What should estate owner do before first meeting with Estate Sale Company?

They should get together with the family and have them decide what they want from the estate. This property should be removed ASAP.
Decide on the goals for the estate sale. Are you more concerned with the most revenue, having an empty house, empty house, control of the sale, reserve pricing or anything else important. I will add if you are a control freak, it would be better to do the sale yourself or find another company.

I have dealt with several control freaks in business liquidations and always the same results. I get stressed, lose a lot of money due to poor decisions by owner and on top of it the owner is not happy with the results of the sale.

Do not trash anything unless obvious trash. Some estate companies have found lots of good saleable items thrown away. Also, do not box stuff up or take to a storage area. This will result in more labor for the estate company and less money for you.

Reserve Pricing is fine, if done in moderation. It should be on the more expensive items with higher demand. Sentimental value means nothing to the shoppers in the sale.

I have seen a few reserve prices that were way too high especially for electronics. First, the electronic does not come with a warranty which a shopper can get for new items or a pawn shop. If you set a reserve price too high, the shopper may not know what a lot of stuff will sell for, but the perception will many of the items in the sale are overpriced. TV’s and Monitors are the biggest issues with electronics.

Walmart does an excellent job with pricing perception. Many people think they are the lowest on everything, which is not true.
Bulky items like furniture, organs, and pianos may cost you extra if they do not sell. About 10% of the time, will a piano or organ sell and even difficult to donate.

Furniture can be tough also, because almost every estate sale has plenty of furniture for sale. I have noticed most pieces sell at the 50% off price, if at all. Part of it is due to the glut of the same furniture in the market, plus too many companies start too high with the initial price, unless it is a high demand item. I have seen the online auctions for furniture for items normally listed in an estate sale for $125-$175 sell for $40-$75.

One last thing that can help any estate sale company if you know the price paid for higher ticket items or seen it somewhere for a certain price, let the estate company know. You should put this on paper and give to the company you select. While the price for the estate sale may be much lower than these prices, they will likely spend more time researching these to make sure they have the right price.

Once you have selected an estate sale company, they should take care of most everything. You should have a clean and empty house and get a check in a timely manner from the sale.

What should estate owner do before first meeting with Estate Sale Company- Resources

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How do estate sales work? If you’re pondering this question, you are probably faced with a house full of stuff that was once owned by a recently deceased family member.

Preparing For an Estate Sale Consultation * Poof! Estate Services Inc.
Thinking about having an estate sale but are unsure how to prepare the home for interviewing companies? Here are some simple tips to ensure you and the home are ready! Don’t donate anything – Why do the extra work to declutter?