How to Hold an Estate Sale: A Step-by-Step Guide

After a death, one of the most practically demanding tasks is deciding what to do with a lifetime of belongings. An estate sale can generate significant funds for the estate while clearing the home — but it requires careful planning. Here's how to approach it.

Before the Sale: What to Do First

Remove items that won't be sold

Before anyone comes to look at or price the estate's contents, family members should go through the home and remove items they want to keep. This should happen before an estate sale company visits or before you begin pricing. Be thorough — once the sale is underway, reclaiming items becomes complicated. Put sticky notes or tape on items that are not for sale.

Identify valuable items separately

Some items deserve individual attention before a general estate sale — fine jewelry, artwork, antiques, collectibles, firearms, coins, and similar items may fetch far more through specialized dealers, auction houses, or online platforms than at an estate sale. Get appraisals before pricing these items into a general sale.

Decide: company or DIY

Estate sale companies typically charge 25–40% commission but handle everything. For large estates, complex contents, or when family members are overwhelmed or geographically distant, this is usually worth it. For smaller estates or families with the time and knowledge, the DIY route keeps more revenue in the estate.

Choosing an Estate Sale Company

If you hire a company, vet them carefully:

Ask for references from recent sales — and call them
Confirm the commission structure and any additional fees (advertising, cleanup, unsold items)
Ask how they price items (do they research values, or use flat rules?)
Confirm they carry liability insurance for the property and contents
Ask about their policy for unsold items
Get the contract in writing before proceeding

EstateSales.net and the American Society of Estate Liquidators (aselonline.com) have directories of professional estate sale companies.

Running a DIY Estate Sale

Research values — eBay "sold" listings, thrift store comparables, and online price guides help you price items fairly
Advertise — EstateSales.net and Craigslist reach the most buyers; post at least two weeks in advance with photos
Set up clearly — group similar items, price everything visibly, and ensure pathways are clear
Have enough help — you need people to watch for theft, answer questions, and handle transactions
Accept cash and card — bring a card reader (Square, Venmo, etc.) and enough change for cash transactions
Discount on the last day — offer 25–50% off on the final day to move remaining inventory

Related Guides

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the difference between an estate sale and a garage sale?

An estate sale is a sale of most or all of a person's personal property — typically following a death, divorce, downsizing, or move to assisted living. Unlike a garage sale, which might feature a few dozen items, an estate sale often includes furniture, appliances, kitchenware, clothing, jewelry, collectibles, tools, artwork, and virtually everything else in the home. Estate sales are typically held inside the home itself (not in the driveway) and often run for two or three days. Prices are generally lower than retail but higher than a typical garage sale for quality items, because estate sale buyers know they're buying established household goods. An estate sale is a business transaction, not a casual neighborhood event — professional estate sale companies typically handle large or complex sales. The main alternative to an estate sale is donating items to charity, selling individual valuable items through auction houses or online marketplaces, or simply discarding belongings — each approach has tradeoffs in terms of revenue, time, and effort.

Should you hire an estate sale company or do it yourself?

Hiring a professional estate sale company is typically the right choice when: the estate is large or complex; you live far from the estate and can't be present; you're not familiar with the value of the contents; you're emotionally overwhelmed by the process; or time is limited. Estate sale companies handle everything — cataloging items, researching values, pricing, advertising, running the sale, and sometimes cleaning up afterward. They charge a commission, typically 25–40% of gross sales, plus sometimes fees for advertising, cleanup, or unsold items disposal. Doing it yourself may make sense if the estate is small, you have the time and bandwidth, or you're familiar with the value of the contents. The DIY route requires significant effort: advertising (Craigslist, EstateSales.net, Facebook Marketplace, yard signs), pricing (research comparables online or at local thrift stores), running the actual sale, and handling cash, transactions, and security. A hybrid approach — hiring a company for large or valuable items and donating or selling smaller items yourself — is also common.

What should you do with items that don't sell at the estate sale?

Most estate sales have leftover items that don't sell — sometimes a significant amount. Options for leftover items: (1) Donate to charity — Goodwill, Habitat for Humanity ReStore (which accepts furniture and household goods), the Salvation Army, local shelters, churches, and community organizations accept donations and provide tax receipts; (2) Online resale — Facebook Marketplace, Craigslist, eBay, and Poshmark for clothing are effective channels for items with some value; (3) Auction houses — for high-value individual items (fine art, antiques, jewelry, collectibles) that didn't sell at estate sale prices, a local or online auction house may achieve better prices; (4) Estate buyout companies — some companies purchase all remaining estate contents for a flat fee, which is useful when you need to clear the home quickly; (5) Junk removal — for items with no resale value, 1-800-GOT-JUNK and similar services remove everything for a flat fee. If you're working with an estate sale company, ask upfront what their policy is for unsold items — some handle removal as part of their service.