Guides & resources
Straight answers about estate sales
Practical, jargon-free guides for families running an estate sale for the first time, for shoppers who love them, and for the local companies who run them — written by people who have worked in the industry.
Newest
Latest guides
Valuation
Selling Collections: Figurines, Dolls, Plates and More
Why figurines, collector plates, dolls and other collections usually sell for less than the family paid, the exceptions, and how to sell one whole or piecemeal.
Read the guide
Costs
What Estate Sale Companies Charge
How commission works, what minimums and add-on fees look like, and how to compare two quotes fairly.
Read the guide
Hiring
Before You Sign an Estate Sale Contract
Every clause to look for, from dates and commission to unsold items, payout timing and cancellation.
Read the guide
Hiring
Warning Signs When Choosing a Company
The concrete red flags that should make you pause, and what to do instead of walking into them.
Read the guide
Valuation
How to Spot Fakes and Reproductions at an Estate Sale
How to tell a reproduction from an antique at an estate sale: construction, wear patterns, marks, the categories most often faked, and when only an expert can say.
Read the guide
Valuation
Vintage Pyrex and Kitchenware Value: What Sells and Why
Why vintage Pyrex, cast iron, enamelware and old small appliances sell far above what families expect at an estate sale, which pieces matter, and how to price them.
Read the guide
Hiring
Hiring an estate sale company
What a company does, what to ask, how to compare quotes and what a fair contract looks like.
Hiring
Before You Sign an Estate Sale Contract
Every clause to look for, from dates and commission to unsold items, payout timing and cancellation.
Read the guide
Hiring
Warning Signs When Choosing a Company
The concrete red flags that should make you pause, and what to do instead of walking into them.
Read the guide
Hiring
What to Expect at an Estate Sale Walk-Through
What an estate sale company is looking at as it walks your house, what to have ready, the questions to ask, and how to read its reaction before you sign.
Read the guide
Hiring
How Long Does an Estate Sale Take? A Week-by-Week Timeline
Usually four to six weeks from the first call to the check. What happens each week, what the company does, what the family does, and what makes it run longer.
Read the guide
Hiring
Estate Sale Company vs. Auctioneer vs. Liquidator
Three trades families mix up: what an estate sale company, an auctioneer and a liquidator each do, how each is paid, and which one fits the estate you have.
Read the guide
Hiring
Why an Estate Sale Company Turned Down Your Sale
The common reasons an estate sale company says no, from minimums and full calendars to the house itself, what each one tells you, and what to do next.
Read the guide
Hiring
Estate Sale Minimums: When the Estate Is Too Small
Why estate sale companies set minimums, what to do when nobody will take a modest estate, and the routes that actually work for a smaller house.
Read the guide
Hiring
Managing an Estate Sale From Out of State: A Practical Guide
How to hire, oversee and settle an estate sale when you live hundreds of miles from the house: video walk-throughs, keys, a local set of eyes, and being paid.
Read the guide
Hiring
How Estate Sale Companies Advertise a Sale and Find Buyers
Where estate sale buyers really come from: listing sites, a company's own email list, photographs, signs and social. What to ask a company about its reach before you hire.
Read the guide
Hiring
Estate Sale Company Insurance: What to Ask and How to Check
What insurance an estate sale company should carry, how to ask for a certificate of insurance, and how to confirm it is real with one phone call to the insurer.
Read the guide
Hiring
How to Get and Compare Estate Sale Quotes in One Week
How to get estate sale quotes from two or three companies, what a real quote has to contain, how to compare them on one sheet of paper, and how to say no fairly.
Read the guide
Hiring
25 Questions to Ask an Estate Sale Company Before You Hire
A printable list of 25 questions to ask an estate sale company, grouped by topic, with what a good answer sounds like and what a vague one is hiding.
Read the guide
Hiring
What Does an Estate Sale Company Do, Stage by Stage?
What an estate sale company actually does for its commission: the walk-through, sorting, pricing, advertising, the sale days, the clean-out and the final accounting.
Read the guide
Hiring
How to Choose an Estate Sale Company
The questions to ask, the red flags to walk away from, and what a fair contract looks like.
Read the guide
Costs
What an estate sale costs
Commission, fees, minimums, payouts and taxes, explained without a national average that does not exist.
