We sold a 1967 Morgan Plus 4

And we Offered up This Incredible Antique French Marble Bust

There is absolutely no other industry that provides a professional with this kind of range. Estate Sales, the setting up and conducting of them, are dense with a multiplicity of “Things” to look at – things that an Estate Sales Professional either already knows the value of, or has to know that they don’t know the value of.

And That’s the Key Folks…

Your Estate Sales Professional has to know when they don’t know, then they have to know how to find out…

(Sold by Cowan’s for $240.00)

Ask your estate liquidator, or auction house what their primary research tools are. Expect that they might not want to tell you – sometimes they get a bit cagey about their research resources, because they are afraid that if they tell you exactly which online research resources they use, then you will conduct your own research, and sell the item on your own.

I always let people know what antiques and collectibles platforms I use. Here they are Artfact, Ask Art, Terapeak, Prices4Antiques.Com. But if you want to use these resources yourself, then be prepared to spend a small pile of money, because these are fee based research sites…

Auction Wally can appraise your items online…

Here’s a link to his Appraisal Service: Auction Wally Online Appraisals

…Other Estate Sales News …

We did it, irrational or rational as it may be – you be the judge, now you can follow

Fine Estate Sales and Estate Liquidation Inc. on Facebook

Martin Codina

Fine Estate Sales

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It’s all about the contrast isn’t it? I mean if you compare the prices charged for estate sales items to the prices you find at Garage Sales then you are going to feel like Estate Liquidation Company’s charge too much money.

But Do They Charge Too Much?

Well sometimes they do, and sometimes they don’t. Before I go into how estate sales company’s price items I want to examine just a bit the differences between most estate sales and your average garage or yard sale.

Estate Sales vs. Garage Sales!

The biggest difference between Garage Sales, and Estate Sales is that Garage Sales sell stuff that is no longer wanted; sells items that have been heaped into boxes or strewn onto tables; items that were stored away in garages as undesirable, and now the owner of these things wants to offload them as soon as possible. They want to “Get rid of it” because these items are no longer useful to them, and it is the hope of the owner that this can best be accomplished by offering them to the public at very low prices. Most of them are trying to declutter or open up space, and give themselves more room.

And this strategy works for them…but

It doesn’t work for an Estate Liquidation Company because they represent the interest of families who until very recently wanted their “Stuff” who valued their “Things.”

How do Estate Sales Company’s Arrive At Those Crazy Prices?

It’s simple, they follow the math of their past estate sales pricing strategies.

And then they shift their perspectives all the time to include new sales and pricing information. If a Duncan Phyfe dining table didn’t sell at their last sale for $1,000.00, most professionals are going to lower the amount they attempt to charge for this kind of table the next time they have one for sale.

The Market is King, or Queen if you prefer, and determines Estate Sales prices…

If you shop at a lot of estate sales, I advise you try the following: Go back to an estate sale on it’s final day, even almost at the final hour of the sale, and see how much inventory they have left compared to how much they started with. If they have over 30% of what they started the estate sale with, then their prices were too high. But if they have 30% or less of the original contents of the house left, then they have done a great job, both for their clients and their purchasing customers.

Estate Sales and Estate Liquidation Companies Serve Two Masters!

The seller who wants as much as they can reasonably get in the shortest time possible, and the estate sale buying public that wants the best possible deals.

Setting the right estate sales price on everything in an estate is never easy, it isn’t rocket science though.

My name is Martin, and I am an Estate Liquidator and simply stated – “I Love My Job.”

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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 San Francisco 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?”

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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.

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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.

When I first started in the Estate Sales Business almost 13 years ago, “Hey,” what did I know? Not much…!

My first estate sale was in Point Reyes Station, Ca. When I went to look at the estate, it literally was under tarps in the front and back yard of a small white clap board house close to the center of town. The heir had removed everything from her mother’s house to make it easier to paint the interior. I remember lifting an edge of the blue tarp, and looking under it, and seeing all manner of household items and collectibles…

So my partner, and I moved everything back into the house, priced as much of it as we could, and then we made the premises ready for an estate sale.

