Questions to Ask an Estate Sale Company
For an heir, an executor or a homeowner who is downsizing and is meeting two or three estate sale companies before handing one of them the keys. The questions follow the order of that meeting: the company itself, how things are priced and what is held back, advertising, the sale days, commission and the contract, and then unsold items, clean-out and payment. Licensing, sales tax and an executor's authority to sell differ from place to place, so several questions ask how it works where the house is.
The questions
Each question, and why to ask it
The company
Is there enough in this house for a sale, and what would you suggest if there is not?
Why ask it
Many companies have a minimum they expect a house to bring before they will take it on, so find out what theirs is and roughly where this house lands against it. The alternatives worth hearing about are an online auction, a buyout, consignment of the better pieces, or a sale shared with another household. A company that says yes to every house without opening a cupboard has not really answered.
How long have you been running estate sales, and how many do you hold in a typical year?
Why ask it
A company that runs sales most weekends has a following of regular shoppers, and that crowd is a large part of what you are paying for. Ask how many of those sales were in homes about the size of this one. A newer company is not ruled out, but it should be able to name recent sales you can look up.
Can we walk through a sale you have running this month?
Why ask it
Nothing tells you more than an hour spent there as a shopper. Look at whether things are clean, priced and grouped sensibly, how staff speak to buyers, and whether anyone is watching the small valuables. A company that discourages the visit has told you something.
Can we speak with two or three families you worked for in the past year?
Why ask it
Put the same three points to each one: did the money arrive when promised, did the accounting make sense, and how was the house left. If you live far from the house, ask for a family who did too, because how well they were kept informed from a distance is the part that will matter to you.
What insurance do you carry, and can you send us the certificates?
Why ask it
Ask separately about liability if a shopper is hurt, cover for damage to the house, and cover for the workers themselves. Have the certificates sent by the insurer or the agent, not as a photo of an old one. Then call the home's own insurer and ask what it expects during a public sale, especially if the house is standing empty.
Are you licensed or bonded, and is either required for estate sales here?
Why ask it
Rules for this trade vary a great deal from place to place, and some areas have no specific license at all. Ask what applies locally, then check it yourself with the city, county or state office. A company that says it is bonded should be able to give you a bond number to verify.
Who would actually be in the house setting up and running our sale?
Why ask it
The person at the kitchen table is often the owner, while the pricing and the sale days are handled by a crew. Get the name of whoever leads that crew, how long the team has worked together and whether the owner is on site each day. These are the people who will hold the keys.
Are the people who work your sales your own employees, and do you run background checks on them?
Why ask it
Strangers will be opening every drawer in the house, often with nobody from the family present. Regular staff the owner has known for years and casual help hired for the weekend are different levels of risk, so find out which you would be getting. Whose insurance answers if a worker is hurt can turn on how they are employed, and the rules differ by place, so put that to the company and to the home's insurer.
Do you belong to an estate sale trade group, and does it have a code of ethics you work to?
Why ask it
Membership proves little by itself, but a written code gives you something to point to if there is a dispute later. Ask which parts of that code they think matter most to a family. The answer shows whether they have read it.
How soon could you hold the sale, and how many days do you need in the house beforehand?
Why ask it
Give them your real deadline: a closing date, a lease ending, a court timetable. Setup often takes longer than families expect, because every cupboard is emptied, sorted and priced. If their calendar and your deadline do not fit, this meeting is the time to find out.
What do you need from us before you start setting up?
Why ask it
The usual list is keys, alarm and gate codes, and the power, water and heating or cooling left on through the last sale day. Utilities are often shut off early to save the estate money, and that hurts the sale: shoppers want to see a lamp light up or an appliance run before they pay. Write down who received each key and code, and the date they come back.
Several of us have a say in this estate. Who would you take instructions from?
Why ask it
Sales stall when three siblings each call with different wishes. Agree on one contact person in the family and tell the company who it is. If you are acting as executor or under a power of attorney, ask what proof of authority the company wants to see, and confirm with the estate's lawyer that you are free to sell before you sign anything.