Costs
What Estate Sale Companies Charge
How commission works, what minimums and add-on fees look like, and how to compare two quotes fairly.
Read the guide
Costs
Estate Buyout vs. Estate Sale: Take the Cash Offer?
What an estate buyout is, why the cash offer is always below what the contents would sell for, when to take it, and how to protect yourself first.
Read the guide
Costs
Flat Fee vs. Commission Estate Sale: Which Is Better?
How a flat fee and a commission each work, when each favors the family, the incentive problem built into both, and how to compare two quotes on one sheet.
Read the guide
Costs
Estate Clean-Out Services: Costs and What Is Included
What an estate clean-out service does, how haul-away, donation runs, dumpsters and broom-clean are priced, and how to keep from paying for the same work twice.
Read the guide
Costs
Do You Owe Taxes on Estate Sale Proceeds? What to Know
How estate sale money is usually treated for tax purposes, why most household items sell at a loss, which records to keep, and when to ask a tax professional.
Read the guide
Costs
When Do You Get Paid After an Estate Sale? Payout Explained
When a family is usually paid after an estate sale, why it takes longer than sale day, what the settlement statement must show, and what to do if it is late.
Read the guide
Costs
How to Estimate Your Net Proceeds From an Estate Sale
A step-by-step way to estimate what you will actually receive from an estate sale, worked under a poor, expected and good outcome, and the fees that change it.
Read the guide
Costs
Estate Sale Fees Explained: Set-Up, Clean-Out and More
Every fee an estate sale company can charge beside its commission, from set-up and clean-out to advertising and card processing, and what a fair one looks like.
Read the guide
Costs
How Much Does an Estate Sale Cost? Every Fee Explained
What an estate sale costs a family: the commission, minimums, set-up and clean-out fees, the costs nobody quotes, and how to work out what actually reaches you.
Read the guide
Planning
Planning and running the sale
Preparing the house, pricing, advertising, sale day and what to do with what is left, whether a company runs it or you do.
Planning
What to Do With Things Nobody Wants After an Estate Sale
The order to try when items do not sell at an estate sale: buy-out dealers, giving things away, donation, recycling, junk removal, and what truly is landfill.
Read the guide
Planning
Estate Sale Pricing Guide: What Household Items Sell For
Realistic price ranges and rules of thumb for furniture, kitchenware, linens, tools, electronics and decor at an estate sale, with the caveats that go with every number.
Read the guide
Planning
How to Photograph an Estate Sale So Shoppers Show Up
Which rooms and items to photograph for an estate sale listing, how to light and order the photos, and what to write in captions so people decide to come.
Read the guide
Planning
Do You Need a Permit for an Estate Sale? Local Rules Explained
Sometimes. It depends on your city or county, not the state. What permit, sign, parking and hours rules usually say, and how to check your own town quickly.
Read the guide
Planning
Estate Sale Security: Preventing Theft and Damage
How estate sale companies control the door, protect small valuables and watch the house, plus the questions to ask a company about theft, breakage and who pays.
Read the guide
Planning
What to Do With Papers and Photos Before an Estate Sale
How to find the documents that matter first, what to keep and for how long, what to shred, what to do with the photos, and what old paper buyers actually want.
Read the guide
Planning
Estate Sales in a Hoarded Home: What to Expect
How estate sale companies approach a hoarded house, what the clean-out costs, what is usually found under the piles, and how to keep the family safe while it is sorted.
Read the guide
Planning
Can You Have an Estate Sale in a Condo or Apartment? How It Works
Often, yes, within the building or HOA rules. Who to ask, handling elevators, parking and neighbors, selling in a small space, and what to do if it is not allowed.
Read the guide
Planning
When Is the Best Time of Year for an Estate Sale?
How season, weather, holidays and the local calendar affect estate sale turnout, why the right time is usually when the estate is ready, and how to pick the weekend.
Read the guide
Planning
Handling Cash and Cards at Your Own Estate Sale
How to run the money at a do-it-yourself estate sale: the cash float, one checkout, card readers and their fees, receipts, holds and deposits, and keeping the take safe.
