What is and Estate Sale? - Estate Pros

  • Pros and Cons
  • Rules
  • Average Proceeds
  • Common Mistakes
Call 248-266-9817Free Consultation

Estate Sales, sometimes referred to as “Tag Sales,” are used to sell personal property, either your own or on behalf of a family member, friend, etc. What is an estate sale exactly? Estate sales usually contain far more items than your typical garage sale or yard sale and often take place inside a residence. They are designed to sell as many household contents as possible in a short period of time, frequently 2-3 days. In most cases, completely emptying the home is the desired outcome of an estate sale.

During an estate sale, the general public is invited into the home and provided the opportunity to purchase items made available for sale by the homeowner/seller. A professional estate sale company such as the Estate Pros organizes and conducts the event on behalf of the homeowner.

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What is an Estate Sale? Here are a few key characteristics:

  1. Usually occur inside a home, condo, or apartment.
  2. They are open to the public.
  3. Typically occur over the course of 2-3 days.
  4. Offer a large variety of personal items, etc.
  5. Merchandised like a boutique retail environment to boost sales.
  6. Generally selling everything: furniture, artwork, decor, housewares, clothing, etc.
  7. Most individual items are priced.
  8. Items are usually discounted as the sale progresses.
  9. If smaller, it may be conducted by the individual and not by a professional.
  10. If the items are valuable or the situation is complex, estate sales are best conducted by professionals such as the Estate Pros.

To learn more about estate sales and all of their moving parts head over to our main estate sale knowledge page here.

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Pros and Cons of Estate Sales

Pros

Whether you’ve lost a loved one or have decided to downsize and move, choosing what to do with personal belongings can be difficult and emotional. In addition, knowing how to organize, market, set up and price such belongings in order to conduct an estate sale can be extremely overwhelming.

Hiring an estate sale company is usually the most effective solution. A professional estate sale company can help remove the burden and stress of this process by handling every aspect of your transition. Most estate sale companies provide quick and efficient services, leaving the home empty, cleaned, and ready to go.

Cons

In having an estate sale, there are a few negatives to consider.

  • Entrusting your home and valuables to a third-party service
  • Paying a commission for the sale of your property
  • Allowing strangers into your home to shop through your items
  • Selling some of your items at discounted prices

Finding the right estate sale company is critical, and although finding the right estate sale company does take some work, it’s certainly a worthwhile effort. Learn more about common estate sale mistakes.

PERMITS

Estate Sale Rules

Rules and proper etiquette at estate sales are common and necessary. On any given weekend, if you attend an estate sale, you’ll find that most estate sale companies will display their shopping rules via signs throughout the home, clearly defining such guidelines as:

  • Whether or not to remove your shoes in order to enter the residence
  • Where to place items on hold
  • If bids are allowed on certain items
  • What forms of payment are accepted – cash, credit, checks, digital pay, etc
  • & more
  • No Hoarding Items

Average Estate Sale Proceeds

Why do most people have an estate sale? In short, estate sales are a terrific way to sell stuff for a great value in a short time frame. They are the best way to reach a large buying audience looking for specific household items and goods. Not to mention, the average estate sale grosses nearly $20,000! You can learn more about Estate Liquidations here. Want to learn more about how estate sale companies charge their clients? The mechanics behind that is pretty straight forward.

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Estate Sale Pricing Guidelines

Every estate sale is different, with each estate representing an individual’s or a family’s lifetime collection of personal items. This presents a wide variety of possible inventory from estate to estate, requiring varying approaches as to how these items are evaluated.

The majority of time spent preparing an estate sale is focused on pricing. This is why it’s essential to rely on professionals like the Estate Pros, who can provide you with the services of a certified appraiser. The Estate Pros have pricing down to a science. Our certified appraisers will quickly review and evaluate your items and estimate how much they will sell for.

Estate Sale vs. Garage Sale

Estate Sales, Tag Sales, and Moving Sales, are all commonly interchangeable terms used to describe the liquidation of personal property. However, there are definitely distinct differences between these terms and what is known as a garage sale.

Estate sales typically occur when people need to empty an entire home due to the death of a loved one. They are also common when downsizing, moving, dealing with a divorce, or resolving debt. Estate Sales can contain furniture, artwork, jewelry, decor, rugs, vehicles, firearms, etc, and are usually held inside a residence. When hiring a professional estate sale company like the Estate Pros, you will receive a full suite of tailored services, from the initial consultation all the way to the complete cleanout of the residence. That’s the Estate Pros difference!

Whereas garage sales and/or yard sales occur outside the interior of a home and are generally a means for individuals or families to sell a few unwanted household items, garage sales typically do not contain expensive or high-end items.

In addition, there are differences in the way estate sales are advertised and marketed versus a garage sale. Estate sales tend to be promoted to larger audiences via online industry websites, social media, email marketing, etc. This professionally targeted approach can attract interested buyers, dealers, and collectors from all over the world. Unlike garage sales and yard sales, which are typically marketed locally via hand-made flyers taped and street signs.

