Hire or Attend a Professionally Run Estate Sale

What is an Estate Sale- Definition ?

Usually estate sales entail the liquidation of the entire contents of a home from housewares, furniture, appliances and electronics to art, antiques, jewelry, coins, timepieces, crystal, china and collectibles.

Items that have been in the family for many years may now be considered antiques and are often in impeccable condition.

Customers can enjoy unique items displayed throughout the home, sorted and gathered for ease of perusal - no scrounging through boxes, bags or closets.

Estate sales differ from garage, moving and tag sales by the quality of the items offered, the range of selections, advertising and signage, the professionalism of the displays and the pricing offered by the estate sale management company.

Why go to local Estate Sales?

Sales run by professional estate sale management companies can offer a lot. Since each piece is carefully evaluated and researched by the company, customers’ expectations for high quality, one-of-a-kind finds are usually realized.

The Estate Sale management company has prices clearly displayed on each valuable so you are assured that you will be quoted the same price as any other customer - not according to the whim of the seller, which often occurs at garage sales!

You can also feel more comfortable negotiating on items you feel are too expensive since the management company personnel has no emotional attachment to the items and you're not risking offending the owner’s feelings by offering too little.

The estate sale company is there to sell as much as possible so they will be happy to negotiate, especially if you're buying multiple items.

Why trust a professional estate sale company?

The sales managed by professional estate sale companies can ensure the authenticity of the items, share the provenance of the valuables, provide available documentation and price the items accordingly.

It is important for both the buyers and sellers that the company's appraisers evaluate the items. Designers of jewelry, pottery, rugs, furniture, crystal or flatware almost always sign their works with a hallmark, a small icon, signature or initials. The appraiser locates these and researches the maker’s marks, as well as the reputation of the individual artist. All of these findings are taken into consideration when pricing.

Because cultures, values, styles and tastes have changed since the original dates of purchase, both buyers and sellers benefit from the knowledge estate sales management companies impart.

Appraisers are well informed on the current health of investment markets; some have become saturated or softened, others have seen steep appreciations over the years. Pricing by the estate sales company usually involves using fair market values, so you can trust that both the customer and seller will be equally happy with the pricing.

Although there are many reasons why people hire an estate sale company to manage the numerous aspects of liquidating one’s treasures, protecting investments and providing fair market value pricing to potential customers is the single most important reason.

Buying and selling jewelry - Native American Turquoise Jewelry

Jewelry can be a fashion statement, work of art or investment. Numerous characteristics are taken into consideration in addition to the hallmark; the patina, quality of the workmanship, value and sources of the stones and metals used, the purity of the metal, the reputation of the metalsmith.

While imitation may be the highest form of flattery, professional appraisers protect you from inadvertently purchasing knockoffs, forgeries and mass produced copies.

Similarly, what may look like an antique to the untrained eye, could be a clever reproduction, and when determined to be so, the item is clearly marked as such (even if included in the estate sale). All of this is especially true when it comes to Native American jewelry.

There are a lot of forgeries coming out of Thailand in recent years. The difference in pieces and prices could be astronomical according to who made the pieces. Also, when buying or selling authentic Native American jewelry, two seemingly identical bracelets created and signed by different artists, could vary significantly in value.

Northern New Mexico has a very large selection of authentic Native American Turquoise jewelry. Santa Fe, NM is a great place to buy and sell jewelry. Since Madera Antiques is located in the Southwest, we specialize in identifying and appraising Native American jewelry.

We have both local and international connections to sell your treasures at the highest values possible. This is also why we have a great selection of authentic Native American jewelry on our online store. Visit Our Online Jewelry Store 

Online Estate Sales

An up and coming way to run an estate sale is online, whether from a local web site or a commercial web site like ebay. It's worth mentioning that ebay has millions of registered users and your items will be exposed to millions of people in every state and through most of the world.

It's also important to remember that feedback and reputation on eBay has a lot to do with whether an item sells and for how much. You really want a seller with over 2000 feedbacks and 100% positive rate.

Buyers online are willing to pay more, usually, for the added benefits of buying from a well established ebay seller. As a consigner, this means that you will get more money for items and your items will sell quicker. Visit Our Online Store to see a great example of a store that runs online estate sales. 

Sell Your Estate Outright: Estate Sale Liquidators

Another way to sell your estate or collection is to sell it to a liquidation company that specializes in buying entire estates.Usually a company would be invited to your house or business to evaluate and make an offer for your entire estate or collection.

Although you will receive considerably less money this way, the benefits include receiving an immediate lump sum and no sales hassles.This method is relevant when in a time crunch or funds are needed immediately.