Our approach to estate sales & the 3 things we focus on

estate sale

Jun 6

While each estate sale project is unique and different, our approach to setting them up never waivers. Throughout the years, we have found that the three key areas make a huge difference when setting up and preparing for an estate sale.

#1: Donating Before The Estate Sale

Our motto is “keep the best and donate the rest”. It seems counterintuitive to donate household items and furniture BEFORE you have a chance to sell it. However, some things just don’t belong in an estate sale. Chipped dishware and stained towels are two that come to mind.

During our first week of estate sale prep, we sort each room identifying what to sell and what to donate. Some items are donated to food pantries or rehabilitation facilities or animal shelters. Others go to larger charities that will sell wares in a thrift store to raise funds for their ministries.

While we usually the make the donation round more than once, our goal is to give the best stuff space to shine. Too many things to look at for customers can lead to overwhelm and decision fatigue, so we strive to do the work for them in advance.

I believe our customers appreciate it. :)

#2: Pricing

If you have been to one of our estate sales, then you will know that each and every item is tagged and priced. The simple philosophy behind this is that you know how much an item is when you shop at Target or Walmart. We believe estate sales are no different.

It makes a lot of work for customers to ask over and over, “how much is this?”

It also makes a lot of work for the liquidator to price thousands of items on the fly. ;)

Again, we put the time and effort into pricing each item before the sale ever happens. This makes shopping pleasant and enjoyable for customers and the sale run smooth for us. :)

This also allows us to identify items of worth before customers arrive. While we try to price attractively, it is still very important that we don’t price too low, most especially those items of value. Families don’t need to hire someone to give their things away, they can do that themselves.

I’ve shared this story before, but I’ll share it with you today.

One day I stopped by an estate sale to browse the selection and to look around the house. The garage was full of items big and small and the liquidator was busy pricing on the fly and taking payment. I took my time and looked around at the unique wares, when I happened to spot an obelisk desk clock. I don’t know much about clocks but this one seemed interesting enough so I pulled out my phone and checked it’s value on eBay.

A quick sort later and the clock appeared to be worth $200. Given that it wasn’t priced, I shuffled over to the staff to inquire. “$2 for the clock”, she said.

Sold!

While that clock would not have been worth $200 in a small local estate sale, even $50 would have been a better price and a better service to the family, than $2.

#3: Organizing

I simply cannot NOT organize. I do it without hesitation. And I simply love it. Organizing is my favorite past time that I have been blessed enough to utilize in our business and service.

Some liquidators understand the value of an organized inventory and some don’t. Both ways are fine. :) I prefer the first.

Each and every sale is organized to the best of our ability. We sort and group similar items together such as lightbulbs, tools, entertaining pieces, and the like. Once all the categories are married together, we consider one, the space we have to display and two, how can we group these items to encourage customers to purchase.

For example, we will bundle together all AAA batteries, or a medley of tools, and an entire set of flatware. The opposite of this decision would be to price and sell items individually. While not my cup of tea, I do know others have success with that route.

If you are interested in shopping one of our estate sales, I recommend becoming an INSIDER. We email our insiders weekly with tips and stories on thrifting, estate sales, and reselling, but we ALWAYS let them know about sales, private events, and promotions first. :)

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