FAQ

1. How much do you charge?

The partners generally start their set-up for an estate sale on Monday and finish on Friday. The sale is Saturday and Sunday. The set-up fee is $125 for each partner for 5 days work. If the set-up takes less than 5 days, the fee is lower. When the sale begins, the set-up fee is taken off the top, along with the cost of the ad, and then the proceeds are split 60/40 with the larger share going to the client.

2. Can someone live in the house while you are working?

We prefer to work in a vacant house because having someone there slows us down and they may not be able to resist the temptation to tell us how to price the items. We ask that all items the client wants to keep are removed before we start working or that they be put in one closet or bedroom marked not for sale.

3. What do you do with leftovers after the sale?

We give the client a choice of whether to handle that themselves, donate to a charity, or have Estate Mates remove the items that can be put on consignment.

 

Additional details about working with Estatemates:

Linda will hire two helpers to assist with the sale and they usually start working on Monday and finish by Friday. During the set-up process, each person makes $25 per day and the sale proceeds are split 60-40 with the larger share going to the client.

Frequently, the clients who have used Estate Mates are downsizing and moving from their home into a retirement apartment with less space.

Estate Mates likes for the client to move first and take what they want to keep and leave the rest for the estate sale. Several times, the person who bought the house came to the estate sale and saw it there.

The sale is promoted through the website, on Craigslist, through our e-mail list and in the American-Statesman. The cost of the ad is deducted from the total, along with the set up fee, before the client receives his or her share of the proceeds. A check and a report is mailed within a week of the last day of the sale.