If you just need a house emptied and don't care about the value of the items or how they're handled, Diane might be fine. But if you want a professional estate sale that maximizes value and treats items with care and respect, I would strongly recommend looking elsewhere.
Our family had a very disappointing experience with Diane's estate sale service. Here's why:
1. Items were heavily discounted before the public sale even started.
Large items were listed online and reduced by 25%-50% before Day 1 of the actual sale being open to the public. We expected a standard pricing approach: full price Day 1, some discounts on Day 2, and larger markdowns on Day 3. Instead, everything was marked down from day 1: example, a china cabinet marked at $60, was 50% off on the very first day of the public sale. A set of 12 goblets priced at $2, plus 1/2 off (on the first day).
2. Poor advertising and visibility.
On the first day of the public sale, there were no signs on the busy main road or nearby corners--just a couple in front of the house. When asked about this, Diane said the sale was for "friends, family, and loyal customers." But our family had already taken what they wanted, so it wasn't clear who the sale was really for cause it wasn't for our friends, family, that's for sure.
3. Mishandling of leftover items.
We asked for unsold items to be left so we could review what remained. Instead, we found garbage bags and "donation" boxes.Here are just a few examples of what we found.
Inside the garbage, we discovered:
New fabric, a brand-new nightgown, and unexpired canned food
Working electronics and knives tossed into trash bags (unsafe and unrecycled)
Wrapping paper, cardboard, and recyclable items placed in the garbage instead of recycling bins
Many of these items could have easily gone to donation centers or been responsibly recycled. It showed a lack of care and organization in the cleanout process.
4. Additional issues.
It appeared Diane used the house to store unrelated sale items, turning it into a makeshift warehouse. This felt unprofessional and disrespectful.
Bottom line: This was not the estate sale service we were promised. Items were undervalued, the sale wasn't properly advertised, and the handling of leftovers was careless. We trusted Diane with our loved one's belongings and were left feeling disrespected and disappointed. read more