Fine Estate Liquidation, Inc.

Or Would you have thrown this chair away…?

Chippendale Chair Sells For $51,750.00

As Hard As It May Be To Read - Many Intelligent People Throw Valuable Household Items Away Instead Of Selling Them At An Estate Sale!

Think about it. The average estate sale that Fine Estate Liquidation conducts in the San Francisco Bay Area contains as many as 750 to 1200 saleable items. If each of these items were worth only an average of $10.00 each, than selling these items at an estate sale would generate a minimum income of between $7,500.00 and $12,000.00.

In today’s economic climate you might want to ask yourself “Can I afford to throw money away?”

Click on image to be taken to TigerDude.com

So There You Are, In Your House, Or The Home Of A Loved One, And You Are Faced With Having To Do Something With A Household Full Of Personal Property.

At least once a week I receive a phone call from someone who informs me that they have thrown away as trash many of the items in their house or the home of a decedent. They do this for many reasons.

Folks, I know that you are trying to get through difficult times, that going through someone elses house is tough, that you think because you wouldn’t buy the things you are throwing away, you believe that no one else will either.

But a thorough cross check of hundreds of estate liquidation web sites across the country will ask you to do otherwise.

Don’t throw anything away!

Whether You Are Planning On Conducting Your Own Estate Sale, Or Hiring A Professional Estate Liquidator Remember Our Logical Order Of Estate Liquidation.

Fine Estate Liquidations logical order of estate liquidation:

First: Try to sell your item.

Second: If your item cannot be sold - donate or give it away.

Third: If your item cannot be sold or given away then it’s OK to define it as debris.

Click on image to be taken to Classic Refuse Trucks

Here Are 4 Items I Hope You Never Throw Away!

1935 EARLY ZIPPO LIGHTER PAT PEND ORIGINAL NEAR MINT (Sold on February 16, 2008 for $2,025.00)

Wellington OH Ohio Big 4 Railroad Patriotic Studio Postcard RPPC $500

19c French Oil Lamp $650.00

UNION CASE with Daguerreotype $650.00

For more information about the estate sales and estate liquidation process contact Martin Codina here: Fine Estate liquidation, Inc.

If you want to learn how to conduct your own estate sale visit The Do It Yourself Estate Sales Guide website.

My name is Martin Codina and I an estate liquidator who loves his job.

The following suggestions for resolving estate liquidation conflicts is in no way an attempt to replace sound legal advice, but is offered as an additional estate liquidation resource.

Everything, all decisions about the estate - from what to do with the house, financial instruments, and personal property is about the answers to the following questions. What did the the decedent want and in the case of someone who has past away without a will, what would the decedent have wanted?

As an executor you are in a rare position, a position of trust, a position of acting on the will and authority of another person.

This post is meant to give some guidelines for how to resolve some of the conflicts that may arise between you as the executor and other heirs in relation to the decedents personal property.

A simple executor guide to resolve estate liquidation conflicts should they occur.

1. Read the will and make notes.
2. Meet with your attorney, and let them know that you are going to have a family meeting.
3. Before the family meeting, compose a letter for each of the heirs asking them to write down 4 principals that they remember as being important to the decedent.
4. Ask them to bring their list with them to the family meeting.
5. After everyone has read their list, establish and remark about any common ground.
6. It is likely that there will be some commonality and agreement on what were the principals of the decedent.
7. As the discussion unfolds about what to do with the personal affects of the estate, refer as much as possible to the agreed upon principals of the decedent.
8. One way to prevent a free for all atmosphere is to ask each heir to use the following question as a guide for choosing items from the estate: What’s important to keep and what’s OK to let go of?
9. Decide if the decedents principals can be aligned with what ever liquidations options are available to the family.
10. Your choices for what to do with the remaining personal property are fairly clear, and are narrowed by the geographical area where the estate resides and the temperament of the family - guided by the decedents principals, and are as follows: Estate Sale, Auction, Charity.

For a list of questions to ask an estate liquidator go here

My name is Martin Codina and I am an estate liquidator who cares…

Back to Fine Estate Liquidation, Inc.

For More Estate Liquidation Information go to:

Estate-Liquidation-Information.com

The Do it Yourself Estate Sales Kit

If you need a lawyer you hire an attorney.
If you are sick you hire a doctor.
If you want to sell your house you hire a Realtor.

But if you inherit personal property you think you can do you own estate sale, or worse, out think a bunch of dealers who buy and sell estates, antiques and collectibles everyday.

Here is a story.

A woman goes to an antique fair somewhere in California. She has a picture of a table that she shows a dealer. The dealer makes an arraignment with this woman to meet her later in the evening.

