Petersburg Estate Content Auction

In conjunction with Leonard's Auction Total Estate Solutions Presents

An Estate Content Auction October 16th, 2010 Petersburg MI. 10am

Go here for a detailed description Please be sure to visit all pages of photos.

Featured item:

Research - the Key to Hitting an Estate Sale Purchase Homerun!

Plenty of times you hear stories of folks purchasing items inexpensively at an Estate Sale and selling those items for a nice profit. How do they do it? RESEARCH. It's easier than you think when you have the internet at your disposal. There are many research tools online that can really help you score big on your next purchase. Start here:

1. Finding estate sale companies online that post lots of pictures of items that will be for sale. Use www.estatesales.net, craiglist.org, gsalr.com,estatesales.org, Total Estate Solutions, or googling estate sales.

2. Look at those pictures with a fine tooth comb looking at items in the foreground and background make note of what you've found. If you don't know what you are looking at just type your best description in google and click on images in the top left hand part of the page. Hopefully you'll find out what you are looking for. Pay attention to the material for antiques.

3. Find out what the item would sell for at retail by using Terapeak, an ebay sellers tool that you can do research on to find out how much the item sold for and every other stat that you can think of. You can go back as far as 180 days. You have to pay for this service but it is well worth it if you sell on ebay or amazon or any other online retail store.

4. If you can get the ISBN # for books, use this ISBN TOOL to show you how much the book is selling for new and used. Store this link on your cell phone and use it everywhere you go. You could also use Amazon to look up books and other items that have an ISBN #, UPC code, or ASIN.

5. For artists, paintings use Find Art Info for information on how much a painting of a particular artist may have sold at. You can also google artist price lookup for more websites to use.

6. If you can't find anything about a particular item on the internet (virtually impossible) visit your local bookstore or library reference section for price guides. It's not recommended to use price guides as your guide to making the most profit on your purchase but to use as a guideline. Remember - AN ITEM IS WORTH ONLY WHAT SOMEONE IS WILLING TO PAY.


At all of Total Estate Solutions estate sales we allow PDA's, hand held devices, computers with wireless cards, phone a friend, or anything else that helps you find a piece of treasure in your hunt.

Getting Creative Making More in your Estate Sale

In most Estate Sales that Total Estate Solutions performs we are directed to rid the house of all the content. Our job is to ensure that we secure the most money for the estate as possible. Donating, or simply throwing items away is something we try to avoid at all costs. Remember the more you make the more we make?

We came up with creative (without tipping off the competition) ways to get the most money we can near the end of the sale, here are a FEW (all happen at various times on the final day of the sale):

1. 50% off starting at 12pm and increasing the percentage by 10% off hourly thereafter.

2. On-site silent auction of larger items with a buy-it-now price (through-out entire sale).

3. Numerous bargain bins for smaller items.

4. Well, there are at least 3 more ideas that are sure fire ways for getting more money for your items that we won't dare share here because our competition likes to read our blog!

Visit Total Estate Solutions and fill out the contact information to find out our 3 sure fire ways to get more money for your Estate Sale.

We ask our competitors not to contact us we'll smoke you out!!!!

Estate Sale Companies Have Lost Touch

Not only does Total Estate Solutions hold Estate Sales, visiting competitors on a weekly basis is done to help us keep a few legs up on our competitors and give our customers what they really want and that is....DEALS! After visiting three Estate Sales, this week, enough was enough.

While making the most money for the client is our number one goal pricing items so high that even at half off you could go to the local department store for the same price is not the way to make the most money for an Estate Sale. Turning customers off the first day by overpricing items will more than likely prohibit them from coming back for the last day.

Why do people attend Estate Sales? DEALS, DEALS, DEALS!!! Most of these Estate Sale companies have lost touch with their customers wants, needs, and desires. Guess who loses, YOU the client. Total Estate Solutions understands the current market and prices to sell.

Estate Sales need people talking. Aggressive prices will do that. Time and time again we are complimented on our pricing and that reputation has helped us grow as a business. We understand that resellers need a little meat on the bone and folks without jobs can't shop at those department stores. WHY DO PEOPLE ATTEND ESTATE SALES?

There was one particular sale in Southeast Michigan, that was advertised as a downsizing sale, the directional signs on the road read Estate Sale and you pull up and everything was in the garage. We like to call this a GARAGE SALE!!!!!! Customers don't want to be fooled by deceptive advertising. Call it what it is. No offense to the client/family that held the sale it's not your fault.

Had to get that rant out next time we'll focus on creative ways to liquidate leftover items before the Estate Sale is complete...

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What to do with items that don't sell !BEWARE!

