The Biggest Misconception About Estate Sales
The estate sale industry is a unique blend of service providers. Some liquidators come at the business with a background in selling via antique malls & booths. Others are licensed auctioneers. And then there is a large majority of liquidators who backed into the service, much like ourselves.
While families have many options on who they hire to host a sale, there is one overarching misconception that plagues the decision making process.
βWe should make good money on the resell of all this stuff.β
The misconception lies within the constructs of what a family expects to make on the sell of the items within their home or a family memberβs home.
The estate liquidation industry is very unique in that this is a service that happens to sell inventory that helps offset the cost of the service.
Letβs break this down. If you hire a moving company to pack and move your items, then you are presented with a bill for that service. The company and the service are designed to assist someone with the need to move. There is no recuperation of money from the hiring of that service. The moving company isnβt selling things that come back as a credit to you, the client.
However, within the estate sale service, we are hired to clear the contents of a home in preparation to list the property on the real estate market. We are a simply step in the journey of selling a home, either during a downsize or after a loved one has passed.
The service is broad reaching with the main goal of clearing the property by way of selling the items stored within. How cool is that! This is one of the only industries that I can think of that offers a service that also allows you to recoup some if not all of the cost incurred.
Most families anticipate a check for the things that have been sold with little or no money spent out upfront.
There are still companies that operate this way. They will use taglines like βno money out of your pocketβ.
The old adage of βyou get what you paid forβ still holds true. If you arenβt paying for a service then at what level will that company be performing for you?
If you are looking to work with an estate liquidator who values marketing, thoroughness, attention to detail, and integrity, then I recommend reaching out to see if we are a great fit for your estate sale needs.
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Thrift w/me: part 6 at the Salvation Army Family Store in Gastonia, NC