Several times a week I see this played out. A family member in charge of disposing of Mom or Dad's estate asks me if they should have an auction or an estate sale. There several factors to consider
Did Mom or Dad collect anything of value? This may be a hard question as a lot of parents spent a good deal of money on items they were told would be collectible such as "Collector" plates or Avon bottles, but a good collection of glassware, china, stamps, watches, coins, old fishing lures, guns, old toys etc. would make me recommend an auction and not an estate sale In an estate sale you must set the price however, if you under-price an item you don't get the option of raising the price later. In an auction the buyers set the price and collectibles are in very high demand at auctions so the price can go up a good deal. Lots of good collectibles = auction.
Is there jewelery? Auction buyers love jewelery, costume and estate jewelery. Jewelery = auction.
Does the estate have tools? Power tools? Auctions are good for tools. good tools = auction
How is the furniture in the estate? Particle board and contact paper covered furniture is better for an estae sale, antiques do better at auction.
How is the parking? Auctions take more parking as people will be there all day. If you are on a busy street with no parking you might want to either move the goods to another location or have an estate sale.
Cars, trucks, and equipment do much better at auction than at estate sales.
How many items are in the estate? A good auctioneer can sell about 60 lots per hour. Some lots have more than 1 item in them others are only one item. Most auctioneers sell for no more than 5 hours in a day. An auction can be spread out over several days. Estate sales are normally 2 day events, normally Saturday and Sunday. Fewer items = estate sale, lots of items, think auction.
Did Mom or Dad collect anything of value? This may be a hard question as a lot of parents spent a good deal of money on items they were told would be collectible such as "Collector" plates or Avon bottles, but a good collection of glassware, china, stamps, watches, coins, old fishing lures, guns, old toys etc. would make me recommend an auction and not an estate sale In an estate sale you must set the price however, if you under-price an item you don't get the option of raising the price later. In an auction the buyers set the price and collectibles are in very high demand at auctions so the price can go up a good deal. Lots of good collectibles = auction.
Is there jewelery? Auction buyers love jewelery, costume and estate jewelery. Jewelery = auction.
Does the estate have tools? Power tools? Auctions are good for tools. good tools = auction
How is the furniture in the estate? Particle board and contact paper covered furniture is better for an estae sale, antiques do better at auction.
How is the parking? Auctions take more parking as people will be there all day. If you are on a busy street with no parking you might want to either move the goods to another location or have an estate sale.
Cars, trucks, and equipment do much better at auction than at estate sales.
How many items are in the estate? A good auctioneer can sell about 60 lots per hour. Some lots have more than 1 item in them others are only one item. Most auctioneers sell for no more than 5 hours in a day. An auction can be spread out over several days. Estate sales are normally 2 day events, normally Saturday and Sunday. Fewer items = estate sale, lots of items, think auction.