The last thing you would want to do is hire an Antique Store or Estate Sale business that has a storefront.

This would be known as a conflict of interest.

These companies often overprice items for the sale, low and behold most of the items don't sell and your left with most of the content. These businesses then offer a ridiculously low price for the leftovers ***Some even charge you to clean out the content of the home*** then take the items to their shop and sell those items for sizable profits leaving you with very little.

BEWARE THIS HAPPENS!!!! If you go this route have multiple storefront Antique Shops or Estate Sale businesses offer you a bulk price for everything, which is usually not even close to what you would make having a sale or they simply won't do, or move on with a professional company that strictly does Estate Sales and helps you with the leftovers. The more money your Estate Sale makes the more money the Estate Sale company will make.

Now that we got the disclaimer out of the way, depending on the situation of the Estate there are leftovers to contend with. Here are a few ways to empty the house and get it ready for market:

1. Donate the remaining items to a local charity. If you choose this route, have the Estate Sale company itemize what is left so that you can use this as a write-off for Uncle Sam.
   
2. Auction the remaining items at a local auction house. Usually they charge a higher percentage of the items but some CASH is better than no CASH!
   
3. Rent a garbage dumpster and start dumping. This is not recommended because it can be costly and usually there are items that can be sold.
4. List items in bulk on Ebay, Craiglist, Amazon, or any online reseller.
   
5. Recycle, Recycle, Recycle!! Especially if there are metals in the house. Almost anything can be recycled. Some items you can make money on some you can't, at least you know you are doing the right thing by helping the environment.

In order to avoid having to deal with leftovers there are other creative ways that Total Estate Solutions clears the house out BEFORE the sale is complete....

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The Estate Sale Process

One of the top ranking questions we get when asked about an Estate Sale is simply, "How is it done"? Well this is how it should be done...

1. DON'T THROW ANYTHING AWAY!!! You'd be amazed by what people will buy.
   
2. The process always begins with an on-site consultation at the clients convenience. This is done to figure out if the amount of items and quality of items warrants an Estate Sale. Having a sale site unseen can pose many problems, the top problem being the commission does not get covered or making just enough to cover a minimum commission and the family is left with nothing. Be sure to have a consultation, and get the truth, if the percentage of the commission can't be covered then it wouldn't be wise to have a professional company host your Estate Sale.
   
3. You should be provided with a checklist of what is expected from you and your family as well as what you can expect from the Estate Sale company. Clear expectations are important for both parties involved. Being uncertain as to how the process is handled can only be more stressful. Having a physical guideline is MANDATORY!
   
4. The process of the actual sale begins with the search and emptying of closets, attic, crawl space, cabinets, sheds, any place where there may be storage of items that people couldn't normally get to.
5. Staging is the key to the sale. Plenty of companies just throw items on a table without any real organization. Customers for the sale want to find items easily and want to know, for example, that tools are all together and not spread out throughout the house. This creates confusion and unhappy customers.
   
6. Pricing is clearly and professionally marked. Most companies use tape and marker, this is easily duplicated and needs to be avoided at all costs! A person can walk in with their own tape and marker or a few pieces of their own tape marked already and decide a $10 book is $1 and remove the sticker and place their own in its place. It happens! Total Estate Solutions avoids this by using a price gun that has a special marking on the sticker. Very hard to duplicate.
   
7. Research of valuable items is a must. If there are particular items in the Estate that you may know about and would like to see a certain price by all means please be sure to say something. Total Estate Solutions does not claim to know everything about everything. Calling outside experts for appraisals is a must. There are companies out there that refuse to do this.
   
8. The throw away process will begin with items that are not sellable or recyclable. Most people will "clean out" an Estate before allowing consultation to determine if there is enough stuff to sell. DON'T DO IT!! Almost anything you can throw away is recyclable. Better to get a few pennies than to get no pennies. Any type of metal can be recycled in exchange for CASH!
9. Widespread advertising is a must. Online adverting, local newspapers, and an email database are the key to getting the word out. Pictures posted online are really what customers are looking for, a way to pre-shop the sale.
10. The end of the sale is just as important as the sale itself...

What do you do with the leftover items that don't sell?

Welcome to Total Estate Solutions Estate Sale Blog!

Welcome! It is our intent to educate and create an atmosphere where folks can come and ask questions, leave feedback, and add comments about the process of an Estate Sale. Total Estate Solutions appreciates the difficulty and the overwhelming task of liquidating the contents of a loved ones estate, that's why we want to make the process as easy as possible.

The more you know about the process the easier it is to manage the Estate Sale. Please bookmark our blog and check back often. We encourage your feedback and participation to help yourself and others to understand the process.