So life has happened and your in need of selling all of the items in your home or the home of a loved one. At this point, your faced with one question. Do I have time to go through every single item in the house, price that item, post them online for sale and/or hold a sale at the house?
In today's day and age, time is an extremely valuable asset and most of our schedules are already booked solid. If you're finding yourself in the situation where you don't have the time to invest, I would advise you to start researching Estate Sale Companies. The question is, how do you find the right Estate Sale company.
Let's first review what a professional Estate Sale company will do for you. Then we can dive into what to avoid, to better protect your belongings and yourself.
A professional Estate Sale Company will:
1. Set up a consultation to go over the items to be sold. This consultation should always be free. Though Estate Sale Companies are a service provider, their travel costs aren't your concern, if they would wish to do business.
2. A solid Estate Sale company will always be on time. However, if something occurs (and things always come up), you should always expect a courtesy call to inform you of the change in plans. This is simply business courtesy and if a company cannot supply you with that, you probably don't wont to work with them in the first place.
3. Arrange a suitable sale date that works with the schedule of both parties. A good estate sale company will work with your schedule, to make certain the sale date is convenient for both you and them.
4. They will take pictures of the house and items in the home. So, expect to see a camera. In order to not make multiple trips to the house for photos, they should be ready with a camera to snap a few photos.
5. They will organize and price every item in your house. This is certainly a larger topic for future posts but a professional Estate Sale Company will organize and price your items in a proper fashion to optimize sales through presentation, while creating accountability through inventory systems.
5. Advertise the Sale. A professional Estate Sale company will foot the bill for all of the advertising. This should not come out of your pocket. They will advertise through; all of the estate sale web sites, promote the sale on their own web site, contact their buyers data base, conduct local advertising and on sight advertising. Again, expect to learn more about Estate Sale advertising in future posts.
6. Provide a detailed report of items sold and invoicing. The Estate Sale could not have happened without your belongings providing the inventory. Wouldn't you want to know what sold, for how much and know the exact amount of money you will receive from the sale? This will also help to identify particular items and see if they sold. This will help deter theft as well. These days, most Estate Sale company still use masking tape to price items. This is not an efficient way to track inventory.
7. Expect to be paid with in 5 to 10 business days. There is no reason a professional Estate Sale Company should retain your payment for any longer. I believe 10 business days is a little to long but some companies sell remaining items, online, that did not sell on sight.
8. Follow up and Referrals: the majority of Estate Sale clients come from word of mouth advertising. I would expect a professional Estate Sale Company to contact you, after payment has delivered, to get your thoughts on the sale and to make certain you are satisfied. At this time, they should be asking you for referrals or a review.
So, now that you know what to expect from a professional Estate Sale Company, how do you chose the correct Estate Sale Company?
1. Look over the Estate Sales Company's web site. Does it look professional or does it look like they didn't spend very much time on it? The web site should be an extension of the company's mentality. If the sight isn't professionally done or doesn't state essential information, I would suggest you move on.
2. Contact the Estate Sale Company via a phone call or an email. Measure the response time. A company that values every call, from any client, is an optimal company. So, expect an answer on the first call or a call back in a timely manner. When it comes to email, a professional Estate Sale Company will respond to your email shortly after it's sent.
3. During the Consultation: ask every question that comes to mind. The Estate Sale Company should supply with you with every aspect of the sale including their standard operations. The company should be able to show you how they plan on tracking your items, advertise the sale and provide you with what to expect.
(Note: a great Estate Sale company will never tell you how much you will make. The worst thing an Estate Sales Company can do is over promise and under deliver.)
4. Transactions!! A professional Estate Sales company will accept both cash and charge. With everyone commonly carrying a debt/credit card and backing away from carrying cash, a company would be foolish to not accept debt/credit cards. Plus, multiple sales could be lost if a card payment option is not present.
There a ton of Estate Sale Companies out there. The point is to locate the best company to present your household items in a professional and respectful manner while conducting their business in the exact same fashion.
As a reminder, I am currently representing Aether Estate Sales Company and the point of this blog is to not only promote my company, but to enlighten individuals about the Estate Sale process. That way, you can make the most informed decision possible, when it comes to choosing the perfect company for your future Estate Sale.
Please follow my blog and comment, as I move further into the rapidly growing industry of Estate Sales.
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