Whatever you want to call it - Estate Sale, Tag Sale, Garage Sale, Clean out, Moving, Auction or Downsizing, it all comes down to the same - stuff you no longer need and want to get rid of.
When it came time to decide what to do with my Mother and Brother's belonging (both have passed) there was no way I was going to run a sale on my own. I went online to EstateSale.com and filled out the information/request form to work with a company to assist setting up a sale. After being contacted by several, I decided to work with Alex Daich from Certified Estate Specialists. When Alex came to the house, I found him pleasant, honest, professional and upfront about what to expect. The standard sale was two days with an option of an additional day with a fee. After a day I called and added the day.
Several days before the actual sale Alex came to the house with 3 crewmembers and started to stage and price some of the items. Any jewelry and sentimental items were removed prior to the sale. The entire group was respectful to me, took care with the belongings and the emotional toll it was taking out on me. Before they left Alex gave a few pointers for the day of the sale. One was don't answer the bell until he gets there! He said Estate buyers are an eclectic group and will do anything to get the first look. And yes it does happen - a woman caught my husband as he walked to the front of the house asking to use the restroom. He being understanding let her into the apartment - she spent more time looking around than the 10 seconds she was in the bathroom!
It was recommended that I did not stick around during the sale which I gladly accepted. As the day went I would look out the 2nd floor and watch people leave with arms full of things. My thoughts were these items were not going to the landfill and will be used again. At the end of each day Alex and I would "settle up". For the honesty issue - one of Alex's crew found a box with filled with dimes in the amount of $320.00. He could have walked out with it but did not. He knocked on the door and handed it to me. I had no idea of the coin stash!
So trying hard to make this short and sweet:
1. I would highly recommend Certified Estate Specialist
2. How and why certain items are priced is still a mystery to me. Things I thought would sell didn't and things I thought would be left behind was sold. Keep in mind you'll never get back what you paid for unless you have a Rembrandt hanging in your living room.
3. Anyone who is thinking of having a sale - not everything is going to sell. Yes I wished everything would be sold but let's face reality. Think of the term - Supply and Demand. I had the supply but you can't drag people in for the demand. And yes Alex did advertise the sale, online, signs and his contact list. He had even offered another day and wasn't going to charge the additional fee. I decided not to and have been boxing what is left and donating to Goodwill.
4. Anyone is who thinking about buying a used item - regardless of what it is - do your research, check the item thoroughly, check if it works and if any parts are missing. I doubt any tag sales have a return policy.
5. And for those of you who think paying $40 for something that is priced at $300 is authentic, I have a bridge for sale. It's called Brooklyn. read more