Whether you are looking to downsize from a family home to a condominium, looking to de-clutter or put an entire estate up for auction, this article will help you choose the right estate buyer, auction house or liquidator, perhaps the most important decision you will have to make.
What follows is a brief guide, put together by drawing upon our 25 years of experience in the Auction and Estate buying business- think of this as a cheat sheet to help you get the maximum value for the items you wish to sell.
Rule 1: Maximizing the dollar value means knowing what you have!
If the goal is to maximize the dollar value of the items you wish to sell- it is important to know what you have. For instance, if you have inherited some fine art, sculptures or etchings look to see if they are signed or have any documentation that could help you identify the artist. Use Google to research the artist, try and establish what their work has sold for, or whether other work by the artist is in a gallery, museum or collection.
Rule 2: Set your goals to reach your goals!
Be clear about your goals- if you need to de-clutter in order to sell a property, then be clear about this with any potential estate buyer. If your goal is to maximize the dollar value and you’re not in a hurry – be sure to communicate this.
Rule 3: No cherry picking!
Don’t allow estate buyers or appraisers to cherry pick the best stuff leaving you with the lower value items and the hassle of disposing of them.
Rule 4: Everything works better when everybody wins!!!!!!!
Align your interests with your Estate Buyer or selected Auction House. Estate buyers and Auctioneers operate in two main ways; they will either offer you cash for all or part of the estate – this is a good option if you need to de-clutter quickly and have a good idea of the value of the estate. Or, they may offer to sell your items for you in a consignment relationship- basically, this means that they will do all the work to sell the items at Auction and take a commission as their payment.
Another benefit of the consignment approach is that in most cases you can set a reserve or minimum sale price. So, if an item fails to reach a price you consider fair – it won’t sell and you can try again in a different venue.
Rule 5 – Think of your estate buyer as a partner!
Lastly, pick your estate buyer, auctioneer or estate liquidator carefully. Don’t get low balled or pressured into a sale. At Neely Auctions, we have over two decades of experience selling Antiques, Artwork, and collectibles. We will always look for the best way to align our interests with yours. We build our business when our customers prosper and we know that the way to growth and continued success is to ensure that each customer recommends or refers us to others.
For a complete guide to all the estate liquidation services we offer click here
For the 4 secrets an estate buyer doesn’t want you to know click here