Future Clients | estate-sales

Information for our Future Clients

Ray’s Estate Sales conducts estate and liquidation sales throughout Louisville and surrounding areas including southern Indiana. We understand the necessity to stand out and above these other companies in what we offer our clients.

What’s different about Ray's Estate Sales from other companies?

Ray's Estate Sales has a PASSION for this industry. We LOVE what we do and it shows. Marketing and advertising are KEY to a great sale. Ray's Estate Sales brings an element to our sales and marketing that is unique to us as a company. Although Ray will work to coordinate your estate sale with the sale of you home there are many advantages to using Julie Yeager-Cayot/ Debbie Haddad with RE/MAX Properties East. Together with their real estate expertise, interior design, and his knowledge of antiques, furniture, artwork, and jewelry, they are able to provide the homeowner with a worry and stress free move. The advertising of the home and estate sale will be such an asset to the homeowner. Knowing that their will be working with him throughout the entire process we are able to provide a discount on the commission from the estate sale. They work together side by side until the entire transaction is 100% complete. This partnership has allowed many homeowners the availability to move without concern, to their new location before their current home is sold.

If you live out of town and are in charge of overseeing the sale of an estate and the furnishings we are able to provide you a stress and worry free environment. Ray, Julie, and Debbie will handle the entire process for you and keep you informed. We are able to take your home from estate sale staging to the closing table without you doing any work. If you wish, you do not have to be in town for any of the transaction process.

How do you market the sale?

Our marketing does not only consist of placing ads in the newspaper, we market to a huge email list of buyers who follow our sales, we market your pictures on our Facebook page, Facebook Marketplace, craigslist, estateSales.net, estatesales.org, as well as our webpage.

We not only market in the Louisville area, but also take our marketing to Indiana and Ohio counties. Specialty items are sometimes marketed on Ebay for audiences all over the country. Lots of people stand in line waiting for our sales to begin on Friday morning.

Do I have enough items to hold an estate sale?

Typically, if you are looking to liquidate an entire household you will have enough items to warrant a full 2 to 3-day estate sale. Average household being a minimum of 3 / 4 bedrooms, living area, kitchen etc.

These items should be a good mix of everyday household items (small appliances, electronics, cleaning supplies, books, clothes, etc.), furniture, tools or yard items, decorator items (mirrors, candlesticks, artwork), table and bed linens, kitchenware, collector items or antiques.

We do sell cars, motorcycles, boats, and firearms. You may also set reserves on larger items, or items that have high value.

Can I sell my specific collection?

If you are only wanting to sell specific collections, such as coins, jewelry, firearms, vehicles and homes, we are able to purchase these in a quick and easy transaction.

How are items displayed at the sale?

We come in your home and actually stage your items for sale. We also bring in professional shelving that allows us to display more items and spread them out so they can be seen. Time and again we have shopped other estate sales and find that items were simply placed about, creating more of a hoarding look instead of placing the items in manner that would create a “show place.” We aim to have each of our sales look professional and beautiful so that people are happy to purchase items from the sale. Successful home interior stores stage and so do we!!! We often continue staging during your sale. As some items are moving out the door, we are moving items around the home to make sure your home is inviting as people walk through.

Each estate is different:

Ray's Estate Sales markets each sale according to what is available – from antiques, to books to everyday items. There’s always something you have to sell that someone else will want to add to their collection.

Why should we hire an estate sale company versus doing it ourselves?

Running a successful estate sale can quickly turn into a full-time job. For most families it is hard to juggle and find the necessary time to devote to the project. Pricing, organizing, research, set-up, marketing the event, working the event (and finding enough volunteers to help), bartering with buyers, and final cleanup is not only time consuming, but can also be mentally exhausting for family members trying to stage their own sale. The number of people that attend our sales is enough of a reason to hire us to run your estate sale.

How do we know which items are worth what? How will you guarantee a good turn out to your sale?

By hiring Ray's Estate Sales it’s as easy as handing over the key and letting us do the work. We know how to price accordingly and research items quickly. We have an extensive list of buyers and dealers, and our extensive advertising and marketing always insures a good crowd. We take the stress off you. If you are moving, go ahead to your new location and we will have your home ready for the next buyer. Factor in how much your time (and sanity) is worth to you, and we think you’ll find that our commission rate is well worth the service!

Should I clean up the house or dispose of items prior to bringing in an estate sale company?

Discard any papers, trash, etc. Personal papers and information should be gone. As we go through the home we will gather up any personal papers, medications, and personal items we think you may have missed and put them in a box for you.

The biggest mistake we encounter by a family, would be attempting to donate or give away items. This sometimes results in reducing the value of the estate, so low, that an estate sale company cannot take the sale. If it is good enough to donate, it should stay for the sale; this also helps by having a larger variety to attract estate sale buyers.

We have sold, hauled off or cleared the home of all the “small” stuff, would you still be interested in selling the furniture only?

Yes, still call Ray's Estate Sales. Depending on what is left, we can help market it for at least a one-day sell. The other option could be, is for us to pack up your items and place in a future estate sale.

