An exasperated man called us today and told us he was in a jam. The company he hired to run his Washington, D.C. estate sale backed out at the last minute. He said the owner had an emergency and couldn’t do it, but that she had expressed great excitement about the dollars her sale of his antiques and collectibles would generate. We were instantly suspicious of whatever company he hired. The ensuing conversation quickly demonstrated yet again the problems with estate sales.
Why some estate sale companies offer misleading or blatantly false information
We’ve written about the disadvantages of estate sales before. The latest story, though is one we hear all the time — an estate sale company representative giving a home owner, executor or heir false hope and bad information starting at the first visit. The companies in question do this because they’ll tell you anything to get the job. You should demonstrate healthy skepticism anytime an estate sale company starts whispering sweet nothings in your ear.
Why were we immediately suspicious of the company this man hired?Â
Jumping through estate sale hoops may not do the trick for you.
She told him the antiques market was thriving and that his antiques were worth a lot of money. This means she either blatantly lied to him, or that she was incompetent. The antiques market isn’t thriving; it’s in full-on rigor mortis. We’ve got the past 13 years of purchase and sales receipts to prove it. Auction houses often don’t even want even fine antique furniture anymore. It’s not worth their time and labor to store and sell an antique that sells for $20 and generates a whopping $7 to $10 for them. (If we sold all the antiques in our own house, Won-ok and I couldn’t top $500 — and we’re experts!)
Of course you’ll read stories about a few exceptionally rare and fine antiques getting appraised for big bucks.
You’re not likely to own such treasures. Especially furniture.
The estate sale company here either lied or is incompetent
The estate sale rep in question here clearly told today’s caller what he wanted to hear so that she could get the job. That’s what disreputable companies do. We say “no” when people call us, tell us what they have, and ask us to do an estate sale. A sale generating little revenue and leaving the house still largely full of big furniture and other items won’t do them (or you) any good. That still leaves you with a mess, the need to hire a company to clean up after the sale anyway, and other headaches. (The few dollars we might make isn’t worth our time, and it’s not worth the risk to us to leave a client unhappy.)
And it’s fine by us if people convinced an estate sale is right for them aren’t interested in our estate liquidation and home cleanout service because they couldn’t accept reality.
“We’d rather tell you the truth and not get the job than give you false hope to get the job,” we tell people almost every day.
For the record, we used to run wildly successful estate sales but they’re rarely worth the time and effort for us or for you. We may on rare occasion dabble in them today under certain conditions but we are primarily focused on our efficient and earth-friendly estate liquidation and home cleanout service.
More estate sale company delusion
The estate sale company in question continued demonstrating the problems with estate sales. She gave the man delusional information on top of the rest. She told him she would price a pair of antique brass andirons at $1,800. He fact checked that with a reputable brick-and-mortar auction house and with us. We both told him that there is not a soul out there who is going to pay $1,800 for that particular set. The auction house gave him an auction estimate of $200. We affirmed that’s the best he would get for his if we ran his estate sale. (We told him right away there was no money for us to make in an estate sale. Then we spent 30 minutes on the phone with him to show him the truth.)
We often had to pay shoppers to take armoires after no one would pay even $1 for them at estate sales jammed with massive crowds.
Estate sale companies putting stupid-high and unreasonable asking prices on sale items results only in those items still sitting there after the sale is over. Buyers often won’t even make offers when the original asking prices are so absurd.
The man ran a few other items by us with the same result. But he was still frustrated by the information the accurate auction house gave him and by what we shared. He just couldn’t believe his prized antiques were worth so little.
“I have to give people this same news about the value of their antiques five times a day,” we said. “And we do the same thing when we’re explaining the problems with estate sales.”
Another case: online estate auction company fails to deliver on big sales promise
We also worked recently with a Montgomery County woman who initially passed on our “one call solves it all” estate liquidation and home cleanout service. She hired an online estate auction company instead. The company owner told her that he was certain it would generate big bucks for her if she hired him.
What happened?
The company produced $6,000 in gross sales — far short of the bogus promise.
And guess what?
The contract stipulated that the auction company kept every dollar of the first $3,800 of sales! She only got 60 percent of dollars $3,801 and above. She ended up getting about $1,320 while the online estate auction company made the $3,800, plus $800 more on commission charged to the seller, plus approximately $1,200 from buyer’s premiums. Final tally came to $5,800 for the company and just $1,320 for her.
But wait, it gets worse.
The online estate auction company provided no junk removal service after the project was done — leaving her responsible for all remaining items. It claimed it didn’t even know a company to recommend — leaving her stranded. The remaining items included sellable items, donations and trash. And wow was there a lot of trash.
She called us after it was all over and paid us $4,700 (including landfill fees) to finish clearing the house. So she ended up in the red — -$3,380! And the estate auction delayed selling the house for more than $1 million.
Practice skepticism whenever anyone who isn’t offering their own money to buy your antiques and collectibles tells you they’re valuable
The moral of the story here is to practice skepticism and get second opinions anytime someone is telling you that your antiques and collectibles are worth a lot of money. This is especially true when the information comes from people who are not offering you their own hard-earned money to buy them.
The man speaking to us told us someone on Facebook Marketplace offered him $500 for a piece of antique furniture that the estate sale company told him she would price at $2,000. He turned it down.
Big china cabinets are hard enough to donate, let alone sell.
“You should chase the buyer down, plead temporary insanity, and take her money,” we said. “That’s the absolute most you would get for that at an estate sale, and way more than you’d get at auction.”
We don’t recommend that people use Facebook Marketplace to liquidate the contents of their homes, either. All you do is attract too many scammers and other people of ill-repute. You also waste your valuable time for weeks and months on end instead of hiring a company like ours to just rip off the Band-aid, clear your house, and allow you to make the real money. The value of your estate is usually in the value of the house, not the contents. Don’t delay selling your high-demand, big-dollar asset because you’re messing around trying to sell Grandma’s Hummel figurines for $3.
With some exceptions, an estate sale company or anyone else who tells you differently is just whispering more of those sweet nothings. And they’re worth as much as the hot air they’re blowing in your ears.
Want to learn more about how to liquidate an estate the right way?
Contact us today! Orion’s Attic is a full-service estate liquidation, downsizing and home cleanout company based in Silver Spring, Maryland. We also buy antiques and collectibles. We serve the greater Washington, D.C./Maryland/Northern Virginia region. Our service area includes Montgomery County (Bethesda, Chevy Chase, Gaithersburg, Germantown, Olney, Potomac, Rockville, Silver Spring, Wheaton, Takoma Park, etc.), Frederick County, Howard County (Columbia, Ellicott City), Prince George’s County (College Park, Greenbelt, Hyattsville) plus DC and Northern Virginia.
Learn more about liquidating estates in our Estate Liquidation and Downsizing Guide.
Learn more about selling all kinds of collectibles in Sell Us Your Stuff.
Find out more about why we’re the environmentally responsible choice for your estate liquidation in Green Choice.
If Won-ok and I sold our own antique settee, we might be able to make 50 whole dollars. Yay!
