The process
How an estate sale actually works
Most of the work happens before anything is sold. Whether the sale runs online or in the house, the result is largely decided by the time it opens.
Value is found in preparation
It is found by opening every drawer instead of the obvious ones, by researching the thing that looks unremarkable, and by pricing against what items have genuinely sold for rather than what somebody is asking.
A sale that skips that work still happens. It just returns less, and nobody in the room ever knows what was missed.
Stage one
Consultation
A conversation, by phone or through the form. We need four things: where the property is, roughly what is in it, who has authority to authorize a sale, and the date you are working toward.
The purpose is to establish whether a sale is the right route at all, and if so roughly which shape it should take. Sometimes the answer is that a sale is not worth running, and it is better to hear that in a ten-minute call than three weeks in.
What you do not need yet
- An inventory or a list
- Any valuation or appraisal
- A sorted, cleaned or cleared house
- Agreement from every family member
Please do not start clearing before someone has looked. It is the most expensive mistake families make, and it cannot be undone.
Stage two
Walkthrough and written scope
We come to the property. This is where an accurate number comes from: nobody can quote an estate sight-unseen and mean it.
We assess the contents and their likely value, the volume of preparation, access and parking, how the property can be controlled during a sale, and for a condominium, the house rules and the resident manager's position.
It is also where the format is decided. An estate with a full house of furniture and easy access may do best as an in-person sale. A high-rise unit, a building that will not open to the public, or contents weighted toward smaller and higher-value pieces often does better online. Some estates are best served by doing both. That decision is made here, with the reasoning explained, and it goes into the written scope.
What you receive afterwards
- Whether the sale should run online, in person, or as a combination
- The commission rate for this estate
- The scope: what is included, and what is not
- Any separately agreed costs
- The schedule, with dates
- Settlement terms: when you are paid, in what form
- The plan for anything that does not sell
Read it, compare it, take it to another company if you want to. Nothing starts until it is signed.
Stage three
Preparation: the part that decides the number
Sorting
Room by room, including every drawer, closet and storage space. Anything needing research is set aside rather than guessed at. This is slow, and it is where things get found.
Research
Items outside ordinary household range are researched against completed sales: what buyers actually paid, not what sellers are asking. Where a piece warrants a specialist's opinion, we say so rather than estimate.
Pricing
Fair market value, adjusted for condition, completeness and local demand. That last adjustment matters here: several categories move well above mainland comparables, and several well below.
Stage four
Cataloging, listing and the sale
Photographed and inventoried
Items are photographed properly, inventoried, and labeled so every lot can be identified without guesswork. Anything personal is out of the house before this starts, and small high-value pieces are handled separately and kept secure.
Listed where buyers look
The catalog is uploaded and the sale prepared for whichever format was agreed. Estate sale buyers are an organized audience who follow sales closely, so categories are described accurately rather than lumped together: what the sale is seen by is what sets the final number.
Run under control
An online sale runs to its published close, then collection happens on scheduled slots rather than an open door. An in-person sale is staffed through the property with one controlled entry and exit, a staffed checkout, and occupancy capped where rooms are tight. Most families are not present for either, and that is usually the better choice.
Stage five
Close-out and settlement
What is left
Decided in writing before the sale, not improvised at the end: reductions as the sale closes out, a bulk buyer for the remainder, documented donation with receipts, specified items returned to the family, and disposal of the rest.
Disposal deserves real attention on Oʻahu, where bulky-item collection is by appointment and capped. The guide covers the detail.
Getting paid
Settlement follows the close of the sale and the reconciliation of the accounting. You should expect a written statement showing gross sales, the commission, any agreed costs, and the balance owed to you.
The settlement window, the form of payment and the accounting are all named in the agreement you signed before preparation started. If a company will not put those in writing in advance, that is your answer.
Planning an estate sale?
Tell us where the property is, roughly what's in it, and the date you're working toward. We'll come look, tell you what the estate is realistically likely to do, and put the scope and the rate in writing before you commit to anything.
No cost for the consultation. No obligation to book a sale.