How Does an Estate Sale Work?

Hiring a Professional

Estate sales happen because of family deaths, divorces, moving, and bankruptcy. This is a troubling and upsetting time for families and the last thing they want to do is handle the selling of their loved ones estate. It is beneficial for them to hire a professional to handle the selling of their estate so they can focus on the family. The professional is also better at pricing items as they are not influenced by emotions and how much sentimental value the object has. The professional is also well educated on how to appraise and price antiques. The professional is also better at making sales which brings in more money. The professional is either paid a set fee or a percentage of the sale money collected. This is determined ahead of time between the family and the professional.

Getting Ready for the Sale

The estate sale representative will need to spend a few days getting the estate ready for the sale. He or she will have to go up in the attic and down in to the basementt and find every last item to sell. Then the representative must decide on prices for all of the items and tag them so that potential buyers are clear about how much the items cost. The representative then picks the dates to hold the sale and places some ads in local papers. Signs are placed up along the nearby streets pointing the way to the sale. The whole process takes one week to complete with the exception that some advertising is done in advance.

The Sale

The sale is usually held for three days. Most often this is over a weekend when potential buyers are off from work. The first two days the items are sold for the price on the tags. The last day of the sale the items are reduced to get as many of them sold as possible. If the family agrees, the estate sale professional can accept less for an item if offered. This is more like a yardsale and most likely won't happen until the third and final day. The professional may instruct the buyer to come back on the third day and if the item is not sold, he will be given the item for less money. The buyer may also just leave his or her phone number. That way the professional can give him a call when the sale is over if the item didn't sell.

After the Sale

It is the estate professional's job to clean up after the sale and make sure all items are taken care of. Sometimes an estate professonal will make arrangements to sell the rest of the belongings to a wholesaler. Other times the estate professional will donate the left over items to charity. The family of the estate will ultimately instruct the professional as to what to do with the leftovers, but it is the professional's job to carry out the instructions until the estate is empty and clean.