Estate Sale Services:
How do Estate Sales Work?

Remove any personal or sensitive items that you don’t want to be placed in the estate sale

If it’s something personal or valuable that you don’t want to sell, removing or securing it is essential. If this is an inheritance situation, there may be items the heirs have no right to, including personal records, diaries, and journals. Make sure to secure these items. Consider financial records and/or other personal documents as well, and develop a method for determining which of these should be retained for record-keeping purposes. Make sure any firearms have been safely unloaded and then properly secured. Additional items to consider:

• Precious metals, coins, jewelry, or collections
• Personal photos
• Personal documents
• Firearms or ammunition
• Food or alcohol
• All items you wish to retain

Don’t throw anything away!

Most estate sales will have items of smaller value offered for sale right alongside the big-ticket items. Variety is the spice of life! All the little things found in a home that usually get tossed or donated are sometimes appealing to estate sale shoppers who are willing buyers of a wide variety of items. They’ll buy the stuff you think has no value; or think you are better off throwing away. The dollar value of the many small, seemingly inconsequential items that every house contains has the potential of creating thousands of dollars of income. These lower-valued items are sold every weekend at estate sales across the country. Here are just a few examples:

Know what you want to sell

Clearly identifying the scope of your project will make the estate sale process a lot smoother and without confusion. This process is easier if the items you and your family want to keep have been entirely removed from the home. However, if you can’t remove these items take a little time and mark those items “Not For Sale” with a post-it note or similar so we know those items are off limits and not to be sold.

Try and stay organized and create lists if necessary

Having an estate sale can be a tall task. There are many details to consider and organization that needs to be completed before having heirs or potential estate sale companies in to view items. Some lists may include:

• General inventory
• Items being given to heirs
• Potentially valuable items
• Important contacts – realtors, estate sale companies, contractors
• To-do lists

Photograph the contents

A cataloged reference, either in a photo or in video format, will help with advertising and can serve as documentary evidence of the estate should it be necessary. Photos may also assist heirs to make quick decisions about what can be sold and what they’d like to keep. Tips for taking pictures:

• Take photos in an organized manner, ie. Furniture, Art, and China
• Upload photos to a secure network or download to an exterior hard drive

Set up and organize the home

The more organized the home is, the easier it is for shoppers to navigate through the items you wish to sell. If you have valuables, secure them in an area that’s restrictive for shoppers. Getting items ready:

• Remove junk or debris
• Declutter as much as possible
• Keep inventory lists

Start with appraisals if necessary

If it’s an inheritance situation and the personal property is being divided, you’ll need an appraisal to determine the value of these items. Appraisals may assist when:

• Requested by an attorney, accountant, heir, the courts or probate
• There are valuable items
• Heirs are contesting
• Equitable disbursements are required

Price as much as possible

The more items that are priced, the better. Placing price tags, stickers, etc on the more expensive items allows shoppers to know what to expect in terms of cost. Also, consider grouping like items together and offering bundle pricing, it’s a great way to get rid of items quickly!