I priced everything according to my limited knowledge of collectibles, and antiques, as well as, my own raw instincts. The estate sale took place over a holiday weekend which I later learned is not always the best time to stage a sale – but like I said, what did I know?

We advertised the Estate Sale extensively

I advertised this estate sale in two of the local newspapers, and put up estate sale signs on utility poles around the neighborhood, and lo and behold they came. It seems that lots of people were looking for the perfect excuse to leave San Francisco, take a ride in the country, and add to the trip, the bonus of shopping at an estate sale in the country.

On the morning of our first estate sale, my partner and I made our final preparations to the staging of the house; having no idea what was in store for us. It was just the two of us, we never thought we would need extra help.

The house was set back from the street surrounded by a tall hedge in front of which was a white picket fence. You could not see the street from the house, it was private and cozy back there. I left my partner in the house, and I walked towards the gate to let the people in – I was kind of excited. As I got closer to the gate, I could hear the sound of many people talking, and when I arrived at the gate, I saw that there was quite a crowd of estate sale shoppers there.

Estate Sales crowd control is important…

But like I said, what did I know? I let them all in at the same time…it was like a stampede – 50 or 60 people intent on finding bargains descended upon and entered the house.

I followed them all in, and standing at the front door, I can still remember looking across the front room, over the tops of their heads, to my partner, both of us with puzzled faces, and shrugging shoulders as if to say, who knew?

People loved this estate sale, they snapped up arm loads of dishes, linens, collectibles of every shape and size, and then proceeded to my hastily arranged cashier’s station in the front yard. It was incredible. There was a line at times as long as twenty, or thirty people, and they just kept on coming all day.

I learned a lot about the estate sales business during this sale, and the first thing I learned was that people will buy the most surprising things. And the second thing I learned was that I had to do much better homework, and learn how to properly price things.

One of my favorite Estate Sales Memories…

One of my fondest memories of this estate sale, was when the owner of the largest estate sales company in San Francisco arrived. She, and her family had a second home in the Point Reyes Station area. I had shopped her estate sales in San Francisco many times, so I knew her fairly well. She asked me if I had any costume jewelry for sale, and I said that I did, but that I had not put it out because I did not know how to price it. She asked if she could see it, and I set her up in the bathroom, away from the clamoring masses to look at it.

Every once in a while I would check in on her, and there she was, the undisputed queen of the San Francisco estate sales business, sitting on the edge of the tub, in the bathroom of my first estate sale, going through a mound of costume jewelry…which she of course purchased for a song…but like I said, what did I know?

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

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Ask the right Estate Sales questions…

It is important to have the right answers. Information concerning estate sales, is the key to making great decisions. It is through the asking of the right questions of an Estate Liquidator, that you will arrive at the best answers.

So I have written a list for you:

These are the best estate liquidation, and estate sales questions I can remember having been asked in the last 13 years. You can find them here at Estate Sales Questions.

I have visited, and read through a lot of estate liquidation websites. Most of these are trying to be informative. These estate liquidators are trying their very best to give their readers valuable information about their services.

However what most of these websites do is:

1. Pose ten or more estate liquidation or estate sales questions.
2. Answer their own questions.

These estate liquidation companies are giving you a few questions they think you should be asking, and then they give you their answers to those questions.

Seems like a bit of a “Production” to me…

Here are my suggestions for finding the right estate liquidation questions to ask, as well as a process for how to use the estate sales answers you get.

1. Follow this complimentary Estate Sales Questions link.
2. Follow the guidelines that you find there.
3. Ask these questions of 3 different estate liquidation or estate sales companies
4. Compare and contrast their answers.

For more useful estate liquidation information visit back here from time to time, or go to:

Fine Estate Liquidation

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

The Do it Yourself Estate Sales Kit