Read the guide
Planning
How to Advertise an Estate Sale Yourself: Signs and Listings
How to advertise an estate sale yourself: where to list it online, photos that bring buyers out, signs drivers can read, and the details that grow the crowd.
Read the guide
Planning
Estate Sale Day Checklist for Families Running Their Own Sale
An hour-by-hour checklist for the day of a do-it-yourself estate sale, from the early walk-through and the opening line to closing the doors and counting the cash.
Read the guide
Planning
How to Run Your Own Estate Sale: A Step-by-Step Guide
A do-it-yourself guide to running an estate sale without a company: research and pricing, laying out the house, helpers, advertising, sale day and what is left.
Read the guide
Planning
What Not to Do Before an Estate Sale: 10 Costly Mistakes
The well-meant things families do before an estate sale that cost them money: clearing out, donating early, letting relatives take the best pieces, pricing.
Read the guide
Planning
How to Prepare a House for an Estate Sale: What to Do First
What a family should do in the weeks before an estate sale, what to leave for the company, and the handful of things that cost money if you get them wrong.
Read the guide
Planning
The Complete Estate Sale Checklist
Everything to do before, during and after an estate sale, in the order you need to do it.
Read the guide
Valuation
What things are worth
How to find out whether something is valuable, and what jewelry, silver, furniture, art, tools and collectibles actually sell for.
Valuation
Selling Collections: Figurines, Dolls, Plates and More
Why figurines, collector plates, dolls and other collections usually sell for less than the family paid, the exceptions, and how to sell one whole or piecemeal.
Read the guide
Valuation
How to Spot Fakes and Reproductions at an Estate Sale
How to tell a reproduction from an antique at an estate sale: construction, wear patterns, marks, the categories most often faked, and when only an expert can say.
Read the guide
Valuation
Vintage Pyrex and Kitchenware Value: What Sells and Why
Why vintage Pyrex, cast iron, enamelware and old small appliances sell far above what families expect at an estate sale, which pieces matter, and how to price them.
Read the guide
Valuation
Are Old Toys Worth Money? Vintage Toys and Games That Sell
Which old toys, games and collectibles are worth money, why the original box can matter more than the toy, the brands buyers look for, and where to sell them.
Read the guide
Valuation
Costume Jewelry vs. Fine Jewelry: How to Tell Them Apart
How to tell costume jewelry from fine jewelry by the marks, a magnet and a loupe, which signed costume pieces are worth money, what each kind sells for, and where to sell it.
Read the guide
Valuation
How to Tell Sterling Silver From Silver Plate at Home
How to tell sterling silver from silver plate using the marks, a magnet, weight and wear, what each is actually worth, and how to sell the silver from an estate.
Read the guide
Valuation
Vintage Clothing and Handbags at Estate Sales: What Sells
How to tell which vintage clothing, handbags and accessories in a closet are worth money: reading labels, dating a piece, judging condition, and what resellers hunt for.
Read the guide
Valuation
Antique Furniture Value: What Sells and What Does Not
What antique furniture is actually worth today, why big brown pieces sell for so little, which styles buyers still want, and how to price a piece honestly.
Read the guide
Valuation
Mid-Century Modern Furniture: What It Is Worth and How to Sell
Which mid-century modern makers and designers draw buyers, how to read labels and marks, what condition does to price, and how to sell them from an estate.
Read the guide
Valuation
Is Grandmother's China, Crystal and Silver Worth Anything?
An honest look at what formal china, crystal and silver sell for now, which pieces still find buyers, how to tell sterling from plate, and where to sell each.
Read the guide
Valuation
Selling Tools, Garage and Workshop Items at an Estate Sale
Why the garage often out-sells the living room, what hand tools, power tools and machinery bring, how to price and display them, and what not to sell at all.
Read the guide
Valuation
Selling Books and Records From an Estate: What Has Value
What makes a book or a vinyl record worth money, how to sort a whole house of them in an afternoon, and who buys the rest in bulk when the sale is over.
Read the guide
Valuation
Selling Art From an Estate: Prints, Paintings and Value
How to tell a print from an original painting, read a signature, decide what is worth checking, and choose between the estate sale floor and an auction house.
