Category: Retail

6 Estate Sales in 6 Weeks! We MAX-ed it out for our Clients!

In May thru June the EstateMAX team conducted 6 separate downsizing and/or estate sales in 30 days! How do we do it? We have our system! What do we do?

Set up includes merchandising, organization, pricing (based on our 30 years of market value experience, and doing additional market research as needed), extensive advertising including copyrighting all ads and marketing on line, producing sale videos, marketing on site with lawn signage and banners, then conducting and managing the sale of merchandise in the home on sale days and continuing the selling following sale days to “be backs” ( people who have thought it thru and come back for the item-) on furniture delivery and clean up days, then final house clean up including packing and broom sweeping, moving donations to charity and transport of consignments, if any, to Other People’s Stuff by EstateMAX, our estate liquidation warehouse. WHEW!

I pay my clients within one week of end of their sale by bank wire transfer and forward the sales statement by email and a hard copy with all sales receipts, and charity receipts by USPS.

Our clients only need to move out with the items they are keeping and leave the rest to us to sell and prepare their home for settlement or staging!

For those in the downsizing process, we also refer and coordinate with moving services on our client’s behalf as part of our MissionTransition, Transitions management services, or as a stand alone complimentary service to our clients.

We provide downsizing assistance to clients and their realtors to prepare a home for sale, and provide professional home staging which saves money on the staging process by eliminating duplication of services.

Laurie has a pro work background in interior design and furnishing (30 years)- which combined with the EstateMax resources and O.P.S. warehouse inventory gives our team unlimited resources to work with!

Call us for your no cost consultation for your once in a lifetime downsizing or family estate sale, transitions services and staging!

301-332-5585 Laurie Zook, President EstateMAX

Transition is Tough, We Make It Simple!

 

Why Pay Full Price for Consumables?

After 37 years on the front lines of Consumer Goods via traditional channels like big box stores and specialty boutique locations, I fell into the estate sale business and never looked back; I know how you can save yourself a bundle on stuff you will want!

My main revelation upon joining forces with industry veteran Laurie Zook in our company “EstateMax” was that the successful “Boomer” generation is downsizing and moving to retirement locations at a record pace.   We call these “Living Estate Sales.”  So, In addition to normal “estate sales” where folks have passed and there is a legal estate to be liquidated, most of our work is in turning unneeded good stuff into cash for our clients.  To fund their starting over…

This is a happy occasion, as clients opt to start over again, rid themselves of stuff they no longer need – due to duplication, or just wanting a fresh start – and they get the cash!

Much of what we find now is cool vintage stuff, collectables, antique goods, such as furniture, art, apparel, books, and nicnacs, items from world travel in some cases.  When sold, these goods get a second life, and go to estate sale shoppers who refurbish, or collect, or resell.  Talk about a treasure house full of things that could become unique wedding gifts!

Fair market value of the goods can be 30 cents on the dollar in many cases less.  So the owner gets cash back after a lifetime of use, and the new owner finds great stuff, many times  in great condition and hardly used at all, due to the love given to the goods by the original owners.  China, silverware, linens, decor……

For our younger shoppers, just starting out, it’s a gold mine of stuff needed for everyday life, or even a first collectable antique or art object for home decor.  One can furnish an entire home or apartment for much less than half of what it would cost in a traditional store….and many times you would get BETTER STUFF than they offer now…… because…..they really don’t make ’em like they used to!

Lastly, learn more about the business and how to find sales at www.EstateMaxOPS.com

See you there,    –Steve Berryman.

 

http://www.fredericknewspost.com/why-pay-full-price-for-consumables/article_ffa6ae48-75d7-11e6-b853-efd8a11a8acb.html

The Basics of Estate Sales Etiquette

In Kindergarten We Learned To Say PLEASE!

First Rule of Estate Sale Purchasing: The House is Full of Pre-Owned Merchandise. Caveat Emptor. All Sales Final!

  • Discounts Set Throughout The Weekend-We Don’t Tell You in Advance…
  • Expect Items Here & There to Lack Price Tags. Do Not Berate the Estate Seller For This Imperfection… (Not Intentional, Just An Overlooked Item, An Item Recently Dug Out of the Dregs of the Sale, or the Tags Have Been Removed By “Dust Mite Fairies”…) Just Ask The Sales Associate On The Floor !
  • We Are Not Perfect. Expectation of Perfection Will Result in Disappointment & Quibbling. We Hate Quibbling and It Makes for A Grumpy Cashier!
  • You Might Have to Wait Your Turn. Please Be Reasonable. Do Not Push or Shout or Demand…
  • If you Don’t Get the Deal You Want Today, Please Come Back Tomorrow!
    We Work For Our Client. We Are Here To Sell You The Goods Contained In This House At The Highest Possible Price. That Changes Often. That Is How We Make A Living And Our Client Expects It.
  • We Are a Small Business Employing Otherwise Unemployed Individuals In A Tricky Economy. We Are Doing Good Things With Good People And Giving You Excellent Deals By Doing So!
  • LOOK UP! WATCH YOUR STEP…Proceed At Your Own Risk! We Are Not Responsible For Risky, Moves Or Accidents. Every Action Has An Equal And Opposite Reaction: You Move Something It Will Have an Effect on Something Else, Dust Mites, Falling Objects, Etc.
  • Being Nice to The Cashier Is Appreciated. Please Help Us Make This a Positive Sale…Pay With Small Bills, Please, Credit Cards Accepted With a $3 Fee, OR 3% of Total.
  • Bring Bags And Boxes. We Rarely Have Enough.
  • If You’re An Expert In Something…We Need to Learn About It, If We Have The Time… If We’re Busy, We Can’t Always Listen…
  • Haggling Is Expected, But is Distinct From Quibbling… We Want to Make the Best Deal Possible For Both Sides of The Negotiation.
  • Stealing Is Wrong, Stupid, Selfish and Sociopathic and Doing So Shows Very Poor Judgment. You Will Be Found And Fed to the Other Estate Sale Attendees!

Thank You For your Understanding and Your Business! Laurie and the EstateMAX team