Have to plan an estate sale. What should I be looking for in a company and what are the questions that I to ask of them?
Thanks.

Oh, this will be in Dale County, AL if there is someone you want to recommend or advise to stay away from.

Cottage Antiques out of Dothan did ours a few months ago.
They work off of a percentage. They did everything and that was what we needed. Nothing left behind.

Make sure, that they are there to SELL your stuff. Lots of these companies are going to charge you to run these, mark the items that will sell extremely high so that they don't move and then work it into the contract that they can keep what doesn't move. Then they make a killing on EBAY, Facebook etc.......

any guns, ammo, ammo crates etc?

Don't hire it out. Do it yourself. With the help of family, I did my Dad and Mom's place last May. I'd rather family have some of the money for helping me with it than a bunch of folks I don't know. It was work, it was hard, but it didn't kill us, and we got it successfully done.

What ever method you choose keep a eye out for thief's

I don’t envy you, there’s several women around here who do some of that kinda stuff. You have to trust them for sure.

Just a suggestion. Anything that you think has better than usual value, set it back, and sell it separate or find an expert to look at it. Old coins, watches, jewelry, that ugly painting of soup cans in the back bedroom that says Warhol in the bottom corner, any thing like that. I saw a real ugly antique clock sell for a nice chunk a while back, but the owner originally thought it was just a $10 shelf filler.

We hired someone to do and estate sale after my grandmother died about 10 years ago.

He tells you he can sell it all. He appraised the furnishings and collectables at over 100K.

What he doesn't tell you is he will sell everything at 25 cents on the dollar in order to sell everything and take a cut out of that.

I felt like we got royally screwed.

what cuz said. we did my grandparents a few years ago. The internet is a very useful tool to use when pricing items.
Good Luck

Here is a tip a lot of folks do not consider. If you find your item on Ebay, look at the Sold listing for that or similar items. What they are asking for is not what it realistically is selling for. The Sold listing gives a better idea of what something will actually sell for.

No Sir, I would be taking care of anything like that. Largest items are living room set with couch, chairs, coffe and end tables. Same things in the den - couch, chairs, and tables, kitchen table and chairs, dining room with table, chairs, hutch, china , 3 bedroom sets, lots of lamps, and so much kitchen stuff. Have found 3 different mixers, 3 blenders, 2 griddles. and to many pots, pans, plates to count, 3 fridges, and a freezer.

If you got an Antique or even just an older Kitchen Aid mixer that is working. Its worth a lot more than retail for a new one. Professional chefs and cooking nerds like the old one's better than the new, and I could probably find you somebody that would pay top of the mark for it.

Estate sales are sad . Selling things someone has spent a lifetime acquiring. Also makes you realize we really own nothing, just holding on to it a little while

Thanks for the heads up. I will look tomorrow.

I am not sure how they value those mixers or even what features are considered desirable or not but there are some serious (mentally questionable) Kitchen Aid collectors out there. Somebody is asking $11,000 for this one. Its a "special edition" owned by somebody fancy I guess.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/2253332107...gu&widget_ver=artemis&media=COPY

I agree! One way to deal with treasured items is to give them away to family and friends as you get older and include the story or information about the item as you give them away. My mother did some of this before she died and she looked forward to the act of giving as children and grandchildren came to visit her in her later years.

That's a fact. I had to get rid of my folks stuff less than a couple years ago. Us kids all live about 9 hrs away, so we didn't have the luxury of going back and have time to plan and do a sale. We all got what we could, donated a bunch, then hauled the rest to a landfill. Depressing. And then the sun came up the next morning and life goes on.