Read the guide
Valuation
Selling Coins and Stamps From an Estate: Where to Start
Why a jar of old coins can outsell the dining set, how to sort coins and stamps without ruining them, and where each kind of collection should go to sell for a fair price.
Read the guide
Valuation
Selling Jewelry From an Estate: Fine, Costume and Gold
How to sort an estate's jewelry into fine and costume, spot gold and real stones, decide what goes to a jeweler or auction, and how estate sale companies handle it.
Read the guide
Valuation
What Sells at Estate Sales, and What Doesn't: A Practical List
The items that reliably sell at estate sales, the ones that usually don't and why, and what it means for pricing whether you are clearing a house or shopping.
Read the guide
Valuation
Appraisal vs. Estate Sale Pricing: Which Value Matters?
Insurance value, fair market value and what an estate sale actually brings are three different numbers. When an appraisal is worth its fee, and when it is not.
Read the guide
Valuation
How to Find Out If Something Is Valuable (Step by Step)
A research method anyone can follow: find the marks, search sold prices instead of asking prices, read auction records, and know when to pay for an opinion.
Read the guide
Valuation
Hidden Value in Overlooked Items
The everyday things families throw away that regularly turn out to be worth real money.
Read the guide
Valuation
How to Value Antiques & Collectibles
How professionals price antiques and collectibles, and how to research what you have.
Read the guide
Selling
Ways to sell an estate
Estate sale, auction, consignment, buyout, donation or your own listing: the trade-offs, and the order to do things in.
Selling
How to Sell Everything in a House Fast: Options by Speed
When the house has to be empty by a date: the realistic ways to sell its contents from fastest to slowest, what each costs you, and how to combine them.
Read the guide
Selling
Online Estate Auctions: How They Work for Families
How an online auction of a house's contents actually runs, from cataloging to pickup day, what seller and buyers pay, and when it beats a traditional sale.
Read the guide
Selling
How to List Your Own Estate Sale Online (Free Options)
Where to list an estate sale you are running yourself, what a listing needs, how to keep the address private until the sale, and which photos bring buyers.
Read the guide
Selling
Clearing a Storage Unit: Estate Sale, Auction or Haul-Away
What to do with a loved one's storage unit: keeping the rent paid, getting access, what a unit usually holds, and the ways to empty it, ranked by value.
Read the guide
Selling
How to Sell Inherited Guns From an Estate, Safely and Legally
Why most estate sale companies will not sell firearms, the general legal picture in plain terms, and the safe, lawful ways a family can sell inherited guns.
Read the guide
Selling
Selling a Car From an Estate: Title, Probate and Value
How to sell a car that belonged to someone who has died: who can sign, how the title transfers, what it is worth, and whether the sale company will sell it.
Read the guide
Selling
Estate Sale Before or After Listing the House? The Order That Works
Usually the estate sale first, then the clean-out, then the listing photos. Why that order works, what to do if the house is already listed, and what to keep.
Read the guide
Selling
What Is a Tag Sale? Estate Sale Terms by Region
A tag sale is an estate sale by another name, common in New England. What tag sale, house sale, contents sale and moving sale usually mean, region by region.
Read the guide
Selling
Moving Sale vs. Estate Sale: What's the Difference?
A moving sale sells what will not fit in the next home; an estate sale sells nearly everything. How they differ in timing, pricing and who runs them, and which to hold.
Read the guide
Selling
Estate Sale or Donation? How to Decide What to Do
When a house of belongings is worth an estate sale, when donating is the better choice, and how to do both in the order that keeps value from going out the door.
Read the guide
Selling
Estate Sale vs. Consignment: Which Pays You More?
An estate sale empties a house in a weekend for a commission; consignment sells chosen pieces slowly through a shop for a share. How to pick, and how to use both.
Read the guide
Selling
Estate Sale vs. Garage Sale: What Is the Difference?
An estate sale sells most of a house's contents, usually through a company on commission; a garage sale sells a driveway of extras. Which one does your house need?
Read the guide
Selling
Estate Sale vs. Auction: Which Is Right?
The real trade-offs between running an estate sale and sending the estate to auction.
Read the guide
Family & legal
Family, probate and the hard parts
Clearing a home after a death, executors, dividing property, downsizing a parent and the paperwork that follows.
