How To Advertise An Estate Sale

1. Inventory list

Canvas your home and make lists of everything you plan on selling and including in the estate sale. You may also want to create a list of items you won’t be selling as well – just to stay organized. You can even go a step further and categorize everything by room, item’s condition, etc. This will help when you start to research prices and determine where things will be set up and staged during the estate sale.

2. Clean and repair

Most of what you sell will be “as-is,” but a quick polish or some super glue can take some items from “unsellable” to “worth a couple of bucks.”

3. Price as much as possible

Knowing what you have and pricing it accordingly is very important in having a successful estate sale. You can start by going online and looking at sold listings on sites like ebay and liveauctioneers. This will offer an idea of the fair market value. Google lens/photo is also a great resource. Just keep in mind, like garage sale shoppers, estate sale shoppers are looking for a deal. If you’re considering two reasonable price points, it’s not a bad idea to mark your item at the higher of the two prices. You’ll see that whatever the price, most people will try to negotiate you down. See what the average proceeds are for an estate sale in our guide. Clearly mark each estate sale item with a price tag or sticker. If you have multiples of an item or like-priced smaller items, you can group them together for bulk sale. You can also display everything together on a table, shelf, in a box, etc., with a sign such as “all stuffed animals – $1 each.” this insures you get the most for your items.

4. Manage foot traffic

Traffic flow is an important consideration. You want shoppers to browse each room at their own pace without any crowding or bottlenecks forming. Try to keep items to the perimeter or center of each room, allowing people to move around freely. Don’t clutter display tables or shelves with too many items; shoppers should be able to glance over your things and move on if they’re not interested. You also want enough room for a few people to stand and consider items without holding everyone else up.

5. Make sure to identify and mark “off-limit” items

You may have several items that you’re not interested in selling; it is important to clearly mark these items. Place a large “not for sale” sign on any items you don’t want people to try and purchase. Sometimes this isn’t even enough to deter people from trying to buy items. If possible, put all off-limit items in one or two rooms, and keep those closed off from shoppers to avoid any issues.

6. Have security

Unfortunately, like in many other retail environments, you must consider theft and misconduct at your estate sale. Don’t leave an entrance or exit open and unattended. You should maintain a single entrance and exit for the sale, not multiple. This will control traffic flow and mitigate the opportunity for theft by allowing you to monitor everyone who comes and goes. Be sure to secure off-limits areas and have someone available to enforce those restrictions. Close, lock and tape off doors to rooms you don’t want people entering. Keep your cash in a secure lock box under constant supervision. High-value small items, like jewelry, are best kept in constant site at the cashier’s table.

7. Pictures tell the story

When advertising an estate sale, great advertising pictures are critical. Take pictures of the items most likely to interest people to help drive traffic to your sale. Big-ticket items like furniture, appliances, collectibles, antiques, comic books and sports memorabilia always garner interest. Make sure your photos are clear, well-lit and visually appealing.

8. Advertising is everything!

How will people know about your estate sale and all the available items? Simple, you have to advertise the heck out of it!
Here is how to advertise an estate sale

Estate sale advertisements take many forms, but most successful estate sales typically include the following methods:

• Post your estate sale listing to all of the major estate sale industry websites, including estatesales.Net and estatesale.Com.
• Create posts for social media platforms and community apps like facebook, instagram, craigslist, and nextdoor.
• Advertise in town, city and village papers a week before your sale, as well as on any online classifieds for your area.
• Post signs with big, legible letters specifying the dates, times and the address of the sale at nearby intersections a few days ahead of time. Clear, visible arrow markers placed at intervals between the signs and the sale can help people find you. (make sure to check local ordinances and homeowner association regulations before placing signs.)

9. You’re going to need help advertising your estate sale

It takes a village! From cashing people out to loading big items into customers’ vehicles, it’s best to have lots of helpers to keep you from being pulled in too many directions the day of the estate sale. Offer to pay them in cash, food and beverages, etc., and maybe even throw a party at the end while everyone pitches in to clean up. Go estate pros is an excellent alternative to friends and family when you are thinking about how to advertise an estate sale.

10. What to do with leftovers

Even the most successful estate sales will have leftovers. It’s inevitable. You may want to contact local charities and donation centers ahead of time to find out what their policies are on large donations and pick-ups. If you have a lot of unsold items, you may be able to arrange a truck to pick them up at the end of the sale, or you can assign someone to take them to a drop-off location. Never leave large piles of garbage or recycling on your curb without calling your town’s waste management provider first for permission so that you don’t incur a fine. You may even need to consider a junk removal company.