Frequently Asked Questions
Why should I hire an Estate Sale Professional?
Hiring an estate professional is an important decision and should take the stress out of liquidating or downsizing an estate. Estate Sales are not Garage Sales, but they are also not retail sales. The goal is to get the highest value possible for our clients and provide peace of mind with every situation. An Estate Sale Professional evaluates every item in the home and prepares them for sale. A garage sale typically only sells a small number of items for the lowest price. We take on the details so that you don't have to worry.
Are you licensed & insured?
Yes, we are licensed as a business in the state of Oregon and carry insurance through a reputable company. We are happy to provide our certificate of insurance to all of our clients.
How much do your services cost?
First of all, we never charge for consultations! You deserve to evaluate companies for free and determine the one that best suits your needs. We hope you’ll choose us. We offer fair and competitive rates. For most clients, we charge a basic 40% earnings fee (sometimes a bit more, sometimes a bit less). For example, this means we set-up, conduct the sale and collect 40% of the sales total earnings as our compensation. We then provide you with a check for the 60% balance minus any additional fees, along with a comprehensive accounting of charges. We don’t typically track and record every item sold, however, we are happy to work with you if you would like to know what a particular item sold for. Additional fees apply to the following services: set-up fee (large or complex sales), advertising (beyond basic signage), clean-out, dumpster and dump fees, cleaning service, consignment fees (where applicable). Every estate is different and we customize a proposal based on your needs.
What about items our family wants to keep?
Depending on the estate's rules or executor, families typically remove wanted items or sensitive documents before an estate sale professional evaluates the estate for a sale. Once we provide a consultation we ask that items not be removed. We base our estimate for services on the items we evaluated. Sometimes when we are setting up for a sale, we discover items our clients weren't even aware of. We always disclose those items before a sale starts so that the estate owners can decide whether they'd like those items included in the sale.