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Thinking about hiring an Estate Sale Company?

Contact the Estate Pros!!!

Call 248-266-9817Free Consultation

The Estate Pros are the most professional estate sale company in the area serving homes like yours all across southeast Michigan. We are consistently ranked amongst the top estate sale companies in America, recognized by EstateSale.com and other industry authorities.

We pay meticulous attention to every detail as we handle each aspect of the estate sale process from start to finish. Our experts will work with you from the initial free consultation to the complete execution of your event and everything in between. You don’t need to lift a finger; the Estate Pros will take care of everything for you! Learn more about Hiring and Estate Sale company.

What Our Clients are Saying

Excellent
4.9
Place looked amazing when they were done! Staff were very professional and personable. Overall a great customer experience!
Response from the owner: Thanks Dave!
Overall wonderful experience! Jonathan was a pleasure to work with, very helpful! He assured me that it would go smoothly and it did
Response from the owner: Thanks Barbara!
We hired Estate Pros for moving, estate donation and clean-up. The staff at Estate Pros were always prompt, polite and considerate. All items were wrapped for moving, carefully pack, unpacked and placed per our request. The donation and cleanup was a breeze. Estates Pros made the whole moving and downsizing process go smoothly! Thank you.
Response from the owner: Thanks Mike!
The entire team acted very swiftly and were very professional. Highly recommend them.
Response from the owner: Thanks Ramesh!
Jonathan was a pleasure to work with. He came up with a solution to help my clients get their house cleaned out so they could sell quickly. It was amazing to see his team of professionals working so efficiently. As a real estate agent, it is so valuable to have Estate Pros as a resource to help my clients transition to the next stage in their life. I highly recommend Estate Pros!
Response from the owner: Thanks Danette!
Response from the owner: Thanks Sue!
My brother was a pack rat. He had 8 months to remove or declutter his house and didn’t. He hired Estate Pros and they cleared out the house ( 9 truckloads). They did an excellent job, hardworking ,polite and helpful. I highly recommend this company.
Response from the owner: Thanks Sharon!
Fantastic company! Professional and very helpful at clearing out the house.
Response from the owner: Thanks Aimee!
Estate Pros are the best!! They did a great job cleaning out my mother’s house. Very efficient and left the place clean.
Response from the owner: Thanks Julie!!!
From start to end, Jonathan and his team were on time, professional, and did everything they promised. We are very pleased.When downsizing for a senior it’s so critical that things don’t go to the landfills. Jonathan gets your stuff donated and makes sure you get a tax write off.
Response from the owner: Thanks Brenda!!!
Response from the owner: Thanks Cyndi!
Very detailed, professional and always quick to respond. Highly recommended.
Response from the owner: Thanks Pam!!!
Response from the owner: Thanks Helen!
From the time they arrived to completion, they were very professional and helpful during the process. Would recommend to others.
Response from the owner: Thanks Mary Ellyn!!!
Had a great experience working with Estate Pros. Jonathan was fabulous to work with, very helpful and quick to respond. They helped our family clean up all the details of dealing with our mothers home. They were kind and efficient.
Response from the owner: Thanks Susan!
We used cleanout service. Very professional, helpful and thorough. Great service.Follow up, they came back to clean out the entire place and did a fabulous and thorough job
Response from the owner: Thanks Anita!
These guys were amazing. Fast, very courteous, very clean. Can’t recommend them enough!!
Response from the owner: Thanks Paul!
We just want to say, thank you to Jonathan and his crew for a smooth and effortless experience from start to finish of emptying out our Mom's condo. Incredible customer service from Jonathan, he informed us exactly how the process would go and he set us up to receive a tax credit for my mom. We just love the over all experience with Estate Pros.Thank You Jonathan,John & Sharon Huff
Response from the owner: Thanks John & Sharon!!!
Estate Pros is an excellent small business offering various estate services. Jonathan Tomlanovich knows his stuff and goes above and beyond for his customers, along with every member of his crew. From the initial consultation to scheduling, donations to clean out, Estate Pros did great and respectful work for me. The price was also very reasonable for the work performed. If you’re in need of an estate sale or other related services, I highly recommend them. 5/5.
Response from the owner: Thanks Josh!
We hired Estate Pros to facilitate the clearing out of our home. Jonathon recommended donating the goods to organizations that Estate Pros had relationships with like Habitat for Humanity and St Vincent de Paul. He said they would be able to clear the house out in one day and as a licensed appraiser would be able to help with the forms needed for tax purposes. The home was completely cleared out and spotless by the end of the day. The Estate Pros and Habitat for Humanity teams were very organized and professional and did a fantastic job. I highly recommend Estate Pros.
Response from the owner: Thanks Bob!
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Southeast Michigan Estate Sale Service Area

The Estate Pros have been proudly serving Oakland, Macomb and parts of Livingston, Genesee, Lapeer & Wayne counties for the past 15 years. No matter what your situation calls for, the Estate Pros are here to help!

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