What is an estate sale?

estate sale

Apr 18

As the weekend approached, I looked at my calendar to remind myself of appointments and events.

8a: Coffee with Leticia

10a: Estate Sale (?)

The question mark was indicidative to my perspective of an estate sale. What was it exactly. How did it work.

I had mapped out several estate sales that were taking place that weekend in Charlotte, none of which I attended. My lack of assurance was strong enough to keep me from shopping and trying them out. It would be another year or more before I made the leap to shopping at an estate sale.

In defining an estate sale, we can arrive at the description by looking at what an estate sale is NOT.

Estate sales are not an auction

In order to host an auction, a company must be licensed. Therein lies a huge distinction. There are no license or education required to start an estate sale company.

There are two other main differences between an estate sale and an auction.

Pricing
Inventory

The pricing at an auction is generally a minimum starting bid with increment price increases after a bid has been secured. With an estate sale, you either have priced items or unpriced items but you will not find yourself sitting in a lawn chair bidding on furnishings like farmers bid on cattle.

The other distinction is the inventory. Most auctioneers will group inventory into “lots”. The lots may have a general theme such as kitchen wares, handbags, tools, etc. During the auction process, buyers will bid on lots.

Estate sales are not yard sales

A yard sale takes place in the garage or along the exterior of a home with a limited supply of items for sale. The items may or may not be priced and the host is generally the homeowner who is looking to sell at a DEEP discount before donating to a local charity.

While there are similarities, the biggest distinction is the professionalism, the marketing, and the pricing. An estate sale is hosted by a third party company (in most cases) where there has been ample time to market and price and display the inventory to attract customers near and far.

Estate sales are not an antique mall

Antique malls offer curated collections of antique and collectibles for customers who are interested in items from an era gone by. While an estate sale may have a small selection of antique items available, it is also mixed with an array of everyday items such as clothing, books, movies, music, kitchenwares, and more.

What is an estate sale?

The aim of an estate sale is to clear the contents of a home, usually in the case of a downsize or the passing of a loved one. In all cases, the ownership of the home is in process of being transferred.

Sales are open to the general public and take place over the course of a weekend.

They are designed to liquidate personal belongings in an orderly fashion.

In most cases, everything is for sale within the “estate”. The family has moved the items they intend to keep and the estate liquidator comes in to handle the remaining items.

NOTE: Pure & Simple does not offer partial sales for individuals looking to downsize belongings but not move. In that case, the family is best served with our consignment service (more to come!).

Think of it like the Target shopping experience located inside a home. A customer browses the inventory, they gather what they like and checkout with cash or card. Voila - Target!

Our Approach to estate sales