25 Questions to Ask an Estate Sale Company Before You Hire

How to use this list

You do not need to ask all 25 questions of every company, and you should not read them out like an interrogation. A company that has been in business a while has been asked most of these before and will answer several of them without prompting. Use the list to notice which ones it skips. The questions are grouped by topic, in roughly the order they come up: the company itself, the money, how the sale will run, security and insurance, and what happens afterwards. The answers you get should end up, almost word for word, in the contract, and our contract checklist shows where each one belongs.

One principle underneath all of them: a good answer is specific, and a bad answer is reassuring. "We handle all of that" is not an answer. "Clean-out is charged by the load, usually two to four loads for a house this size, and here is what a load costs" is.

About the company (questions 1 to 5)

1. How long have you been running estate sales, and how many do you run in a year? A good answer is a number and a story: how the owner got into it, what kind of houses they mostly do. A company that runs two sales a month has a working crew and a buyer list; one that runs two a year is a side business, which can be fine for a small estate but not a large one. Years in business on this site's company profiles is the company's own claim, attributed to the company, so ask it directly.
2. Can I see photos or a listing from a recent sale? Every company has them, because it advertised the sale. You are looking at how the house was staged, how many photos were taken, and whether prices were visible and sensible. A company that cannot show you a past sale on a phone in thirty seconds is either very new or not proud of its work.
3. Can you give me two references from sales in the last year? The good answer is yes, with names and numbers, and you should call them. Ask the reference what the settlement looked like, how quickly they were paid and what surprised them. A company that offers only a realtor who refers it work has given you a business partner, not a client.
4. Who will actually be in my house, and who is in charge on sale day? You want to know whether the person at the walk-through runs the sale or hands it to a crew, how many staff will be there, and whether they are employees or day help. Neither is wrong, but a company that cannot tell you who will be holding your mother's jewelry is not one that has thought about it.
5. Have you done a house like this one? A hoarded house, a collector's house, a small apartment and a large estate with fine furniture are different jobs. A company that has done one like yours will say so and tell you what went wrong last time. A company that says every house is the same is telling you it will treat yours like every other.

About the money (questions 6 to 11)

These are the questions families most often ask, and the ones where a vague answer costs the most. The full picture is in our guide to what estate sale companies charge; the short version is that commission commonly falls somewhere between roughly a third and a half of gross sales, varies by region and by estate, and is never the whole bill.

6. What is your commission, and is it a single rate or a sliding scale? A good answer is a percentage or a scale you can write down. "It depends on the house" is fine at the door and not fine after the walk-through.
7. Is there a minimum, and how does it work? A minimum commission in dollars, a minimum expected gross, or none. Then the test: "If the sale brings in half of what you expect, what do I receive?" A company that can do that sum on the spot understands its own contract.
8. What do you charge separately from the commission? Set-up, advertising extras, card processing, clean-out, dumpsters, permits, security. The good answer is a list with a figure or a basis for each. The bad answer is "plus expenses" with nothing behind it. Our guide to estate sale fees lists every one that can appear.
9. Is commission calculated before or after card fees and sales tax? A small question that moves real money on a large sale, and one a careful company answers immediately.
10. Roughly what do you think this house will bring in? The honest answer is a range with a caveat, because nobody knows. A company that gives you one confident figure, particularly a flattering one, is selling you the contract rather than the sale.
11. When will I be paid, and what will the settlement show? A number of days after the sale, and an itemized statement: gross, commission, each cost, net. Ask to see a sample statement from a past sale with the names removed. Our guide to when you get paid covers what a fair window looks like.

About the sale itself (questions 12 to 17)

12. How do you decide what things are worth? You want to hear about experience with ordinary goods and research on unusual ones: marks, sold records, specialists. A company that says it "just knows" may well be right for the sofa and wrong for the painting. Our guide to valuing antiques and collectibles shows what that research looks like.
13. Can I see the prices on the main pieces before the sale opens, and can I set a reserve on anything? Most companies will show you and will accept a short list of reserves; some will not, and that is worth knowing now. A company that refuses any conversation about prices is asking for trust it has not earned.
14. How will you advertise the sale, and how large is your buyer list? Listing sites, an email list with a real number attached, social accounts, signs. The good answer names each and can show you the last email it sent. This is where the money comes from, and how companies advertise a sale explains what to weigh.
15. What happens if you find something valuable you did not expect? The good answer is that they call you and talk about whether it belongs in the sale or at a specialist auction, and what the arrangement would be. A company that would simply price it and sell it has answered a different question than the one you asked.
16. How do you handle the opening line and the crowd? A sign-up sheet, numbered tickets or a digital line, a count at the door, staff in every room with valuables. A company that has not thought about this has not run a busy first morning.
17. How do you discount over the days, and who decides on offers? A posted schedule, often a percentage on day two and more on day three, and a named person with the authority to negotiate. The alternative, staff who discount whatever they like to whoever asks, is how a good house sells for half of what it should.

Security and insurance (questions 18 to 21)

Nothing on this site checks a company's insurance, and the claims on a company's profile here are the company's own, attributed to it. The way to know is to ask, get the paper, and make one phone call. Our guide to estate sale company insurance walks through the call.

18. Do you carry general liability insurance, and can I have a certificate? The good answer is yes and a certificate of insurance within a day, naming the insurer, the policy dates and the limits. Then call the insurer's number on the certificate and confirm it is current. A company that says it is insured but never produces the certificate has told you something.
19. What happens if something is broken, or stolen, during set-up or the sale? A good answer describes a process: staff in the rooms, cases for small valuables, sold pieces moved to a watched area, and what the company does when something goes missing anyway. The honest part of the answer is that some theft happens at every sale and the question is how much and how it is handled.
20. How do you keep the house secure between set-up and the sale, and who has keys? Named people, a lockbox or a single key, and rooms that are closed to the public on sale day. Our guide to estate sale security covers what to look for.
21. Are you registered as a business, and does this state require anything of you? Some states require an auctioneer's license for certain kinds of sale and most require ordinary business registration; the picture varies and our state licensing pages say what is known for each state. The good answer is a plain statement you can check in the state's business register yourself.

After the sale (questions 22 to 25)

22. What happens to what does not sell, and who decides? Donated with a receipt, sold to a buy-out dealer, hauled away, or left for you. The good answer is a choice offered to you, in the contract. The bad answer is a clause that gives the company everything unsold, with no accounting of what that was.
23. Is a clean-out included, and what will the house look like when you hand back the keys? "Broom-clean" means one thing, "we take what we can" means another. Ask for the description in writing and ask what it costs if it is not included. Clean-out services covers the fees.
24. If I need to cancel before the sale, what do I owe? A reasonable answer is a stated cancellation fee that covers work already done, and a larger one if the sale has been advertised. An answer of "the full commission on our estimate" is a contract you should read very carefully before signing.
25. What do you need from me, and by when? The good answer is a short list: take what you are keeping by a date, sign the contract, provide the paperwork that shows you may sell the contents, keep the utilities on, stay away during set-up. A company that needs nothing from you has not planned the job.

The list, without the commentary

What to do next

Ask these of two or three companies rather than one, because the answers only mean something side by side; our guide to getting and comparing estate sale quotes shows how to run that in a week without wasting anyone's time. To find companies near you, describe the estate once and local companies will reach out to you, free, or browse the company directory first. And once the answers are in, the guide to choosing an estate sale company is about how to weigh them.

Frequently asked questions