Question 1

What is an estate sale?

Accepted Answer

An estate sale is the professionally organized sale of the full or partial contents of a home, hosted on-site over the course of 1-2 days.  Hiring a professional to organize an estate sale is a great choice if you are moving, downsizing, or in need of someone to help you sell the contents of your home, your family member's home, or a furnished property you have acquired or inherited.

Question 2

Why use an estate sale company?

Accepted Answer

Family may find it emotionally painful to sort through all the items. It is very time-consuming and they may not have time flexibility to devote to pulling out everything that has not been disturbed in years, proper sorting, organizing, setting up, displaying, coordinating, moving, arranging, researching, marketing, hosting — all which can be physically and emotionally demanding. An estate sale professional possesses specialized knowledge in the industry that will maximize proceeds, understand the local market, and assess what it will sell for in that region. It is a specialized niche that requires tremendous skill to conduct a successful, lucrative sale. Some clients prefer that a professional handle the estate for them, alleviating the pressure and massive undertaking from the family and/or executor. Geographically remote heirs need to rely on local resources, lest they keep taking time off work and fly back and forth, causing personal and professional strife. If the real estate has sold quickly, often people will seek out estate sale companies to liquidate the home contents in a timely manner. If they did it themselves, they could take weeks or months to get ready for the sale. To avoid any hard feelings within the family, an estate sale company can minimize tension because it’s in the hands of a professional, objective third party.

Question 3

How can I arrange an estate sale at my property?

Accepted Answer

Just get in touch with us via phone (401) 400-2771 to schedule a free consultation. We'll be happy to help you figure out whether an estate sale is right for you.

Question 4

How do you prepare for the sale?

Accepted Answer

Several weeks in advance, we will come in and photograph the contents of the home for the purpose of advertising. Necessary items will be researched. All inventory will be uploaded to the auction platform if we are conducting the sale online. Home will be staged if we are holding an in person sale. Sufficient staff will be hired to assist customers.

Question 5

How do you advertise?

Accepted Answer

Photographs and details are published on numerous estate sale websites, social media. The day of the sale we will post signs in the immediate area.

Question 6

How long does a sale last?

Accepted Answer

For an in person sale we will typically hold a 1-2 day sale. An online auction typically will run for 1 week.

Question 7

What happens after the sale?

Accepted Answer

After the sale, we will evaluate and make arrangements for any leftover items. For an additional fee, we can have the home cleared out and left broom-swept for closing.

Question 8

What about payment?

Accepted Answer

Payment will be made immediately after sale. There are never any upfront costs, we don’t get paid until after the sale has ended.

Question 9

Should we get rid of items that we believe have no value such as postcards, books, magazines, etc?

Accepted Answer

No! This is the biggest mistake people make when preparing to conduct a sale. Many people would consider certain items "junk", but that junk may be a diamond in the rough, or a treasure to a collector. Let us take care of the separating for you. This is part of our service. DO NOT THROW ANYTHING AWAY!!

Question 10

What if family members and myself want to keep some of the items for ourselves?

Accepted Answer

We ask that you or family members remove any of the items that you would like to keep prior to us coming out to assess the sale items. This will allow us to conduct a thorough assessment of what the sale can bring. Also, we ask that you remove any personal paperwork from the residence, such as birth certificates, social security cards, drivers license, passports, military documents, bank statements, pay stubs, medical bills, etc. Anything we may find that you may have missed we will put in a secure place for you.

Question 11

What is the fee for coming out to the house and assessing the estate?

Accepted Answer

Our consultation and meeting with you is "FREE" of charge. If we determine a sale is not warranted, we will recommend other alternatives and provide you guidance on who to contact. We would not recommend anyone we would not allow in our own home.

Question 12

Are you insured?

Accepted Answer

Yes, we are fully insured against any damage that may occur to your property during the setup or running of a sale.

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RHODE ISLAND ESTATE SALES & CLEANOUTS