The Estate Sale Process by The Accents On Us
Walk through, Scheduling and Agreement
Before any sale can be conducted, a walk through is required, a sales date must be decided, and a "Sales Agreement" must be signed. During the walk through items which are to be included in the sale will be identified. We request tht you set aside any items you and your family/friends have decided to keep that will not be part of the sale. Please do not attempt to clean out the estate prior to our walkthrough as there may be much value in items that our customers may want to buy. There is a familiar saying that "One man's junk is another man's treasure"; we will determine with you what is worth keeping for the sale.
Fees
After the walk-through we will write up a contract for the estate sale. In the contract we will list all fees charged for the sale. We request an up-front retainer fee (typically between $750-$1,500 depending on the size) for estate sale to help us assemble the right team for the job and begin the extensive preparation work. This can take from 1-2 weeks to complete. After the setup, sale and clean-up is complete, we prepare a full accounting report and deduct the up-front retainer from the total and mark it as already paid. We work on the sale and provide payment to all our staff taken out of the percentage of the sale we will agree upon in our contract
Lead Time
Estate Sales require advance preparation time that is unique to that sale. It is important to have enough lead time for advertising and publicity. This typically takes 1-2 weeks for an average sale of a three bedroom home.
Sales Preparation
Our staff will provide tables, coverings, locking display cabinets, shelving units, wrapping paper and boxes and bags for the buyers use. Most items are priced individually, but occasionally there are prices by the "box lot" or "each item per...". Should your estate include exceptional or rare items, our staff will research the high-low price determine eventual initial offering price and negotiation price . We use our background and staff knowledgeable in design and home staging to create and elegant shopping experience.
Advertising
Our design team will create an exclusive estate sales page on our website particularly suited for you sale, place newspaper advertising ads, send out mailers to our the extensive list of customers on our mailing list (1000+ and growing) customers, and send an email announcement of your sale to our email subscribers. If the sale is small there may be shared advertising costs as specified in the Sales Agreement. During the sale, professional signs are posted that attract and direct customers to the sale. The cost of the advertising is covered by the commission fee and is paid by The Accents On Us.
Conducting the Sale
Our Estate Sales team is comprised of a core group of individuals available to set up, price, and/or work the sale on the sale dates, whichever the situation requires. Arriving at prices requires thoughtful and careful examination, research, location, quantity, quality and knowing the market. Reduced prices may be offered on the second, and sometimes third, days of the sale. There may be bidding and pre-sales (think BuyIt Now) offered if contracted.
On-site Bidding Option
Throughout the sale we may take bids on particular items from interested customers. If the item has not been sold by late in the day of the last sale day, we will contact the bidder and offer to sell the item to them at the bid price.
We have our own large delivery truck and experienced staff. At the sale, arrangements can be made with buyers for the packing and delivery of large items. Broom cleaning of any area of the house used for the sale is included.
Disposal of items that are left
The items remaining after a sale are generally garage sale items, or items that have little or no desirability. There may be some items that have great value and did sell due to the particulars of the market for the sale and buyers present. In those cases, the items may be considered for consignment in our retail store and high-end online sales venues.
For the left over items not candidates for consignment, the owner has the option to:
a) Retain those items on their own for their keeping.
b) Donate the items to charity, where a receipt will be provided for fair market value.
c) Arrange prior to the sale for our Estate Sales team to dispose of the items or arrange for a buyout of all remaining contents or suggest various options to clear the house.
References
We have an extensive list of satisfied customers. If you would like to have a reference, we will be happy to provide you with that information.