Family & legal
Grief and Clearing a Parent's Home: What Helps
Why clearing a parent's house after a death is so hard, what actually helps, how to pace the work without losing what matters, and when to let others help.
Read the guide
Family & legal
Senior Move Managers vs. Estate Sale Companies
What a senior move manager does, what an estate sale company does, where the two overlap, how each is paid, and when a family moving a parent needs one, the other or both.
Read the guide
Family & legal
Donating Unsold Estate Sale Items and Getting a Receipt
Where to donate what is left after an estate sale, what charities take and refuse, how to book a pickup, and how a donation receipt works at tax time.
Read the guide
Family & legal
Estate Sale Records: What to Keep and for How Long
The paper trail a family or executor should keep from an estate sale, from the inventory and contract to the settlement and donation receipts, and for how long.
Read the guide
Family & legal
Can a Power of Attorney Sell a Parent's Belongings? What to Know
Often, yes, if the document allows it, and the power ends when the parent dies. What an agent may sell, the limits to check, and the records that protect you.
Read the guide
Family & legal
Helping a Parent Downsize: A Room-by-Room Guide
How to help a parent downsize without a fight: the conversation to have first, a room-by-room order that works, how to decide what to keep, and where an estate sale fits.
Read the guide
Family & legal
An Estate Sale When a Parent Moves to Assisted Living
Downsizing a parent's home for assisted living: what to keep, how to involve them without overwhelming them, the timing that works, and who has the authority to sell.
Read the guide
Family & legal
When the Family Disagrees About the Estate Sale
The disputes that come up when a family plans an estate sale, why they happen, and practical ways to move forward without a lawsuit or a lasting rift.
Read the guide
Family & legal
How to Divide Personal Property Among Siblings Fairly
Rotation picks, sticker systems, appraisal and buy-outs: fair ways to divide a parent's belongings among siblings, and the conversations to have before the sale.
Read the guide
Family & legal
Can You Have an Estate Sale Before Probate Is Settled?
Usually, yes, once an executor or administrator has authority, though it depends on the state and the will. When the house can be emptied, and what to ask first.
Read the guide
Family & legal
Executor Duties for Personal Property: A Plain Guide
What an executor is responsible for with the contents of a home: securing it, inventory, valuation, distribution, sale and the records to keep. Not legal advice.
Read the guide
Family & legal
How to Clear a House After a Death: What to Do First
A calm, ordered guide to clearing a house after a death: what must happen in the first days, what can safely wait, and who can help with the contents.
Read the guide
Family & legal
What to Keep: Family Memories
A gentle framework for deciding what stays in the family before pricing ever starts.
Read the guide
Shopping
Shopping estate sales
How sales work, when to go, how to negotiate, what to bring and how to find the sales near you.
Shopping
How to Bid at an Online Estate Auction: Tips for Beginners
How online estate auctions work for bidders: previews, the buyer's premium, soft closes and maximum bids, pickup windows, and the mistakes new bidders make.
Read the guide
Shopping
Paying, Holds and Pickups at an Estate Sale Explained
How payment works at an estate sale, what a hold and a sold tag actually mean, how pickup and delivery are handled, and what happens if you cannot collect.
Read the guide
Shopping
Buying Furniture at an Estate Sale: What to Check First
How to buy furniture at an estate sale without regret: measure first, inspect joints and drawers, know which pieces are worth it, and plan the ride home.
Read the guide
Shopping
Buying at Estate Sales to Resell: A Realistic Guide
What actually resells from an estate sale, what does not, the sourcing habits that separate a hobby from a business, and the real math of a resale margin.
Read the guide
Shopping
How to Find Estate Sales Near You This Weekend
Where estate sales are actually listed, how to get email alerts for your area, what signs and company mailing lists still tell you, and how to plan a Saturday route.
Read the guide
Shopping
What to Bring to an Estate Sale: A Regular's Packing List
What to bring to an estate sale: cash in small bills, a bag, a tape measure, a flashlight, a magnet, packing for fragile finds, and what to leave at home.
Read the guide
Shopping
Can You Negotiate at an Estate Sale? How to Make Offers That Work
Yes, at most sales, if your timing is right. Which days and items are open to offers, how to phrase one, what a fair number looks like, and what to avoid.