Pricing and holdbacks
How do you decide what each item is priced at?
Why ask it
Listen for a method: recent sold prices, their own records from past sales, reference guides for particular makers. If the only answer is 'experience', press for what that experience is checked against. Pick one object in the room and have them price it in front of you, with the reasoning.
What do you do when you come across something you cannot value yourselves?
Why ask it
Art, jewelry, coins, watches, rare books and some instruments need a specialist, and no company is expert in all of them. Find out who they call, whether that person charges, and whether that person is ever also the buyer. For anything that might be significant, an opinion from someone with nothing to gain is worth requesting.
Which pieces here would do better at auction, on consignment or online than in a house sale?
Why ask it
A house sale reaches local shoppers over one weekend, and some things deserve a wider audience. A company that names a few pieces to send elsewhere is thinking about your return and not only its own sale. The follow-up is what commission applies to items sold that way and who pays for packing and transport.
Can we set a minimum price on a few things, and what happens if they do not reach it?
Why ask it
Many companies will accept a short list of reserves and push back on a long one, since whatever misses its reserve comes back to you. Keep the list to the handful of things you would sooner keep than see go cheaply, and have it attached to the contract.
How do discounts work over the course of the sale, and who can agree to a lower price on the day?
Why ask it
Many sales cut prices on a set schedule, often steeply on the last day. Get that schedule in writing, along with any items that are exempt from it. The other half of the answer is who may haggle on the first morning, when the keenest buyers are in the room and a discount is least needed.
Do you, your staff or their relatives ever buy from the sales you run?
Why ask it
This is the conflict of interest question, and it deserves a direct answer. If the person setting a price can also be the buyer, a low price suits them. Policies range from a flat no to buying only at the marked price once the public has had its turn, and whichever it is should be written into the contract.
Do you sell anything to dealers or regular customers before the doors open to the public?
Why ask it
Early sales to favored buyers can remove the best pieces before anyone has competed for them. Some families are comfortable with a pre-sale if the full marked price is paid and recorded. Decide which you want and say so, because silence tends to be read as permission.
Would you ever bring items from other houses into our sale?
Why ask it
Some companies top up a thin sale with outside stock. It can draw more shoppers, but it muddles the accounting and puts strangers' belongings in your family home. Where it is allowed, those items need their own tags and their own line in the statement, kept out of your totals.
What should we take out of the house before you start, and what should we leave exactly where it is?
Why ask it
The usual request is to remove what the family is keeping and discard nothing, because the things families throw out often sell: old tools, kitchenware, linens, costume jewelry, postcards and letters. Ask before you fill a single trash bag. Settle who is keeping what among the heirs first, since pulling an item back after the sale has been advertised causes trouble with buyers and with the company.
If something we are keeping has to stay in the house, how do you make sure it is not sold?
Why ask it
A locked room is the safest arrangement, and a 'not for sale' sign on an open shelf is the weakest. See whether they can work around one closed-off room or closet, and who holds its key. Photograph whatever you leave behind that way.
What happens when your crew finds cash, documents, photographs or jewelry tucked away?
Why ask it
Houses hide things in coat pockets, books, freezers and the backs of drawers. You want to hear that everything personal or valuable is set aside and handed to you, with no decision by the crew about what counts. Ask for an example of something they returned to a family.
Is there anything here you cannot or will not sell, such as firearms, vehicles, alcohol, medicines or chemicals?
Why ask it
The rules on selling several of these differ by place, and some may call for a licensed dealer or a title transfer. Go through each one that is in this house and ask how it would be handled and who is responsible for it. Do not assume it will simply be taken care of.
Advertising
Where will the sale be advertised, and how far ahead?
Why ask it
Have them name the listing sites, their own email list, the social media pages and the street signs. Then look up one of their current listings and judge it as a shopper would. A listing that appears two days before the doors open has had little time to work.
How many people are on your mailing list, and how many usually come through on a first day?
