FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

Do you advertise?

Yes, we advertise a lot.  We advertise in the local papers, (depending on where the sale is will determine which papers are advertised in and your choice client pays for newspaper advertising) we advertise heavily on our website and other Internet links and if the sale warrants we even make up a flyer and leave them in stores around town and other businesses.

Who pays for the advertising?

Normally, we pay for all of the internet advertising unless special advertising is requested.  In such cases, we will discuss this during our pre-sale meeting.  We will also put up signs leading to the sale so that people that missed any print advertising happen to be passing by they will know we are there. Client pays for newspaper advertising.

Are your prices negotiable?

We are not negotiable on prices until the second day of the sale.  Typically, items are reduced by 25% on the morning of the second day and 50%off marked $30 or less after lunch time.  We also take bids on any items throughout the sale.

Do you offer presales for the family?  Dealers?

We do offer presales for the family if requested at the time the contracts are signed.  We do not hold special presale to dealers.  If there is a vehicle we would consider selling early.

Should the house be up for sale during the Estate Sale?

We recommend listing the house on the market a few days prior to the sale. We also recommend whoever your choose as your Real Estate Agent to contact us prior to the sale so that they can leave flyers and cards with us with information about the sale of the house.  Remember many people will be crossing the thresh hold during the sale so the more people that get information about the sale of the house the more exposure you will get.

What do we (the family) need to do to get ready for the sale?

 Really the only thing you need to do is to remove anything from the house what will not be included in the sale and make sure to gather up all of your important papers to take with you.

What happens with the more expensive items during the sale?

During the set up, the more expensive items are placed near the check-out so they can be monitored during the sale.  Small items such as fine jewelry and better costume jewelry, etc., will be place in locking cabinets and displays right in the check-out area to help eliminate theft.

How much time do you need to set up for the sale?

This is a loaded question.  In a perfect world a month would be wonderful but in most cases this is just not going to happen.  Because of deadlines, the sale of the house, etc., two weeks is usually the norm.  However, we have been known to get a sale together, set-up, priced and completed in less than a week.  This is not how we like to do it, but we know how valuable time can be.

We don't have much in the house to sell, is the sale big enough for an Estate Sale?

There are always options if there isn't enough for a sale.  We do partial and complete buyouts of other estates and can bring items to make a complete sale or take items to other sales.  Any way you look at it Estate Sales will bring in much more money then garage sales.

What happens with the leftover items?

Again, there are several choices.  Items that we feel are higher end we will ask you what you would like to do with them , There are many consignment shops that might take it in and other items can be donated to non-profit organizations.  We offer a clean out service where we will have the floors swept and the carpets vacuumed. 

Can family members be present at the sale?

 Of course they can.  However, we do not recommend it because when customers come into the house they are not walking into mom or dad's house.  They are walking into a store of sorts to buy ~ buy ~ buy!  It can be very hard emotionally on family members to see other people handling and talking about their things.  Also, sale are affected by family members being there.  The customers know they are family members and that puts a personal link to the items and make them feel uncomfortable.

How do we get our money after the sale?

We mail it to you within 14 business days of the end of the Sale. Or we can meet the following week.

Does everything do well at Estate Sales?

Pretty much everything does well.  There are those exceptions and many times people have an idea that items are worth more that they are actually going to bring. What people have to remember is this is a form of entertainment and are trying to get you to watch.  An item is worth only what somebody is willing to pay for it.  It is also trendy and Estate Sales like everything else, follow the trends.

What about cars and or other larger items?

Sure, we will try to sell ANYTHING!  For items like cars, trailers, etc., we will sometimes allow people to purchase them prior to the start of the sale.  We will also negotiate lower commission rates on cars and other high value vehicles.

I'm worried people will try to come to our home prior to the sale.

Not to worry about this as we do not release the address of the sale until a couple of days prior to the sale. We can also bring our trailer and stay on the premises where the sale will be held.