How Estate Sale Pricing Actually Works

It's not guessing

When we walk through a house and start putting stickers on things, it looks fast. It isn't. Every price has research behind it.

For items we know sell well, we check completed sales on eBay, current listings at local antique shops, and our own records from past sales. A Griswold skillet isn't worth what it was five years ago. A KitchenAid mixer is worth more. You have to know the current market.

The 30% rule

Most estate sale companies, us included, price things at roughly 25-35% of retail value. Not what the owner paid for it. Not what a similar one costs new. What it would sell for secondhand, in a house, to a buyer who showed up on a Saturday morning.

That sounds low until you realize the alternative is donating it for nothing or paying someone to haul it away.

Some things get special treatment

Antiques, art, jewelry, and coin collections get researched individually. We look up maker's marks, check auction records, and sometimes bring in a specialist. I've spent an hour pricing a single painting because the signature looked familiar.

Vintage kitchen items and old tools have their own collector markets with specific price points. A Stanley No. 4 hand plane in good shape isn't a $5 item. Neither is a full set of Pyrex Primary bowls.

The markdown schedule

Most sales run Friday through Sunday. We price at full value Friday, mark down 25% Saturday afternoon, and go 50% off Sunday. By the end of Sunday, the goal is an empty house.

This isn't negotiable on Friday. By Sunday, everything's negotiable.

What about the stuff that doesn't sell?

We have a plan for that too. Read about what happens after the sale for the full breakdown.

If you're curious what your home's contents might be worth, contact us for a free walkthrough. We'll give you a realistic range, not a sales pitch.