Why ask it
You cannot verify the figures, but how they are given is informative: a company that tracks its turnout answers quickly and specifically. Set the claim against what you saw at the sale you visited.
Who takes the photographs, and how many will the listing have?
Why ask it
Shoppers decide from the pictures whether the drive is worth it. Look for clear shots of individual items and close-ups of makers' marks, not wide views of crowded rooms. The best pieces belong at the front of the listing, so find out who chooses the order.
When will the address be published, and will the photographs show anything that identifies the family?
Why ask it
Many companies hold the street address back until a day or so before the sale, which matters when a house is unoccupied. Framed portraits, names on certificates and mail on a counter can all end up in a wide shot. Say whether you want the family name used in the advertising or kept out of it.
Do you put up street signs, and do you check what the city or the homeowners association allows?
Why ask it
Signs bring in passing trade, and where they are restricted they also bring complaints and fines. Settle who answers for it if a notice arrives, and whether the sale itself needs a permit where the house is. If the home is in a managed community or a building with its own rules, tell the company now.
Sale days
How many days will the sale run, and what are the hours?
Why ask it
Two or three days is a common length, and the first morning tends to be the busiest. Have them explain the recommendation for this house and not for sales in general. A longer sale is not always a better one: the final day mostly moves what is left at a discount.
How do you manage the line outside and the number of people inside at once?
Why ask it
Numbers handed out at the curb, a sign-up sheet and a first-come line each suit a different street, and each needs someone on the door counting shoppers in. A packed house is where things get broken and pocketed. The right number inside depends on the rooms, so have them say what they would do in these ones.
How many staff will be working, and where will each of them stand?
Why ask it
One person at the cash table and one roaming is not enough for a full house on two floors. Ask for a number per floor and whether someone stays at the exit. Compare it with the head count at the sale of theirs you visited.
How do you protect jewelry, coins and other small valuables?
Why ask it
Expect to hear about locked cases near the checkout, pieces shown one at a time, and a staff member who does nothing else. Ask where those things spend the night between sale days. If the best pieces leave the house overnight, ask how that is recorded.
What happens if something is stolen or broken during the sale?
Why ask it
Small losses are a known hazard of opening a house to the public, so the real question is who bears them. Find out what the contract makes the company responsible for and whether its insurance has ever paid a family for a loss. Read that clause yourself before signing.
Which rooms and areas will be closed to shoppers, and how?
Why ask it
Attics, basements with steep stairs and garages with chemicals are the usual ones, closed for the shoppers' safety as much as for security. Tape across a doorway is a suggestion, while a locked door or a staff member standing there is a barrier. Walk the house together and mark each closed area on a sketch that stays with the contract.
How will you protect the house itself: floors, walls, stair rails and the yard?
Why ask it
This matters most when the house is about to be listed or is already under contract. The details to get are floor coverings, who carries heavy furniture out, and whether buyers may bring their own movers. Take dated photographs of each room before setup begins.
What forms of payment do you take, and who carries the cost of card fees and bad checks?
Why ask it
Card fees can be passed to the buyer, absorbed by the company or taken out of your proceeds, and you want to know which. A check that bounces raises the same point. Cash is the third part: how it is counted, by whom, and where it goes at the end of each day.
Do you collect and send in sales tax, and under whose name?
Why ask it
Whether tax applies to an estate sale, and who has to register for it, depends on where the house is. The company should know the local answer without hesitating. Confirm it with the estate's accountant, since an unpaid tax bill is a poor thing for an executor to discover afterwards.
Should the family be at the sale, or stay away?
Why ask it
Many companies ask relatives to stay away, and it is often kinder to yourself: watching strangers haggle over a parent's things is hard. Family in the room can also make buyers shy about bargaining. If you want to see it, a short visit before the doors open is the usual compromise.
How will you deal with parking and the neighbors?
Why ask it
A busy sale can fill a street by early morning. Good answers cover telling the neighbors beforehand, keeping driveways clear and keeping the line off other people's lawns. A word from you to the people next door a week ahead costs nothing and heads off the complaint call.
