Pages

Thursday, May 15, 2014

It is my pleasure to re-post (with her permission of course) a wonderful article written by my friend and mentor Julie Hall, THE ESTATE LADY, who is also the founder of the AMERICAN SOCIETY OF ESTATE LIQUIDATORS.  Those of us who have been in this business for many years,  we have our own "rules and regulations" but how about the customers who shop the sales?  Most of us have seen most of the situations happen in Julie's article and love her suggestions to make the whole experience more pleasant for everyone.

Estate Sale Etiquette for Attendees/Buyers 
Be Our Guest, however ... a few simple rules

By Julie Hall, Director of ASEL

Few understand that an estate sale has a life of its own. It truly is a living, breathing, social event that attendees/buyers look forward to all week long in hopes of finding an undiscovered treasure, good prices, and items they can collect and/or resell. For some, it is their only social outing of the week, and the bustling energy and "thrill of the hunt" fuels them until the next weekend. For others, attending sales and buying is a way of life, a "fix" for the estate sale bug that bit them long ago.
While the industry is currently unregulated, there are some rules that do apply (spoken or unspoken). Most estate sale professionals would agree with them, and should consider posting the following etiquette at their sales.
Estate Sales should be a fun experience, but lately, bad behavior has gotten in the way. Perhaps some of the thoughts in this article will help ensure that estate sales are run properly, and that everyone exercises courtesy towards one another, making the experience as pleasant as possible for everyone involved:
 
  1. You are a guest in someone else's home. Living or passed away, it does not matter. Always exercise kind and thoughtful behavior. Don't leave your Starbucks cup or water bottle on the furniture; don't mess up what the estate sale worker's displayed neatly; be pleasant (even if other's are not), etc. The same rules that apply in our mothers’ homes should also extend to estate sale homes.

  2. Be polite to the estate sale professional. He or she is the one who finds, creates, organizes, deals with a million details, and is the glue that holds the entire sale together for the client and soon-to-be buyers. They have worked tirelessly with their staff and prepared for this day. Be kind to them and be kind to their staff. Being curt is not advisable. Being downright rude, irritable, picking a fight, using profanities, switching price tags, theft, etc., is a good way to get escorted to the door or have a call put into the police. Plus, bad behavior makes a lousy experience for others! Many estate sales are now putting surveillance in place.

  3. Do not speak disparagingly about the estate or its' possessions for sale while you are on the premises. Family may be present at the sale and chances are they have already been through enough, with the recent illness or death of a loved one. 

  4. Never assume. Don't assume because an item for sale is missing a price tag or it is slightly damaged that it will be a yard sale price. Always ask. If you happen to find an item the liquidator or staff has never seen before, give them a moment to look at it and make a decision if it is a family "keeper" or can be sold. Find the decision maker and discuss your query with them.

  5. Discounts: Everyone loves a discount! Each liquidator has a slightly different way of conducting their sale and may or may not discount the first day. Pointing out flaws, talking bad about the item trying to make it seem less valuable, etc., will not work on most professional liquidators. First, they know the values and secondly, they also know the flaws. 

    How you approach the liquidator is paramount. Be nice and kind. Consider saying, "I would like to have this item very much but it is a little more than I wanted to spend. Is there room for negotiation?" A liquidator will be far more receptive to this approach versus "This piece isn't worth anything. It's got a stain here and coming unraveled there. I will only pay $50.00 and not your $300.00 asking price." This response will be met with, "Sorry, but if it's that bad, why would you even want it?" or "I cannot sell it that low." If the liquidator says these things, believe them.

  6. It is not advisable to ask the same question repetitively. Asking "Will you take $10.00 for it?" ten times in ten minutes will only aggravate the liquidator. Some buyers think they can wear down the liquidator with this approach, but it will not work on a true professional. At some point, a no-nonsense estate sale professional will ask you to either buy it or not, or simply sell it to someone else.

  7. Report to the liquidator if you see someone shoplifting. Easier said than done. You wouldn't want someone doing that at your mother's estate.

  8. Indecisiveness to purchase or not: If you want an item and you are thinking about buying it, DO NOT carry it around for an hour or two clinging to it as if it were the Holy Grail, while trying to decide. If it's so special to you, just buy it and lock it in your car. Hold on to it only long enough; let others can have the chance buy it too, if you don't really want it. It's not fair to the estate or the liquidator to miss out on the sale of an item because someone is not physically letting go of it.

  9. Piles of Stuff: Do not accumulate a pile of stuff on the floor in the middle of an active estate sale that is the equivalent to a beaver's dam. It is not courteous to the other buyers having to go around it. Space is usually precious, and your pile is a tripping hazard. Besides, others buyers, who may not understand this is your pile, will start to pick through it.

    It is the buyer's responsibility to pay for that pile, guard that pile, pack that pile, and move it out as timely as possible. Bring an open plastic shopping basket (like the ones found at the grocery store) so the staff can see everything that is in it. Some estate sale companies provide these baskets.

  10. Waiting in line: Waiting in line is part of the estate sale experience. If you are angry because you went to another sale while waiting, or got up late and therefore find yourself near the end of the line, this is not the liquidator's fault, so please don't take it out on them. Arrange to always be the early bird, if possible.

  11. Display of items: Leave things as you find them. If there are clothes on hangers that are on racks or in the closet, they need to remain on those hangers and not be thrown across the room, bed, or floor, as if living in our teenager’s room again. If towels are neatly folded and stacked, please open them to see if they are in good condition, but if you don't want them, fold them again. Estate sale workers work hard to make everything look nice for you.

  12. Closed off or taped off areas ("Do Not Enter"): Do not go into these areas. Period. These are off limits for reasons. It’s not a free-for-all to see what is behind the scenes, or to go digging where the public is not supposed to be. All liquidators appreciate when you respect that.

  13. Never go into or enter the estate using a side door or back door, especially before a sale begins when it is still dark outside. That's a good way to get in big trouble.

  14. Friends and neighbors of the estate: We recognize you had a special relationship with the loved one whose estate we are now selling. But it is not proper to lay claim on a particular item or expect yard sale prices. People do not realize the proceeds from these estate sales go to the client's estate to pay bills, divide among heirs, etc.

  15. An Estate Sale is NOT a yard sale. Please do not expect things to sell for a dime.

  16. Signs at the estate sale: No Parking, Watch Your Step, Loose Handrail, No Animals, Hold on to Small Children, etc. Please respect these signs. Many of these wishes come from the family. We post them to be respectful of the family and for the safety of all.

    NOTE: Please do not park on lawns or block driveways.

  17. Small children: Please hold your small children or at least hold their hands. We love kids, but ask you to keep them close to you.

  18. Please be patient with paying at the cashier table and asking questions. So many bombard the liquidator with multiple questions at one time, and many others will just interrupt. We thank you in advance for your willingness to wait your turn.
Some might feel these rules are too in-depth, but liquidators honestly see all of these issues and many more at each individual estate sale.
Do your part to ensure the estate sale experience is a good one, for yourself as well as for others!

Many of the companies we network with love this business, as we at TIMESAVERS ESTATE SALES do, and some common sense and courtesy will make the whole experience much more pleasant (and fun!) for all of us.  Thanks for the read and thanks to Julie for letting me re-post.

TIMESAVERS ESTATE SALES
www.timesaversestatesales.com