He buys the table. He likes the table, but he does not know precisely how valuable it is. He starts asking around. One of the major auction houses likes the table too; they thought that the table was worth several hundred thousand dollars. He does some more checking with another major auction house. This auction house likes the table too; they think the table is worth even more than the first auction house.

The dealer goes with the second auction house where the table sells for more than $1,000,000.00

Morals of the story:

1. If you are a person who has inherited personal property, hire a professional to look out for your interest, rather than their own.
2. If you are a dealer or an estate liquidator – help your clients – take their interest into account. Having a success like the one above, but on behalf of your client rather than yourself will establish you firmly as a leader, and a trusted go to person in the estate liquidation community.

Ways to avoid the above:

1. Call 3 estate liquidators.
2. Ask them for references.
3. Check their references.
4. Do not shop for their services by fee alone.
5. Each estate liquidator will give you free advice: write their advice down.
6. If you decide to do your own sale; follow some of the advice that you were given.
7. Don’t pre-sell your best stuff to dealers; combine those items into your sale; it will make your sale much more interesting.

Here is a handy list of estate sales questions.

The Do it Yourself Estate Sales Guide

Question #1

“I have an original invitation to the opening of the New York and Brooklyn Bridge for May 24 1883, this item in very good condition. Would you possibly be interested in auctioning it, or selling it for me? Also would you have any idea as to its value?

Thanks Dale

Answer: I think someone local to you, a dealer in ephemera would be a good place to start. Also this is a perfect eBay item check with a local eBay affiliate. You might also try Swans Auction house in N.Y.

Question #2

“I am having trouble identifying this signature. It is from a landscape sent to me from Germany about 1943-1945. Can you help?”

Barbara

Answer: I don’t know, maybe one of our readers do.

Question #3

“A very good friend of mine just lost her husband and they live way up in the foothills. There are tools, machines, compressors, generators, junk, pieces of carpet, riding mower, etc. I sent some people who do estate sales and they said there was not enough valuable stuff for them to do it. Sharon looked at me crying and said I don’t know what to do. I could run it myself and advertise with no problem. I just need a guide to tell me what stuff is worth. It all runs, Can you help me?”

Answer: Readers – do any one of you know of a pricing guide that would be helpful for this woman?

Question #4

I am looking for a reputable estate sale company in the Chicago area. Do you have any you can provide? Donna

Answer: I don’t. If someone from the Chicago area drops me a line and provides me with some references I will be happy to pass it along to you.

Martin Codina

The Do it Yourself Estate Sales Guide

“It’s not like it use to be.” “All the deals are gone.” “All the best stuff has already been found.” I hear these comments all the time from dealers, mostly from old guys who have been in the antique trade for years. They think all the frontiers have already been explored, but have they really?

Let me tell you a few stories.

1. Two years ago I went to a garage sale where I found a book by William S. Burroughs called The Naked Lunch. I bought it for $5.00 and sold it for $450.00.

2. Last year I went to a sale conducted by one of my main competitors. I purchased an old mask there that had been made in Papua New Guinea . I bought it on the last day of their sale for $25.00 and sold it for $850.00

I could go on and on…

If you are someone who is just getting into the trade, or are someone who wants to become a picker, try following these two links: Getting started as a picker and One pickers Strategy

Here are a few niches

1. Persian Carpets: Very few estate liquidation companies, or antique dealers and even fewer homeowners understand Persian carpets; weather they are old or new and how much they are really worth. Here is a guy that does Thomas Cole. But don’t bother him with just any rug, he is a busy guy.

2. Old Paper: This is what people all over America are throwing away every day. In the trade it is called ephemera. Here is an interesting info link to Marty Weil’s ephemera blog site.

3. Books: The strategy of most estate liquidators with regards to books is the blanket pricing strategy. What I mean by this is that they will price all hard cover and soft cover books for a set price. This is not a great strategy for maximizing the value of their books, but it is an effective way to “get rid” of a lot of books. As a picker or a collector you can buy some great books from these companies. However please note my company Fine Estate Liquidation does not follow this blanket pricing strategy. We choose instead to sort through books and research the ones we think have hidden values. Try this site for researching book values - ABE

The people who are making it in the antique and collectibles marketplace are the ones who are flexible enough to bend to its vagaries.

Homeowner Alert: Find professionals in your area who are willing to work for you on a contingency basis. Find an antique ally; someone with years of experience who is willing to help you sort through your possessions and sell them for what they are really worth.

The Do it Yourself Estate Sales Guide