Why there are fees at all when there is a commission
An estate sale company's commission pays for a defined piece of work: preparing, pricing, advertising, staffing and accounting for the sale. Commonly somewhere between roughly a third and a half of gross sales, varying by region and by estate, it is meant to cover that job in an ordinary house. Fees exist for everything that falls outside the ordinary. A house that needs a week of sorting before a single table can go up, a garage full of paint cans and broken appliances, a sale that needs a guard, a piece that belongs at an auction house rather than on a folding table: each of these costs the company money that the commission on an ordinary sale would not recover.
So a fee is not a sign of a bad company. Some of the fairest companies in the trade list several. What separates a fair fee from an unfair one is disclosure and basis. A fair fee is named before you sign, is either a fixed figure or calculated on a basis you can check, and pays for something you can see was done. An unfair fee appears at settlement, is described as “expenses”, or duplicates work the commission was already supposed to cover. Everything below is judged on those three tests.
If you want the fees in the context of the whole bill, how much an estate sale costs puts them beside the commission and the minimum; this guide takes each fee on its own.
Set-up and sorting fees
A set-up fee covers labor before the house is in a condition to stage. In an ordinary house that work is part of the commission: the company arrives, sorts what is there, and starts pricing. In a house where every closet is full to the ceiling, where papers and household goods are mixed through every room, or where the family has not yet removed what it intends to keep, the company may need days of sorting before the ordinary job can begin. A set-up fee is how that extra labor is paid for.
It is usually charged by the hour per worker, or as a fixed sum agreed after the walk-through once the company has seen how much work is involved. A fair set-up fee is quoted after the walk-through, not before it, and comes with a plain description of what it covers. An unfair one is charged on every job regardless of the house, which means it is not a set-up fee at all but a piece of the commission under another name.
Two questions settle it. Ask what specifically about your house makes the fee necessary, and ask what you could do yourself to reduce it. Removing family papers and photographs, and taking out the items the family has already decided to keep, is work you can do and the company cannot. Beyond that, stop: sorting the rest is what you are paying for, and well-meant tidying frequently throws away the things that would have sold.
Clean-out and haul-away fees
The house is not empty when the sale ends. Some things did not sell, some were never going to, and somebody has to remove them before the house can be sold, rented or handed back. A clean-out fee pays for that removal, and it is the fee that most often surprises families, because it comes after the part of the process everyone was thinking about.
It is charged in three ways. By the load, where the company or a hauler it works with charges per truck or per dumpster. By the hour, for the crew that carries things out. Or as a flat sum agreed in advance, which is the easiest to compare. Some companies fold the clean-out into a higher commission and charge nothing separately; some do not offer it at all and leave you to arrange a hauler yourself. Any of these is fine as long as you know which one you have before the sale rather than after it.
What a fair clean-out fee includes should be written down: whether it means the house is broom-clean, whether it covers the garage, attic and shed, whether donations are made on your behalf with a receipt, and whether hazardous items and appliances are included or charged separately. A fair fee also says what happens to the unsold items. If the company keeps them, that is worth something, and it should be reflected in the price. Estate clean-out services explained goes into the pricing and the pitfalls, including how families end up paying for a clean-out twice, and donating unsold items covers the receipt.
Ask who owns what does not sell
A contract that lets the company keep every unsold item without listing what they are, while also charging you to clear the house, is paying the company twice for the same job. Ask for a list of anything of value left at the end, and for a say in whether it is donated, sold on, or returned to you.
Advertising and photography fees
The company's standard advertising is nearly always included in the commission: photographs of every room, a listing on the sites it uses, an email to its buyer list and signs on sale day. That is the core of what draws a crowd and it should not be a separate line. An advertising fee appears when a sale needs more than the standard: paid promotion of the listing, printed signage beyond the usual, a professional photographer for a house with fine art or a large collection, or a targeted mailing to collectors for a specialist category.
A fair advertising fee is charged at cost, or as a fixed figure you agreed to in advance, for something the company can show you was done. Ask to see the listing, the photographs and the mailing. An advertising fee that is charged on every sale as a matter of course, at the same round figure regardless of the house, is another piece of the commission with a different name. It makes the headline rate look lower than it is; treat it as part of the rate when comparing companies.
Where the buyers actually come from matters more than any fee. A company with a large local mailing list and a habit of photographing everything will usually sell more, and at that point the rate matters less. How estate sale companies advertise a sale explains what to ask about a company's reach.
Card processing and sales tax
Shoppers increasingly pay by card, and every card sale costs a processing fee, typically a small percentage of the transaction. Contracts handle it in one of two ways: the company absorbs the fee as a cost of doing business, or it passes the fee on to you by deducting it from the gross before your share is calculated. Neither is improper. What matters is that the contract says which, and says whether the commission is calculated on the gross before or after the processing fee comes off. On a large sale the difference is real money.
Sales tax is a separate question with a similar shape. Whether a company must collect sales tax on an estate sale, and on what, depends on the state and sometimes the locality, and rules vary; some states treat occasional sales of used household goods differently from a retail business. Tax collected from shoppers is not the estate's money and should never appear as part of the gross on which commission is charged. Ask the company how it handles it, and if the answer is unclear, ask a tax professional; this is general guidance, not tax advice. Do you owe taxes on estate sale proceeds covers the family's side of the question.
