Estate Sale or Garage Sale?


Estate sales are no longer solely being held by family members of the deceased to downsize and amicably split the estate. Many people rather hold an Estate Sale, as they are far more profitable than Garage Sales.  If you are trying to decide weather you should have a Garage Sale or an Estate Sale, you need know if your items have –

Collector appeal
Decorative appeal, or
Re-useable appeal

If mostly re-useable appeal then your items probably will fit into the “Garage Sale” category as you most likely have old clothing, children’s toys, baby items, household goods, and tools, camping gear and pet beds, old magazines, old blankets etc..


If your items have collector appeal and decorative appeal then an Estate Sale may be just the sale for you especially if you have a pretty good inventory of these items. Antiques, vintage, glassware, pottery, fine china, furniture, porcelain, tea cups, tablecloths, paintings, Persian rugs, art deco, retro, rhinestone jewelry, Christmas decorations, vintage clothing, collector cars, old bicycles, dolls, actually collections of cookie jars, salt and pepper shakers, lunch boxes, Fiesta, Barbie dolls, carnival glass, depression glass, Waterford, etc.. are all just some of the fabulous Estate Sale items people will pay top $$ for.

Doing research to know exactly what it is you have and how much it is sellable for is key along with advertising. The bigger names your collector and decorative items have (Waterford, Meissen, Royal Doulton, Chanel, Gucci, Mercedes, Majolica etc.) the better to advertise your sale and draw many more people to your sale to buy. It is not always easy to know what your items are worth and it can pay big time to have a professional Estate Sale company do the sale for you even if you have to pay a commission. The Estate Sale company can advertise the sale for you and many times they will arrive with shelves, tables, and cabinets and setup for the sale.


Many times you can contact local appraisers or your local reputable antique shops for appraisals, fees may run $125+ an hour to appraise your items but you need to determine what your items are worth in order to price them for sale. Also, if you have several items you might consider packing up the “best” items and taking them to a local antiques/collector fair where many times you will be able to get an appraisal right there for $10-$20 per item.

Now is the time to start gearing up for an Estate Sale or Garage Sale as we are well into Spring and this is a prime time to be selling!!

Please visit use at: Crazy4MeEBAY, Crazy4MeRUBYLANE

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Part 3: What it is, What it’s worth, and How to Sell it!

Continued Part 3….

We have previously covered 3 Steps to Figuring Out What it is and What it’s worth. Continue reading below to Figure Out How to Sell It-


How to sell it?

Congratulations! Once you have made it to step 3, you should know what the item(s) is and what it is worth and have formulated some type of description for the item so you can sell it……you will also need to take some photos of your item(s) as a photo really is worth $$$ when selling the item online.

You need to decide how you plan to sell your item. Will you sell it at a garage sale, estate sale, consignment shop, eBay, Etsy, Online Mall, Amazon, Newspaper, Craigslist, etc. as each method yields different results. Hopefully when you spent all that time performing research on your item you were able to determine what the demand for your item is and if it is considered a “hot” collectible or something that is“not currently in demand”.

Selling at a Garage Sale:
Okay, first things first, you are ready for your garage sale! We will assume you have already researched the ordinances in your community and city and know the rules pertaining to having a garage sale and placing signage around town and your street advertising the garage sale. You have probably also placed ads online and in your local newspaper too. NOTE: After your garage sale has ended, remember to take your signs down and pick them up from all the places you put them. Since you have researched the ordinances in your area you already know if fines apply to leaving your signs up.

Loose all emotional connection you have with the item(s) as people shopping your garage sale will not treat your item(s) as lovingly as you have as they are not emotionally attached to it and will negotiate the pricing.

Alright, let’s get to the main point here and it is PRICING. How do you price your items for a Garage sale – is the question? A good method to determine pricing is the item should be priced “at a third of what it would cost if buying it brand new”. And if your item has damage then pricing it much lower will help sell it. Be prepared, as no matter how fair you have priced your items, someone will always want to negotiate for a lower price.

TIP: If you are selling electronics or appliances then have an electric cord and electric outlet nearby so potential buyers can test the item(s) out and they will ask if they can test it out to ensure they are operating.

If you are selling clothing, then be prepared for folks to negotiate as they will say they are not able to try the item(s) on so they should get a discount.

Be sure that you are selling items that are clean (no major grime, bugs, dirt, food stains). Items that are not too damaged (you can always have a “free” pile). Selling items that are not in the worst condition will encourage buyers to shop your garage sale and not run away!

If you have attended garage sales and yard sales you know that things priced in the .25, .50, $2.00 range are what sells. Garage sales are not the place for your high-end collectibles as buyers are looking for bargains. But, if you do decide to sell your more expensive item(s) that (appear in books, magazines, or catalogs, or online web pages) because it is a very collectible item, a tactic you may try is printing out the information and photo of the item from that book or online website or wherever you have the information and attach it to your item at the sale, you may have a better chance of getting the price you are asking as individuals will see it is an “in-demand” item. Good luck!

Selling Online:
In this portion we will discuss the three most popular online venues for sellers- eBay, Etsy, Online Malls.

Continue reading

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