Read the guide
Shopping
Which Day Is Best to Shop an Estate Sale? First or Last?
First day for selection, last day for price: how a multi-day estate sale runs, how discount days work, and which day to go for each kind of item.
Read the guide
Shopping
How Estate Sale Numbers and Lines Work, and How Early to Arrive
Sign-up sheets, numbered tickets and digital lines: how each decides who gets in first, how early to arrive, and what to do when an estate sale line goes wrong.
Read the guide
Shopping
Estate Sale Etiquette: The Unwritten Rules for Shoppers
The unwritten rules of estate sale shopping: lines and numbers, bags, handling items, bathrooms, photos, haggling and checkout, so companies are glad to see you.
Read the guide
Shopping
Estate Sale Shopping for Beginners: How a Sale Works
How an estate sale works for a first-time shopper: when to arrive, how entry and pricing run, what discount days mean, how you pay, and the mistakes beginners make.
Read the guide
For professionals
For estate sale professionals
Starting and growing a company, contracts, staffing, pricing strategy, photos, online auctions and the opening rush.
For professionals
Estate Sale Industry Trends in 2026: What Is Changing
The trends shaping estate sales in 2026: online auctions, the boomer downsizing wave, new buyer tastes and shopper habits, and what each means for companies.
Read the guide
For professionals
Estate Sale Crowd Control: Lines, Numbers and Digital Sign-Up
How estate sale companies manage the opening rush: paper sheets, numbered tickets and a free digital line, entry limits, and how to keep the first hour fair.
Read the guide
For professionals
Growing an Estate Sale Company Through Referrals
How estate sale companies grow on referrals from realtors, attorneys, senior communities and past clients, and the follow-up that keeps the phone ringing.
Read the guide
For professionals
Estate Sale Liability and Safety: How to Prevent a Claim
Where estate sale injuries and claims actually come from, and the practices — hazard walks, stair rules, entry limits, careful handling — that keep them from happening.
Read the guide
For professionals
Adding Online Auctions to an Estate Sale Business: A Guide
How an estate sale company adds online auctions: choosing a platform, cataloging lots, buyer's premiums, pickup day, and when an auction beats a tag sale.
Read the guide
For professionals
Estate Sale Photos and Listings That Draw Buyers
What to photograph for an estate sale listing, how many photos, in what order, and how to write a listing that shows up when shoppers search your town.
Read the guide
For professionals
Working With Grieving Families as an Estate Sale Professional
How estate sale companies work with a family that has just lost someone: pacing the first call, explaining prices kindly, holding boundaries, and earning the referral.
Read the guide
For professionals
Estate Sale Pricing Strategy: A Guide for Companies
How estate sale companies price a house: research, three tiers, discount days, a negotiation policy staff can apply, and the balance between gross and sell-through.
Read the guide
For professionals
Staffing an Estate Sale: Roles, Crew Size and Pay
Who you need at the door, on the floor and at the checkout, how many people a sale of each size takes, how to pay and brief a crew, and how to keep good people.
Read the guide
For professionals
What to Put in an Estate Sale Contract, Clause by Clause
Clause by clause, what a fair estate sale contract covers: authority to sell, commission and fees, kept items, pricing, insurance, settlement and cancellation.
Read the guide
For professionals
How to Get Estate Sale Leads: Referrals, Realtors and More
Where estate sale leads actually come from: realtors, attorneys, senior communities, past clients, your own sales, listing sites and free lead sources.
Read the guide
For professionals
Licensing and Insurance for an Estate Sale Business
What an estate sale business needs in licenses and insurance, what is simply wise, how to check your state, and how to describe it honestly to families.
Read the guide
For professionals
How to Start an Estate Sale Business: A Realistic Guide
What it takes to start an estate sale business: registration, insurance, equipment, pricing knowledge, first clients, and the mistakes that end new companies in year one.
Read the guide
Licensing by state
Does your state license estate sale companies?
Short, honest answers for every state: what is and is not licensed, where the public business register is, and how to check a company yourself. Nothing on this site checks a company's credentials; these pages show you how to.
Rather talk to someone?
Tell us about the estate and local companies will reach out. Free, with no obligation.