ESTATE SALE? - Page 2

Effie54 · ‎09-08-2010

When we downsized, we had a so-called garage sale. This was back in the day when we put ads in the newspaper to advertise the date. I specifically stated what we were going to sell and added, "high quality items, no junk". We had a lot of buyers! Some came 2 hours before the sale (the early bird buyers).

ScrapHappy · ‎03-28-2010

@Shanus wrote:
DH and I have been working like beavers for months piling up everything for a garage sale, BUT some things are way too expensive for a garage sale.

A friend said to have an estate sale instead. I have sets of expensive dishes, some silver trays left from my Mom, Tiffany glass bowls and some (8) lamps that were not inexpensive...also many asst. mirrors that lined the staircase wall and never hung back up after we painted the entire interior.

I'm thinking yard sales are not for these more costly items even though they take a percentage.

Has anyone has an estate firm come and deal with these things we're not taking to downsize?

I have been doing our neighborhood HOA garage sales for many years, in 2 different states. Where I used to live, we would get a good deal of people that worked on the farms. They would buy A LOT and not haggle. Doing garage sales where I live now, people want to pay next to nothing. Even if it's a $1, they offer 20 to 50 cents. There is a point at the end of the garage sale that you don't want to lug it back into the house, especially the heavy stuff. Last year I sold a 12 foot xmas tree for $25 and 6 bethlehem 9 foot garands for $20. (P.S Holiday decor really doesn't sell). I go to a lot of estate sales. I find most things are priced way too high. Last week I went to one and there was a plastic pitcher (no handle) and a little dirty priced at $12. I just bought a new one for $3.99. But I think many estate sale people over price the items because estate sales are usually more than one day and buy the last day are 50% to 70% off. I have a set of my Mom's Fenton lamps and her china. I bought those lamps for my Mom and they were very expensive but I know if I put them out, I'd get maybe $50 for the pair. Same with the china, hardly anything. We did the Facebook Marketplace once. A friend warned us that you get a lot of people asking but they're really not interested. It was for a Haverty white trundle bed which wasn't cheap but it was something we couldn't put in garage sale and we said "cash and carry." Ended up taking $100. I would not put Tiffany out for a garage sale. It could easily get broken or stolen. In an estate sale, there's always a room for the more expensive items (coins, designer handbags, comic books, jewelry, etc) are that always have at least one person in it at all times. Where I used to live was a nice area. Where I live now is very nice too, sought after because of schools and more expensive and I got to say that where I live now, people don't want to pay a lot...hence the xmas tree. I am not one to pay someone else to do an estate sale if I can handle a garage sale. If you plan on opening the house to everyone for the estate, have plenty of people on each floor to monitor the situation.

Effie54 · ‎09-08-2010

@River Song wrote:
My advice, save yourself a whole lot of time and effort and just donate everything. Yes, even the items you feel are too expensive to donate. People will offer pennies on the dollar at a yard sale or estate sale. By the end of the day, you'll be giving stuff away for free just to get rid of it. Yard sales are a tremendous amount of work for not much return.

I donated all my mother's silver plate trays and tea service years ago to a charity with a resale shop. I'm about ready to donate my Lenox fine china dinnerware service for twelve, nobody wants this stuff. Same with collectibles like Hummel figurines. Look at it this way, the money spent on the items is gone, you'll never get it back, just let it go and move on.

@Shanus I disagree. It seems like you have some lovely pieces. While it's nice to donate, that's not necessarily the right thing for everyone. We've had garage sales and have done very, very well. We sold almost everything and what was left, we donated. It is worth the time and effort to have some sort of sale before donating. Also, it was nice to talk with those who came to the sale, and see who our items were going to.

Ainhisg · ‎03-09-2010

I personally vote for an estate sale held by a company. People will buy anything...clothing, canned goods, as well as antique pieces, so don't throw anything away. I'm not kidding. Let the estate sale people do it all. Yes, you end up paying around 40% of the proceeds to them, but so what? They take care of every bit of it, and at least you realize some profit from it vs. donating. Many companies even clean up the house when the sale is over.

Sooner · ‎03-10-2010

@River Song wrote:

My advice, save yourself a whole lot of time and effort and just donate everything. Yes, even the items you feel are too expensive to donate. People will offer pennies on the dollar at a yard sale or estate sale. By the end of the day, you'll be giving stuff away for free just to get rid of it. Yard sales are a tremendous amount of work for not much return.

I donated all my mother's silver plate trays and tea service years ago to a charity with a resale shop. I'm about ready to donate my Lenox fine china dinnerware service for twelve, nobody wants this stuff. Same with collectibles like Hummel figurines. Look at it this way, the money spent on the items is gone, you'll never get it back, just let it go and move on.

