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Old 09-29-2014, 05:37 PM
 
Location: Groton,CT
25 posts, read 61,706 times
Reputation: 25

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I've been going through a process of downsizing and selling-off various assets (mostly tools and equipment from my workshop along with household stuff, power sports etc.). I'm amazed by HOW LITTLE is known about various auction houses, consignment shops, re-sellers, auctioneers and liquidation services.

Most local auction houses/ auctioneers/ consignment shops/ estate liquidators barely have a static web-page, no reviews, and I could get very little feedback through the word of mouth. That's for business that been around for 10, 20, 30 years and longer ... Seems like they all prefer to exist in some murky shadowy world where at the end of the day the only thing guaranteed is their fat fees and commissions. Just for comparison, take restaurants - full menus online and published prices, dozens of detailed reviews, plenty of feedback ... and that's on any odd restaurant that just opened 6 months ago. Who's being served here?

I'm trying to find basic guidelines like: what type of items they can (and can't) sell successfully; recommendations for packaging, bundling and displaying of items; what type of facilities they provide (or bring-in for on-site sales); what's the typical turn-around time; what type of prep,packing, moving and clean-out services do they offer and how much it cost; what kind of crowd and turn-out do they get? And finally how about typical selling prices?

I've been winging it for 6 months now between CL, yard sales, auction houses and liquidators. It's frustrating, stressful and tiresome to constantly deal with this vagueness and run-a-rounds. Fortunately I've had enough time and resources, and close to getting done ... can only imagine what it would be like going through this under strict deadline and with a busy schedule -must be like swimming in the shark tank during the feeding frenzy.

Anybody willing to put a little spotlight on what's up with the used goods marketplace?

Have you tried liquidating an estate? What was your experience like? How much work (and what type) was needed to keep things moving? What was the turn-around time? Selling prices? Sale channels? Hired help? What kind of problems did you run in to?

Feedback much appreciated! Tks
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Old 09-29-2014, 07:43 PM
 
Location: Purgatory
6,367 posts, read 6,243,462 times
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Sorry that i have no advice, but i'm in the same boat. I found a few "estate sales" websites in the area but it looks like they expect 5k as a minimum fee. Not sure if this is true everywhere.

Who have you used so far and how was your experiences w them?
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Old 09-30-2014, 05:10 AM
 
Location: Beautiful Rhode Island
9,257 posts, read 14,831,986 times
Reputation: 10284
Probably because the work of separating the wheat from the chaff has to be done first; antiques would be handled differently from yard sale quality items. Some things are give away and some throw away. You would probably end up dealing with different companies in the end anyway after you have done a lot of the upfront work.
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Old 09-30-2014, 07:52 AM
 
Location: Henderson, NV
5,314 posts, read 7,766,319 times
Reputation: 3568
We have extensive experience in this area. There are only a few really good auction houses, and which you use depends on what you're selling.

As a seller, if you have high end items, the best is Bill Spicer in Exeter. His auctions are attended more by collectors and designers than resellers, and has a pretty unique niche there, as the vast majority of estate sales and auctions will be attended by resellers predominately.

Second best would be Bob Fricker at Cornerstone Auctions.

Third, but a bit of a haul from Groton, CT, would be Trudell's in Bellingham.

Lastly, for a good mix of items (and the auction we most frequented), Sowersby's in Fall River.

Spicer runs his auctions out of the Elk's Lodge in Exeter (may be a moose or VFW, can't remember), on a weekly basis. Cornerstone waits to accumulate enough inventory, so their auctions aren't as often. They used to hold them at the Riviera in Seekonk, but now they are normally at Evelyn's in W.Warwick (or Ivy Garden, or whatever they're calling it now), and sometimes at the armory in East Greenwich. Trudell's has a dedicated space they lease in a strip mall in Bellingham, and Sowersby's is every Thursday night at the Elk's on Main St. Fall River.

We were entrenched in this business for about 10 years while living in RI, and it is a word of mouth business. You won't find reviews to be particularly helpful, as it's just not that kind of business. Some houses are better organized than others, and some have higher quality merchandise than others, but those will be your 2 criteria for the most part. You're going to find the same people every week attend the auctions. It's a tight-knit circle of dealers, brokers, etc.

If you have any other specific questions, just send me a message and I'll be happy to help, as I am in a different market now.
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Old 09-30-2014, 01:46 PM
 
Location: Groton,CT
25 posts, read 61,706 times
Reputation: 25
Quote:
Originally Posted by Raiderman View Post
We have extensive experience in this area. There are only a few really good auction houses, and which you use depends on what you're selling.

As a seller, if you have high end items, the best is Bill Spicer in Exeter. His auctions are attended more by collectors and designers than resellers, and has a pretty unique niche there, as the vast majority of estate sales and auctions will be attended by resellers predominately.

Second best would be Bob Fricker at Cornerstone Auctions.

Third, but a bit of a haul from Groton, CT, would be Trudell's in Bellingham.

Lastly, for a good mix of items (and the auction we most frequented), Sowersby's in Fall River.

Spicer runs his auctions out of the Elk's Lodge in Exeter (may be a moose or VFW, can't remember), on a weekly basis. Cornerstone waits to accumulate enough inventory, so their auctions aren't as often. They used to hold them at the Riviera in Seekonk, but now they are normally at Evelyn's in W.Warwick (or Ivy Garden, or whatever they're calling it now), and sometimes at the armory in East Greenwich. Trudell's has a dedicated space they lease in a strip mall in Bellingham, and Sowersby's is every Thursday night at the Elk's on Main St. Fall River.

We were entrenched in this business for about 10 years while living in RI, and it is a word of mouth business. You won't find reviews to be particularly helpful, as it's just not that kind of business. Some houses are better organized than others, and some have higher quality merchandise than others, but those will be your 2 criteria for the most part. You're going to find the same people every week attend the auctions. It's a tight-knit circle of dealers, brokers, etc.

If you have any other specific questions, just send me a message and I'll be happy to help, as I am in a different market now.
Hey, thanks for the extended reply! Advice much appreciated. PM Sent.
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Old 09-30-2014, 02:25 PM
 
Location: Henderson, NV
5,314 posts, read 7,766,319 times
Reputation: 3568
Quote:
Originally Posted by RussBuddy View Post
Hey, thanks for the extended reply! Advice much appreciated. PM Sent.
Glad to help. As an antiques and collectibles dealer, the auctions in RI/MA/CT are one thing I definitely miss since the move to the SouthWest. You can't leave your house without tripping over antiques in New England, but they are VERY hard to find out here and come with a hefty premium if they are found. Had to diversify pretty quickly to accommodate for the new types of inventory we can get here.
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