Estate Sales, Estate Liquidation and Selling Stuff.

Estate Sales, Estate Liquidation and Selling Stuff…

When it comes to antiques, collectibles and estate sales there are basically two kinds of people – those who want to buy and those who want to sell.

At best the relationship between these two groups is beneficial, but at their worst, they are adversarial.

As a professional estate liquidator, I have long recognized an obligation to provide my clients with as much useful information regarding the estate sales process as I can.

You might say that I feel this as an imperative, a mission, or a goal…

Last year millions of Americans searched for ways to sell their possessions.

Almost everyday with the possible exception of a few holidays, people are looking for the best way to sell, either a single item from an estate, or the entire contents of a home that they have inherited, or that they are moving from.

You may ask: “How do you know this?” And my answer would be that “I know this as a result of my experience being in the estate liquidation business!”

My phone rings at all times of the day – emails streaming into my mailbox seem to be on automatic pilot – I meet with clients in the morning, the afternoon and even sometimes late into the evening.

Here’s what everyone wants to know – “What do I do with my Stuff? Do my things have any value? How do I act responsibly for the estate – Should I do it myself?”

There does not seem to be a single book out there, that will teach and guide the estate liquidation consumer through the process of choosing which estate liquidation option will best serve the needs of their particular situation.

Most consumers looking for information about the estate liquidation or auction house process have to put that information together from many sources.

Let’s try to make that easier for you!

Here are your 5 basic options for selling personal or inherited property.

You Can:

1. Hire an estate liquidation company to conduct an estate sale for you.
2. Engage the services of an auction house.
3. Donate your property to a qualified charity.
4. Sell to a private dealer.
5. Conduct your own estate sale.

Lets examine each of these a bit…

Estate Sales: If you decide that you want a professional estate liquidator, do a local Google search for one in your area. For example, if you are in St. Louis type “St Louis estate liquidation” into your browsers search window. This will help you find all the estate liquidators in St. Louis. As an alternative, you can type “estate sales St. Louis.”

However you find an estate liquidator in your area, consider asking them the questions you will find by following this link. Estate Sales Questions.

Auction Houses: Auction house services are widely available across the country. Follow this link to find one in your area. NAA Find an Auctioneer. Consider a two tier approach if you have high end antiques – in other words, if you have some very valuable items, send those items to a larger auction house, and let your local auction house handle the rest. You also might want to read this article.

Donations: Generally, this option should be exercised after consulting with a CPA in order to determine whether there is a real need for a tax benefit to you or to the estate.

Also, you will need to have the estate appraised by a qualified appraiser – check out this ISA link to find an appraiser in your area.

Private Dealer Sales: This is your most expedient option. It will sell your item or even the entire contents of your home or estate very quickly.

It is also the option fraught with the most room for problems. Educate yourself with as much information as you can about the values of the items you wish to sell.

Remember that dealers need to double or triple their investment. This is the norm. It is perfectly within the realm of reason to do so. In fact most of them could not stay in business if they paid more.

Look for dealers or estate liquidators in your area who offer an estate buy-out service.

Conduct your own estate sale: If you choose to do your own estate sale, you should consider at the very least, having a qualified estate liquidator, or a trusted antique dealer look over your items to determine if any of them have significant value.

Here are 4 incredible research sites:

1. eBay advance search of completed items.
2. Artfact – past auction records for almost any kind of antique or collectible.
3. Silver Marks.
4. Art Price.

Martin Codina is the founder and president of Fine Estate Liquidation for the past 13 years he has actively and enthusiastically helped 100′s of clients reach their estate liquidation goals. Recently he also published a “Brilliant” Do It Yourself Estate Sales Guide.