Security, permits, insurance and specialist fees
A handful of fees appear only on some sales, and each has a straightforward test.
- Security. An off-duty officer or a guard for a sale with jewelry, coins, firearms sold through a licensed dealer, or a large opening crowd. Charged per sale day, at cost or close to it. Fair when the estate justifies it; ask what the company does about theft on an ordinary sale, since that is covered by its own staffing. Estate sale security covers what to ask.
- Permits. Some cities require a permit for a sale at a residence or for signs on public property. Charged at cost, and the company should be able to name the permit. Permits, signs and local rules shows how to check your own city.
- Insurance. The company's liability insurance is its own cost and should never be billed to you. If a contract charges an “insurance fee”, ask exactly what policy it buys and for whom. Then ask for the company's certificate of insurance anyway and call the insurer named on it yourself, because the site you found the company on cannot check it for you.
- Specialist or consignment. When a piece is better sold at an auction house, through a specialist dealer or on an online auction platform than on a folding table, the company may arrange that. The venue takes its own commission, and the question is whether the estate sale company's commission also applies on top. A fair arrangement discloses both, and you should be told before the piece leaves the house.
- Appraisal. Pricing is part of the commission. A formal written appraisal, for insurance, probate or a dispute, is a different service, and if you ask for one it is fair to pay for it. You should not be charged for the research the company does to price the sale.
- Travel or mileage. Reasonable for a house well outside the company's usual area, and it should be a figure, not a vague surcharge.
Cancellation and early termination fees
Once a company has begun work, it has spent money on your sale, and a contract will usually say what you owe if you cancel. The fair version is proportionate: a fixed sum, or an hourly charge for the work actually done, covering the labor and the advertising already spent. It rises the closer to sale day you cancel, because more has been done. It is stated in the contract before you sign.
The unfair version is a cancellation fee equal to the full expected commission, or one so large that you cannot leave a company that is doing a poor job. Read this clause before you sign, and read what the company owes you if it cancels. A contract that binds only one party is a warning sign in itself; estate sale company red flags lists the others.
What a fair fee looks like, on one page
Every fee above passes or fails the same tests; the right-hand column is the question to put to the company.
| Fee | A fair version | Ask |
|---|---|---|
| Set-up or sorting | Quoted after the walk-through, for a named reason, hourly or fixed | What about this house makes it necessary? |
| Clean-out | Flat sum or per load, says what “empty” means and what happens to unsold items | Is the house broom-clean, and who owns what is left? |
| Advertising | Standard advertising included; extras at cost, shown to you afterwards | What does the commission already cover? |
| Card processing | Stated whether passed on, and whether commission is taken before or after | Is your percentage on gross before card fees? |
| Security, permits | At cost, per day or per permit, justified by the estate | What does it cost and why does this sale need it? |
| Specialist sale | Both commissions disclosed before the piece leaves | Does your commission apply on top of the venue's? |
| Cancellation | Proportionate to work done, binding both sides | What do you owe me if you cancel? |
Then add every fee a company has named to its commission at the gross it expects, and again at half that gross, and compare what reaches you rather than the rate. A company that quotes a lower percentage and three fees can cost more than one that quotes a higher percentage and none. How to get and compare estate sale quotes shows how to run that comparison fairly, and the settlement statement, which is where every one of these fees is finally accounted for, is described in when you get paid after an estate sale.
The list of fees is a test of the company
Ask for every possible charge in writing and watch how the company answers. One that has been asked before produces a plain list in a minute. One that says “it depends” and leaves it there is telling you how settlement will go.
What to do next
Take the table above to the walk-through and ask each question in turn; the answers belong in the contract, and our contract checklist shows where. When you are ready to hear from companies in your area, describe the estate once and local companies will reach out to you, free. The commission guide covers the largest number on the quote, and questions to ask an estate sale company covers everything beyond the money.
Frequently asked questions
What fees do estate sale companies charge besides commission?
The common ones are a set-up or sorting fee for a house that needs unusual work, a clean-out or haul-away fee for what does not sell, advertising extras beyond the company's standard listing, card processing fees passed through from the card company, and, on some sales, security, permits, or a specialist's commission on a piece sent to auction. None of these is improper if it is disclosed before you sign and calculated on a basis you can check.
Is it normal for an estate sale company to charge a clean-out fee?
Yes. Some companies include clearing the house in their commission, some charge for it separately by the load, the hour or a flat sum, and some do not offer it. All three are ordinary. What matters is that you know which arrangement you have before the sale, what “empty” means, and who owns anything of value that is left.
Should I pay an estate sale company an advertising fee?
Only for advertising beyond the company's standard listing, photographs, email and signs, which should be included in the commission. A fair advertising fee is charged at cost or as an agreed figure for something the company can show you afterwards. A fixed advertising fee on every sale is really part of the rate, and you should compare it that way.
Who pays credit card fees at an estate sale?
It depends on the contract. Some companies absorb card processing as a cost of business; others deduct it from the gross before your share is calculated. Either is acceptable if it is written down. Also ask whether the commission is calculated on the gross before or after the card fees come off, because on a large sale the difference is noticeable.
Can an estate sale company add fees after the sale?
Not fairly, and not if the contract was written properly. Every charge should be in the agreement before you sign, as a figure or as a basis for calculating one. If a fee appears on the settlement statement that was never disclosed, ask for the clause that authorizes it; if there is none, you are entitled to dispute it.