Estate Liquidations by Leigh Shell

I need to hire an Estate Sale Company. Navigating the process of emptying the home of a loved one can be overwhelming. Every time you enter the home, your mind and heart are flooded with many memories and emotions making the task at hand more challenging.Here is a checklist I hope will give you some clarity and direction as you begin this process. Completing this checklist before you contact a liquidator will allow you to have a more effective meeting on  your initial consult appointment. What is your fee structure and what should I expect? I typically review our pricing during the initial in person consultation.  However,in the interest of  transparency, I  am sharing this information here to help you make an informed decision when selecting the right estate sale company.  The initial conultation is complimentary and our standard fee is  35% of total sales revenue. Every estate  is unique and we will address any special circimstances at the time of consultation. We only conduct 12-14 estate sales a year, so we cannot accept every sale we view.   You can expect to be paid 5 days following the conclusion of your estate sale. We do not keep your unsold merchandise, but work to facilitae your wishes with remaining items following the conclusion of the sale.  How do I get started?   1. Remove all prescription and over the counter medicines. 2. Remove all personal and family photographs. 3. Remove all financial documents, check books and credit cards. 4. Clean and remove  food from the freezer, refrigerator, and pantry. 5. Consign or donate modern clothing and shoes. We do sell vintage clothing, purses and other accessories.  6. Most importantly, remove or clearly mark items the family or heirs wish to keep. How long does it take to prepare an estate sale? On average, preparing  a home for an estate sale  can take as little as two weeks or up to 4 weeks.  This set up  process includes  pricing every item, washing  the china and crystal, polishing the silver, organizing and grouping like items  together, and light housework during the process.   What kind of lead time is required for an estate sale? This is difficult to predict, as some seasons we are booked months in advance and at other times we will be available to start work within a week. Give me a call at 850-516-6090 and I  can let you know how our schedule looks.  How will people find out  about our estate sale? We  employ a multiprong approach to advertising  our sales.   1. We use EstateSales.net, a national advertising website that notifies suscriblers of upcoming estate sales in their area.   2. Social Media bursts on Instagram and Facebook highlight items in an upcoming sale as well as provides reminders of sale hours and locations.  3.  I send an announcement to my customers via email and include a link to our website.  4. During  the course the sale, I will post a detailed description and 100 to 200 pictures on my website for customers to enjoy.  5.  I have a large feather flag that reads "Estate Sale" that we place in front of the home and when not prohibited by local  ordinances we place signs to direct local traffic to sale location.

Help! I have Never Shopped an Estate Sale, What do I need to know? Shopping Estate Sales is a lot of fun!  You can not only save money buying pre owned items, you also find one of a kind treasures. Here are a few tips to help you feel more comfortable.  Check the sales hours, there is nothing worse than arriving 5 minutes before closing and not having enough time to shop.Our hours are 8:30 AM to 2:30 PM Friday and Saturday. On Larger sales we have special Thursday hours. Items sold at an estate sale are "where is as is". no guarantee or warranty is offered so examine items before purchasing. Refunds are not offered at Estate sales We accept cash and checks. We do not accept debit cards or credit cards. Come prepared with cash or your checkbook with identification. We do not sell advertised items in advance of the sale. If you see something you like get in line before we open to increase the odds you get what you want. We operate on a  first come , first served basis. on occasion the person ahead of you in line may get to "your " item first. If you have to have an item you are eager to buy, we recommend arriving earlier to be first in line. We provide large totes for shopping, please leave large purses and backpacks in your car.  If you place an item in our sold area, you have agreeed to purchase it.  As a courtesy to our customers, we have nice new shopping bags for your purchases. We try to have plenty of wrapping materials on hand, however it is a good idea to have some in your car just incase we run out. If you wish to purchase a large item, find one of our associates in the black and white aprons and they will mark it sold for you. We love the cheerful attitudes our customers have, it is contagious! When we first open, we have a big rush of customers and you may have to wait in line to check out. Our cashiers are the best and keep the line moving. They love it when you compliment how efficient they are. I mean really, they ring up an average of 10-20 items of all shapes and sizes, wrap and bag it all for you in record time. Saturday is 50% sale and usually most all items are included in that sale.( We do not reduce fine jewelry to 50% off)

Do You also do Downsizing Sales?  Yes, we sure do! Perhaps you are thinking of selling your home and moving to a smaller place, we an help with what you wish to leave behind. We will come out and look at what is available for sale when we are considering if it is a sale we can accept. Listed below are some points to be aware of when planning your exit time line.  There are a few things you need to know when considering a downsizing sale. 1. We do not prepare, set up or conduct downsizing or estate sales while clients are living in the home. Our set up process is not conducive to daily living and daily living activities impede sale set up.  2. The set up process can take as little as 2 weeks or as much as 4 weeks depending on how large the home is, how much there is to sort through and the volume of items to be prepped and priced.  3. All of the items you plan to keep need to be removed from the property prior to our start date. We do not want to accidentally sell something you wish to keep, so removing all items not for sale removes this risk. 4. Just like with our estate sales, all food, medicines, personal documents and photographs need to be removed prior to our start date. 5 Allow time after the sale is completed to have unsold items removed. . It can take about 5- 7 days to have the home emptied after the sale.