What is an estate sale?

An estate sale (or estate liquidation) is a process for selling the contents of a property, typically a residential home. Estate sales usually occur when the property is being sold or remodeled and as such must be emptied. Most estate sales comprise a large volume of inventory, which can span many varying categories of household items depending on the contents of the property. Estate sales are a cost-efficient method for estate sellers to liquidate a large volume of household items quickly. 

An estate sale is a process for selling the contents of a property.

Estate sales are most commonly conducted in an open-house format on the property itself and are open to the public free of charge.

How do estate sales work?

Estate sales are most commonly conducted in an open-house format on the property itself and are open to the public free of charge, although they may also be conducted on a by-appointment-only basis or online. Estate sales usually take place over a weekend, however they could potentially be held at any time for any duration as dictated by the circumstances of the estate seller.

Who manages an estate sale?

Estate sales are usually conducted by a professional estate liquidation company (an estate liquidator), who is hired by the estate owner or executor to manage the process. The estate liquidator will merchandise (display) the inventory as well as research and set prices for each sale item, which is then ‘tagged’ with a price. This is why estate sales are also referred to as ‘tag sales’. The estate sale will then be advertised to the public, typically on estate sale listings websites but often also via other platforms such as the estate liquidator’s website, social media, email lists and signage around the property. The estate liquidator will manage every aspect of the process, including providing access to the property for visiting shoppers, processing sale transactions and keeping the property and visiting shoppers safe and secure for the duration of the estate sale. 

How are estate sales different from yard sales and garage sales?

Estate sales differ from yard sales and garage sales in that they are usually conducted inside the property itself, not the yard or garage. As estate sales often include large items such as furniture it is impractical to conduct them outside of the house. As such, sale inventory is typically of a much higher quality than that found in garage and yard sales and can often include collectible, niche and luxury items. 

Read also: Why shop estate sales?