@River Song @Shanus I agree with everything she has said here. I have liquidated 3 Estates, one at an Estate Sale, and the other two us doing it. Here's my perspective:

Edited to add: Sterling silver is up to $30 an ounce so sell it! You will get less but still a great profit!

Cleaning out other people's houses and my house:

Go through quickly, take what you want, gather up paperwork and take it (several SUV loads for one place) and have it shredded. Banks sometimes have shred trucks come on a Saturday!

We found an estate sale group for my mother's house that said walk away, leave ALL the stuff for us. They sold everything TO THE WALLS and hauled off what was left and cleaned the house.

Bottom line? We didn't make a lot but I'd have paid them 5 times what we made to do it.

So if you are moving and leaving a lot of stuff, check around and maybe find a company.

Garage sale? NOT worth the effort. Expensive stuff like dishes and crystal and silver plate are basically worth nothing now. I'm hauling a ton to the Salvation Army at this point. Made a trip Saturday with some Royal Albert Old Country Roses.

The factor to weigh against a few dollars is how much of your life do you want to devote to this process? That's worth WAY more than money and stuff. GOOD LUCK whatever you decide!

cindyNC · ‎08-01-2019

An auction maybe? Are there antique dealers that could give you appraisals prior to deciding what you want to do?

Pezzie · ‎12-12-2011

@Shanus Have you considered donating the more expensive items to a charity thrift shop? Assuming the more expensive items are to some people's taste, they still would not give you what you think they are worth or that you should be charging. In the case of fine china, if hand washing is required, forget it. Nowadays if it doesn't go in the dishwasher it won't get a second look.

DH and I volunteer at a charity thrift store and you won't believe the expensive things that get donated. People don't want the hassle of trying to sell, and prefer to just take a tax deduction.

In the end, do what is best for you. Good luck!

Sooner · ‎03-10-2010

@stevieb wrote:
Don't expect to make a great deal more with an estate sale unless you land a top notch firm to manage it, in which case their take will be significant. Even then, results are not guaranteed. No matter the value of what one has to unload, the expectation of making big bucks for what amounts to a clean-out is probably going to lead to disappointment

@stevieb Yes but YOU don't have to sort, pack and haul the stuff around. Believe me money becomes pointless when you do enough of this. Getting it GONE without costing you half your time and hurting your back is the value! If you can get them to clean up the house after the sale, NOW you're talking value!

KittySoftPaws · ‎07-21-2020

@Shanus Based on what you said, Estate Sale for sure. We had 3 of them for my MIL as well as a few garage sales. She is 87 and was in a very big house with a lot of things. We did much better profit wise and moving things with the Estate Sale. You don't need to advertise, but you should put out signs from the road and into the area in which you live to maximize traffic. Start early, and do a whole weekend if you can. People will bring others back with them and return more than once. Now this one is really important, don't allow too many people in at once unless you have many people helping that can watch for theft because it will happen. We even had someone walk off with a small lawn ornament (wasn't even for sale) that someone else was really mad about because she wanted to buy it. If you don't want something stolen outside or in, move it out of sight. For things with a lot of value like jewelry etc., keep these close to where you can watch AT ALL TIMES. Here are the reasons I think an Estate Sale is best. One, it is set inside the home and not weather dependant, so more comfortable for people to shop more and shop longer. Also, it's a minset for most in that even the word "Estate" indicates nicer things creating more value to the shopper, and more profit for the seller. The setting creates more of a "value" to the shopper. Lastly, if selling furniture or any larger items, you don't have to move it around and the shopper can see it in a home setting and hence more likely to envision it in their home. Having done both, IMO the Estate Sale is much more profitable, and less work. Of course it goes without saying that you need to eliminate junky items for an Estate Sale because it won't help sell the good items. Also to note, arrange items neatly. Don't clutter, you want it easy for the shopper to easily pick up and look at items. Make sure items are clean and not dusty and dirty. Don't price items too high, but not too low as people will still barter with you. This is human nature. You can also bulk items together. I also recommend getting a Square card reader for larger payments as people will not carry that much cash around. One more thing, do some Ebay research on items that have value because you will get resellers who know their stuff and will try to get these things for nothing knowing you are eager to sell. They are bullyish at times so stand your ground with them. They will try to convince you to sell something valueable for nothing. I call them out, I don't care. As for the Square card chip reader, they are inexpensive to get, you will have for future use, it's secure for both parties, and deposits go directly into your account. Don't use Venmo or the like, not secure or reliable. Hope this info helps and good luck!

"Have a heart that never hardens, and a temper that never tires, and a touch that never hurts." Charles Dickens

occasionalrain · ‎03-10-2010

In my area there's a resell store that will buy items to sell. Sometimes, they buy the contents of an entire house. You may find a business like that. We sent items from my parent's house to an auction and did well.

Try Google for where to sell estate items.