You are about to find out everything you ever wanted to know about estate sales but were too stressed-out to ask! Mississippi professionals take you one step at a time through the minefield of properly disposing of your home contents. Do not fear!

We are Elizabeth Cox and Cecil Jennings, longtime antiques dealers who have put our combined 70 years experience into Estate Sale Specialists. (see About Us) We have very strong opinions about how sales should be conducted, and that has paid off for us and our clients. Estate Sale Specialists can answer all of the questions you may have about the liquidation of your estate. Whether you are dealing with the death of a loved one, or moving to a retirement home, estate disposal can be accomplished in an efficient manner that will truly ease your burden.

First, let's define our subject. An estate sale is a tag sale held to dispose of the entire contents of a home. It is not an auction. The family will usually keep some items. Everything remaining in the house (furniture, housewares, glass, silver, tools, paperclips, everything!) will be tagged (priced) and sold. This is a huge undertaking, especially for someone going through the loss of a dear relative, or through the stress of moving. This is why many people employ the services of an estate sale professional.

The prospect of clearing a home that has a 50 year accumulation of furniture and housewares is seriously daunting. What to keep? What to throw away? What to donate? The most important advice at this point is
DO NOT THROW ANYTHING AWAY. Anything? Yes, anything. This is a job for an experienced estate sale specialist. Our clients often want to help us by cleaning out cabinets and getting rid of junk. Well, that "junk" could be this year's most desirable collectible. Everybody knows not to toss the silver and china, but often it will be the old postcards, political campaign buttons, or old toys that will really bring in the money. Take no action until you talk to someone that can truly separate the "trash" from the "treasures".

Before contracting with an estate sale service, use this checklist to make sure they have the highest standards:

• References should be provided. Ask if the client was pleased with the manner in which the sale was conducted. What condition was the house in after the sale?
• Check to see if the service is bonded.
• If time permits, visit a sale held by the estate sale company. Would your late relative be proud of the way the estate was handled?
• Discuss the disposal of items remaining after the sale. Some people leave it to the homeowner to deal with the remains.
• Examine the contract and discuss it in detail. We often ask that another family member be present. This is not meant in any way to demean the ability of the signee. It is just good business for the family to be aware of what is about to take place. Often they will have questions that the homeowner may not have considered.

There are some qualities that are necessary in the person to whom you will entrust your belongings. They are hard to quantify, but vital to a successful transaction. A true estate sale professional should be discreet. I cannot emphasize that enough. Nobody needs to know that Aunt Sue had a fondness for liquor, or your brother-in-law liked to peruse soft porn magazines. The estate sale service will be going through all of your family possessions. Try to decide if the person you are interviewing for the job is mature enough to deal with any situation that may arise. They need to know what items should be in a sale. But, more important, they need to know what does not need to be in the sale (recent family photos, personal papers, anything embarrassing).

While we are on the subject of discretion: The only person who needs to know the proceeds of the sale is the homeowner (and the tax man, of course). If the client wants other people, family included, to know how much money was made, that is the client's choice.

Be wary of the interviewee who speaks ill of the competition. (I have had to bite my tongue a few times.) Sure, there are disreputable folks in the estate sale business, just as there are in any profession. But they can usually be flushed out by examining the services' credentials and references. Someone who tries to gain clients by demeaning others is not your best choice.

Another red flag is the promoter who makes exaggerated promises: "I can get you $500 for that vase, $3,000 for that bookcase . . . ." If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is. (I am full of old adages--I am from the South.) Be assured that any estate sale professional will try to get the best prices possible for everything. After all, they are paid a percentage of the total sale proceeds. Take outlandish claims with a grain of salt.

One last intangible to consider is the way the estate sale service treats its customers. This will be difficult to gauge, unless you visit a sale sponsored by the service, or talk to someone who has been there. Those customers ultimately make or break the sale. If they are treated rudely, they will not come back for the second day of the sale, no matter how much the prices are reduced. Many of these customers stand outside in all kinds of weather, waiting for the sale to open. Each one of them needs to be greeted warmly and treated with respect. (I guess you can tell that I have been to a lot of estate sales in my 35 year antiques career).

I said we would walk you through the minefield. Checking the credentials of the estate sale liquidator is just step one. The next step is to examine the services that you should expect from this company. Below are the basic services that we provide. I promised everything you ever wanted to know on the subject, so just click on the Table of Contents below, or the Navigation Bar to the left, and each will be explained in detail.

For questions about anything we may have omitted, please CONTACT US.

If you have time, come shop with us and see the items we have for sale. Or bookmark this site so you can come back later and visit.