Estate Sale Process

What is an Estate Sale?

An Estate Sale, also known as a Tag Sale, is a means of liquidating the belongings of a family or an estate. It is used when someone is in need of a way to sell items due to downsizing, moving, divorce, bankruptucy or death. The public is invited into the home and given the opportunity to purchase any item that is priced for sale. Sometimes there are items that are not for sale because the family has decided to keep them or new owners of the house have made them part of a contract to buy the house. An Estate Auction differs because all items are auctioned off instead of being marked with a selling price.

How does it work?

No matter what your reasons are for needing an estate sale, Francis Findings Estale Sales can help.

This is how it works for us:

1. We receive a call or an e-mail from you letting us know that you may be interested in having a sale. Once we get some basic information from you, we can set up a specific time to meet with you at the sale location.

2. When meeting with you , we will take a general inventory of the contents. This will enable us to advise you as to whether you have enough inventory for a profitable sale. If not, we can recommend an alternative option.

3. If we are going to conduct a sale, we will determine the sale dates and complete a contract. Once you have read and signed the contract, we will be ready to begin our work.

4. We will need a key to the residence. A garage door opener will also work if no extra key is available.

5. We will then proceed to set up the sale. All sellable items will be organized, cleaned (if needed), displayed, priced and labeled. All un-sellable items will be disposed of. (This will be done over several days.) Signage will be posted to inform customers of Entrance and Exit Doors, Do Not Enter areas, general pricing, etc.

6. We will advertise and market your sale through our website. Item descriptions and pictures of your inventory will be available for viewing. We will e-mail as well as send post cards to our loyal customers to alert them of your upcoming estate sale. Ads will run in the local newspapers prior to the sale. We will post outdoor signage a week or so prior to the sale. Several signs will be strategically placed on street corners in the local area on the sale days to attract additional customers and to help shoppers locate the sale.

7. We will then hold the sale for two or three days, depending on the amount and quality of your inventory. We will use one entrance and one exit to safeguard your merchandise. We will have our professional staff there during the sale hours to help customers and to answer any questions they may have.

8. A check will be written and sent to you within ten days after closing the sale along with the key. You will also receive an itemized list of all major items that were sold at the sale.