My parents have Antique furniture, what is it worth?

A large part of what we do is manage our clients expectations and prepare them for the results of the sale. Every home has a different collection of items unique to the people that lived there. The largest part of an estate sale is the furniture in the home. Unfortunately the furniture does not bring the highest proceeds to a sale. 

The furniture market is very soft right now. What that means is, furniture does not have the value that it once had in the market place say 5-10 years ago. This is the same for antique and vintage furniture. The only type of furniture that is holding some value is Mid-Century Modern furniture. This era of furniture is from 1945 - 1965 but has been pushed into the 1970's. Not all MCM furniture is created equal. It is a certain style and look of MCM furniture that is popular today. 

A Danish Teak Dining room table from the 1970's will bring more money than a 1950's Drexel Dining room table. Darker furniture is not popular in today's age. Buyers are looking for light modern furniture for their homes. 

Another factor to take into consideration is furniture stores. When Rooms to Go sells a whole room of furniture for $699 and they deliver. How can we compete with that price point? Unless buyers appreciate older vintage furniture, it is a hard sell. And even if it is appreciated buyers are not paying reasonable prices. 

Think about this, there are 50-75 estate sales going on every weekend year round. Each estate sale is competing for buyers to come to the sale. We typically always have great turn out at our sales but buyers tend to buy on 50% off day. If the items are priced high they will not sell even for half off. 

We have to be super reasonable in pricing the furniture because at the end of the sale we do not want a house full of furniture left and wondering what to do with it. I am not saying that all furniture is not worth anything. Sure there are pieces that will bring thousands if not tens of thousands of dollars. Right now those pieces are few and far between at this point. So in conclusion be realistic in what you expect for the antique furniture you have for sale. Don't get discouraged thinking that you will not have enough to have a sale performed by a estate sale company. 

Let us come out and meet with you for a free consultation. At that time we can determine there is enough to do the sale. If you have any questions please contact Kelly Honey with A Honey Hole Estate Sales at 404-509-2699. We can answer any question you might have regarding your sale. 

You get what you pay for

Just recently I had a client ask me why I had a higher percentage than some of the other companies and why was I deserving of the higher rate. I explained to him our process and was confident in our services. 

There are other companies that will charge a lower percentage to get the sale. That does not always equate to a better over all sale for the client. If a company is charging a lower percentage they might be cutting corners in some key areas. Those areas might be advertising, set up, research and how they treat your home. 

So what is included in the percentage we charge? 

We have a million dollar insurance policy for our business. We pay to advertise our business and sales on the largest estate sale websites. There are employees that we have during our sales. We do days of research to make sure the prices we are charging are fair market value and have comparable sold sales to show our buyers what those items have sold for in the last 30 days in other avenues. It also educates us on the items you have in your home to help us get familiar with your collections. We stage the house to look very nice during our sales. We bring in shelves and tables to display all items for sale. Buyers cannot buy what they cannot find. 

All of these services have a time and cost that come with it. Buyers want items to be presentable and will spend more money when things look like they are taken care of. We work with a buyer's mindset because that is what is needed to have a successful sale. 

So in conclusion try not to base your decision on percentage alone. Factor in what all the estate company is offering to you. Ask questions and get them to tell a detailed plan for your sale. 

If you are needing to liquidate any personal property for yourself or a loved one please consider giving us a call. You can reach me at 404-509-2699 or kelly@honeyhole.co. 

DO NOT THROW ANYTHING AWAY

I cannot tell you how many appointments I go on and they have cleaned out all the "trash" from the house or they took all the clothing to the local charity. People do not realize that everything is worth something to the right person. 

Let's talk about clothing. Vintage clothing is in style and can go for big bucks. Look up vintage band t-shirts. You will be shocked to find out what they are going for online. We had an estate sale a couple months ago and found a lot of vintage clothing in the attic. Names like Lillie Rubin and Neem Kahn to name a couple. We found some nice clothing. The one gem was a Neem Kahn Full Length Sequined Evening Gown from the 1980's. New they go for $3,000 to $8,000. It was in very good condition, so we asked $750 for it. This goes to show that if you clean out yours or your loved ones closets you could be throwing out hundred of dollars in sales. 

Now lets talk about the trash. "One Mans Junk is Another Mans Treasure." What you think is junk and needs to be thrown away might be the exact thing someone is looking for. I cannot tell you how many times when I was an Estate Sale Buyer that I would purchase the most random things. I have purchased pressure cooker jigglers, old broken lamps, old water can spouts and tons of everyday useful items. Like half bottles of laundry detergent, hand soap, WD-40, and the list goes on. Bed linens, towels, and sheets are very sell-able as well.  People like to save money and this is a great way for some.

All of the small items add up in the end. You can have all the big furniture in the house but if you do not have smaller items to fill in the sale it will not go well. People want a variety when shopping at an Estate Sale and we give it to them. 

So, please do not throw anything away before you call an Estate Sale company. The more stuff you have the better. We love this business because we love to hunt treasure and the more we find the more we dig. So let us dig. 

If you are ever in need of an Estate Sale and are in the metro Atlanta area please call me for a consultation. The consultation is free and I can let you know how we can help you in this time of need. We take the stress out of liquidating personal property. We perform all sized Estate Liquidations.

A Honey Hole Estate Sales  404-509-2699