What items sell well at an Estate sale? Do we need to have lots of antiques?

Antiques & Collections are fabulous! We are in touch with the changing trends and values of items as well as the new areas of collecting.

Some of our most successful sales have been in homes where there was not a single antique or collectible. In these cases, having good clean furniture, lots of small items, and decor pieces, helped the sale tremendously. In today's economy most buyers attending estate sales are looking for good bargains on everyday used items. Here is a short list of items that are selling really well at our estate sales right now:

Automobiles, motorcycles and boats
Clothing both new and used, vintage and modern
Purses
Tools of any type
Lawn mowers, leaf blowers, yard equipment etc.
Patio Furniture & Grills
Vintage items
Costume and fine jewelry
Gold, silver, & coins
Guns & Hunting equipment
WW2 memorabilia
Nice home décor items
Furniture (if in good, clean condition)
And don’t worry, we always have that market for all types of fine furnishings!

Are there any items that traditionally don’t do well at a sale?

Right now there are a few items that see at almost every other sale that typically are still remaining after the sale.

Well Worn Furniture - if it is stained, ripped or has pet or smoke odors it can also be hard to sell
Used clothing - if it is stained, ripped or has pet or smoke odors it can also be hard to sell
Encyclopedia sets

Regardless, if you have any of these items in your estate we ask that you leave them in place until we have had the opportunity to assess them.

What if Ray’s Estate Sales find personal items (money, paperwork, photographs, etc.) while preparing the house for the sale?

Even in cases where the family has thoroughly gone through the house, by the time we clean out every drawer, closet cabinet etc., it is inevitable that we will find something. No worries though, we will segregate these items for you; we will either make arrangements for you to pick them up or ship them to you if you are out of area.

Do we need to have the cabinets, drawers and closets emptied out before you set up?

No, that is part of our service. We will remove all items and set them out on display. However, if there is an excessive amount of garbage in the home that a regular trash can will not hold we may need to have a dumpster delivered. This will be at an additional charge. You will need to keep your garbage pick up active at your home until after the sale.

Do you inventory and tag all the items?

Yes, we do a complete inventory on the computer of items over $50, and print out tags for items with a description as well as a price. Items under $50 will have a tag printed out from the computer with the price. Some items are grouped together and larger tags are made for those. All tags are professional and very nicely laid out.

How long does the estate sale last?

The average estate sale is a 3-day event. Usually a Friday / Saturday/Sunday sale. We begin Friday & Saturday sales at 8am and end the sale at 4pm. Sunday sales are from 10am-3pm. Some larger estates may require multiple weekends.

Prior to the sale we need on average 2 to 3 weeks to prepare the house, take all the photos, price all the items, and most importantly market the sale.

How far in advance should I call you to schedule my sale?

You should call as soon as you decide to move or put your home on the market for us to come and meet with you. Do not wait until you have a closing date for your home. At that point it may be too late to schedule a sale. Sometimes we are scheduled weeks in advance and are unable to accommodate a last minute sale. If you find yourself needing a quick sale always call to check with us because we do sometimes have a client that must reschedule a sale and we will be able to accommodate you.

How much does the average estate sale make?

Because each house is different this is a hard question to answer. In many cases, we uncover items that can add substantial value to the estate sale.

How successful is the average estate sale?

Most of the time we are able to sell 75-80% of the value of the estate.

People sometimes misunderstand how an estate sale works. An estate sale is a liquidation — it’s not a storefront where things might sit for a year or two before selling. We price items fairly at the beginning of the sale for both our client as well as our customer. As the sale progresses, we often offer additional discounts.

Keep in mind that items are only worth what someone else is willing to pay for them.

Do you clean the house after the sale?

If we are selling the home, we will have your home broom clean and ready for closing. If another realtor is selling the home, we have an option available for emptying the home and leaving it ready for closing.

Another option is, to leave all unsold items in the home for the owner to dispose of as the deem necessary.

When is the best time to hold an estate sale?

Estate sales are YEAR ROUND. However, if bad weather does occur your sale may need to be rescheduled.

Do you do Appraisals?

We do appraisals for estates. For example, contested estate settlements, divorces, probate, and an estate liquidation.

How is Ray’s Estate Sales paid/ what is your fee?

We are paid on commission only. It is in our best interest to insure you have a successful sale! At the end of the sale our commission is deducted from the proceeds of the sale. No upfront fees, no minimum guarantees. We work hard and know that referrals can only be earned.

When will we receive our money from the sale?

We will mail or meet you with a check within 10 business days after final sales.

What forms of payment do you accept? Do you charge sales tax?

We accept all the major credit cards, checks, Venmo, PayPal, and of course cash. We are a licensed in the State of Kentucky and Indiana with sales tax number. We are required to charge sales tax. Most people going to estate sales are aware of this.

Do you have additional staff working the sale?

Yes, depending on the size of the sale we will have 2-7 workers during sale hours. Our staff is very friendly and very knowledgeable.

Are you insured?

Yes, we are insured and will be happy to provide you with a copy of our certificate.

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