Will you let us know how each day went before the next one opens?
Why ask it
A short message each evening with the day's total and anything notable, a big piece sold or something broken, is a reasonable thing to request. It matters most to an heir who lives far away and has no other way of knowing. Keep those messages and set them against the final statement when it arrives.
Fees and contract
What is your commission, and what is it a percentage of?
Why ask it
The figure means little until you know the base: gross sales, or sales after expenses have come off. Ask whether the rate changes with the size of the sale or for high-value pieces. Get every company to quote in the same terms so the offers can be compared.
What charges come on top of the commission?
Why ask it
Go through them one at a time: advertising, setup labor, tables and display cases, security, card processing, trash removal, cleaning. Some companies fold everything into the commission and others bill each item. A written estimate of the total, with a ceiling, is what lets you compare.
Do we pay anything up front, or does everything come out of the proceeds?
Why ask it
A deposit or a setup fee paid before the sale is your money at risk if the date slips or the company folds. Where one is charged, find out what it covers, whether it is credited against the commission and when it would be refunded. An arrangement where the company is paid only out of what it sells keeps its interest lined up with yours.
Is there a minimum fee, and what would we owe if the sale brought in very little?
Why ask it
A minimum protects the company on a poor sale, and on a modest house it can swallow most of the proceeds. Have them work an example with a low total so you see the worst case. That is the number to weigh against the cost of simply donating and clearing.
From what you have seen, what do you think the sale will bring, and what would we be left with?
Why ask it
Any figure is an estimate and an honest company will say so. Even so, a range with the fees taken off shows how they think and gives you something to plan around. Be wary of the highest estimate among the companies you meet, since it costs nothing to say.
Would your rate change if we did some of the work ourselves, such as sorting or clearing what is left?
Why ask it
Some companies will shave the rate for a house that arrives sorted, or take the clean-out off the package. Others would much rather the family touched nothing, with reason: well-meant sorting throws away things that sell. Raise it before you lift a box, because the discount is not offered afterwards.
What would it cost us to cancel after signing, or to pull items once you have started pricing?
Why ask it
Days of labor go into setup before a dollar comes in, so many contracts charge for a late withdrawal. Know the amount and the date from which it applies. It matters if the house sells sooner than expected or an heir changes their mind about a piece.
Can we take the contract away and have someone read it before we sign?
Why ask it
Check that it states the sale dates, the commission and every fee, the reserve list, the staff purchase policy, who bears loss and damage, what happens to unsold items, and the payment date. Anything promised across the table that is not on the page should be added. An executor may want the estate's lawyer to look it over.
After the sale
What happens to whatever does not sell?
Why ask it
The choices are usually a return to the family, donation, a bulk buyer, consignment or disposal. What matters is who decides, and whether you get to look over what is left first. Make sure the default is not that the remainder quietly becomes the company's.
If you or a dealer buy out the remainder, how is that price set, and does commission come off it?
Why ask it
A buyout clears a house fast and tends to pay very little. Insist on hearing the offer before it is accepted and on seeing it as its own line in the final accounting. Where the company itself is the buyer, apply the same caution as with staff purchases.
Can you arrange donation, and will we get a receipt listing what was given?
Why ask it
Find out which charities they use and whether those collect from the house. Tell the company whose name should go on the receipt, yours or the estate's. Whether it is any use at tax time is a question for an accountant.
If you clear the house afterwards, what does 'empty' mean to you, and what does it cost?
Why ask it
Definitions run from 'furniture gone' to swept floors with nothing left in the attic, garage or shed. Paint, chemicals, old appliances and anything the trash service will not take are where the definitions part. If a buyer or a landlord expects the house in a particular state by a particular date, put both in the contract.
How soon after the last day will the house be completely clear?
Why ask it
Buyers collecting large pieces, the donation truck and the haulers all need days. Get a date and work back from your closing or handover. Pass it to the real estate agent so that photographs and showings are not booked into the gap.
