4 Tricks That Can Make Your First Estate Sale Profitable

If this is the first time you need to figure out what to do with a departed loved one's belongings, you might be considering hiring an estate sale professional. This is good plan for any first time executor of an estate. This guide will help you understand four tricks to using estate sale professionals to increase profits and move some of the left over items from the estate.  

Don't Do Much Preparation

Allow the estate sale professionals from a company like Windsor Galleries to see the home and its contents as is. Resist the temptation to clean that old vase or bronze sculpture on the desk because you think you might get more money out of it. Professionals in this business know how to value things, even if they are dirty.

Your efforts to clean everything can actually damage some items. So, put the abrasive cleaners and chemical shining products away and allow the professionals to clean everything. In fact, cleaning and preparing the property to sell the items is part of the estate sale crew's job, so don't worry about something you are paying them to do.

Schedule the Sale Properly

There are certain times of the year when you'll be less likely to see a nice flow of potential customers flow through the home. The first two weeks in April is tax season, a time when most aren't spending money. Additionally, the first two weeks of December is too close to Christmas to consider an estate sale. The first two weeks in September are typically when people are getting their kids back to school and their minds won't be on visiting estate sales.

Keep the Details a Secret

As the estate sale professionals are using their skills and contacts to value the items left in the home, don't feel the need to tell everyone how much something is worth. Keep the details private and only tell those who need to know. An innocent comment to a friend or neighbor might get around and eventually wind up in the ears of would-be thieves.

Hold the Sale in the Home

While it might be tempting to move the items to a warehouse to hold the sale, so it feels more like a shopping experience for customers, it is best to keep the items where they are. When customers see something such as a painting, sculpture or vase, in their original location, they see how the item is used in the décor. In essence, they will get a better feel for how the piece will look in their own home.

Call an estate sale professional after all heirs have removed their possessions. They'll handle everything from that point on. The only thing you need to do is to heed their instructions. Share this with someone who might find themselves in the situation of being the executor of an estate for the first time.