simply put, it is a glorified garage sale. 

2.   What is the general process?

The process begins with an on-site free consultation, where the client and liquidator meet face to face. After that, if both parties decide to move forward, an agreement is signed, at which time a sale date is selected. And then, the house is prepared for the sale, which includes sorting through the contents, staging and pricing them and advertising the sale. At the end of this preparation, a sale is conducted before the client is paid. 

3. How many days do you think it will take to set up? 

Depending on the size of the estate and the amount of the content, it takes approximately one to two weeks to set up the sale. 

4. Are there fees besides your commission? 

No, there is no additional fee for our standard services. However, there are other expenses that may incur, such as outside appraiser, advertising in local newspaper, professional disposal services, professional moving services, which can be deducted from the gross proceed of the sales. 

5. How many days will the sale itself be? 

Depending on the size of the estate and number of contents, we may conduct a sale for two to four days. A typical sale is two days. 

6. Do you pre-sell or allow people early entry? 

We do not allow early entry on the sale days, especially after advertising is published. However, if we believe a particular potential buyer can bring maximum amount of proceed, we will allow pre-sell. 

7. Do you have an appraiser on staff or access to one? 

Yes, in most cases, most of the items do not require an appraiser with specialty in a particular area. But we can bring one in if we ever need to. 

8. Do you or your employees buy items? 

We have specific guidelines on this topic. In general, we allow internal buying only on the last day of the sale, and the items cannot be taken off display during the entire sale days. 

9. How long after the sale will I be paid? 

We will send you a check within 14 days of the conclusion of the sale, with payment amount as of gross sales less our commission and expenses, payable to the signature on Estate Sale Agreement. 

10. How will my home be left? Broom Clean, Empty, etc? 

We will leave the house broom clean. It means all items not sold are left in place for the cleanout and all debris is removed. The home will still require deep cleaning if you need to bring it to the showroom ready. 

11. Do you have insurance? 

Yes, we are insured for liability and bonded for surety through Antiques & Collectibles Insurance Group. 

12. Do you have a store? 

No, we do not have any physical store or warehouse. However, we do have an online shop, so we can conduct online sales in order to provide solutions for clients' locations where onsite sales are not feasible. 

13. Do you have a contract? Can I take a copy home with me to look over? 

Yes, please contact us for a copy of a sample contract.

14. How should we begin this process? 

Please call us for a free consultation. From this face to face meeting, you’ll see if you feel comfortable working with us or not. And it will also give us a chance to see the contents, how everything is situated and determine if an estate sale is the best solution for you.