How It Differs from a Yard Sale or a Garage Sale | The Services Offered by the Best Companies | What It Will Cost You
There’s a common misperception that estate sales are events that only happen when a person has died, that their purpose is to unload the “estate” of the deceased. While that certainly happens, estate sales are much more broadly used, most often when people are relocating to another part of the country or downsizing after children have left the family home. ‘
What Is an Estate Sale and How Does It Differ from a Yard Sale or a Garage Sale?
There are a number of ways that an estate sale will typically be distinguished from a yard/garage sale:
- Management of the sale—Estate sales are generally run by companies or individuals who are in the business of conducting large scale sales of household items. Yard and garage sales, on the other hand, are DIY affairs, operated by homeowners.
- Where the sale takes place—An estate sale almost always takes place inside the home, though it may include yard, garden or other outside merchandise
- What is being sold—Estate sales typically involve all or most of the household items, whereas yard and garage sales commonly include unused or unwanted items.
- Length of sale—Estate sales are commonly two-to-three-day events, whereas yard and garage sales are usually single day affairs.
What Can You Expect When You Have an Estate Sale?
Because the estate sale will be managed by a third party, it will be a bit more of a turnkey operation. Customarily, the estate sale company will ask you to remove from the home any items that you want to keep, so that the only merchandise remaining in the home is part of the sale.
The estate sale manager will typically come in some time before the scheduled sale to set it up. The best companies will tell you to simply leave things where they are…leave books in the bookcases, dishes in the cupboard, CDs and albums on the racks. Your estate sale manager bring in their own tables, if necessary, and will organize and price everything. They will typically tell you in advance if they don’t believe a certain item will sell.
With yard and garage sales, it’s common for people to show up very early and start rummaging through all the items. With an estate sale, though, only a certain number of people are allowed in the house at a given time. As people show up, they will be given numbers, and will then be allowed in the house when their number is called.
How Much Will the Sale Cost You?
Estate sale companies typically take a percentage of the sale proceeds, which commonly ranges from 30% to 50%. Most will have purchasers make checks payable to the estate sale company and will send you a check a few days after the sale.
The best estate sale companies typically employ what is known as a “sweeper,” someone who comes in after the sale is over and removes everything that did not sell, so that the home is completely empty. Many also offer a post-sale cleaning service.