When will we be paid, and how?
Why ask it
You are after a number of days from the close of the sale, written into the contract. The other detail is who the check is made out to: if you are an executor, the estate's lawyer can tell you whether it should go to the estate's account and not to you personally. Vagueness about the date is a reason to press.
What record of the sales will we receive with the payment?
Why ask it
The most useful version is an itemized list for the higher-priced pieces and totals by day for everything else, with each fee shown as its own line. A statement from a past sale, with the names removed, shows what you would get. An executor should file it with the estate's papers in case a beneficiary or a court later asks how the contents were sold.
How to choose an estate sale company
Practical guidance for the conversation itself
Before anyone comes to the house
Do not clear anything yet
The instinct is to tidy up and fill a dumpster. Leave the drawers, the garage and the cupboards as they are until a company has walked through. What looks like clutter is often what a sale is made of, and a house that has been picked over may no longer be worth a company's time.
Settle the family's keeping list first
Have every heir say what they want, and get those things out or at least agreed in writing before the first appointment. A company bases its offer on what it sees. Removing the best furniture after the walk-through changes the deal and sours the start.
Check who has the authority to sell
When the owner has died, whoever signs needs the legal right to sell the contents, and when that right begins depends on where you live and how the estate is set up. Ask the estate's lawyer before booking a sale date. When the owner is alive and moving, the owner signs, or the person acting for them does.
Know your dates
Write down the closing date, the end of the lease or the day the house goes on the market. Every company will ask, and the answer decides whether a full sale, an online auction or a quick buyout is realistic.
During the walk-through
Meet at the house, and open everything
An estimate given over the phone is a guess. Let them see the attic, the basement, the garage and the insides of closets, because that is where the volume is. Notice which company opens drawers and which only glances at the furniture.
Ask the conflict questions out loud
Staff purchases, early sales to dealers and buyouts of the remainder are where a family's interest and a company's can part. Good companies are used to being asked and answer without bristling. Discomfort at the question is worth writing down.
Test them on one object
Choose something you already know about, a watch with its paperwork or a signed print, and ask what they would do with it. You are checking less for the price than for whether they look for a mark, mention a specialist or admit they would need to research it.
Keep your hoped-for figure to yourself
Let each company name its estimate before you mention what you hope for or what a rival said. A figure offered cold is more honest than one shaped to beat a number already on the table.
Setting two or three offers side by side
Run one sale total through each offer
Take a single plausible total and apply every company's commission, minimum and extra charges to it. The lowest percentage is often not the largest check once advertising, labor and hauling have been added.
Compare the state the house is left in
One offer may end with an empty, swept house and another with a garage full of leftovers and a hauling bill. Add the cost of clearing to the cheaper offer before you decide it is cheaper.
Give weight to the sale you visited
What you saw as a shopper outranks what you were told as a client. Tidy tables, legible price tags, a watched jewelry case and a calm line show how your own sale would be run.
When a full sale is not the answer
If every company hesitates, listen. A smaller household may do better with a few pieces consigned, an online auction run from the house, or donation and a clearance crew. Ask each company which route it would take if the house belonged to its own family.
Before you sign and hand over the keys
A contract that leaves out the money
Commission, every extra charge, the minimum and the payment date belong on the page as figures. 'Standard rates' and 'shortly after the sale' are not terms you can hold anyone to.
Silence on loss, damage or unsold goods
These three are the usual sources of argument afterwards. If the contract says nothing about one of them, ask for a sentence to be added before you sign, in whatever words you both accept.
A date that is only held if you sign now
Calendars do fill, and it is fair for a company to say another family is asking about the same weekend. Losing that weekend costs you a week or two. Signing a contract you have not read can cost a good deal more, so keep the other appointments.
Keys handed over with the paperwork still inside
Before setup, take dated pictures of every room and of anything valuable. Remove personal papers, medicines, bank records and anything with an account number on it. Agree in writing who holds the keys and alarm codes and when they come back.