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How We Can Help You | 12 FAQs for Clients | About Us | 10 Tips: How to Choose an Estate Sale Service
Next Sales: Feb. 17 & 18; Feb. 24, 25 & 26; Mar. 2 & 3; Mar. 16, 17 & 18; Apr. 7 & 8; Apr. 20, 21 & 22
Past Sales | Eight Tips: How to Shop Our Sales | Contact Us
Q#1 - Our realtor advised us to put our house on the market after it has been emptied. We need to have an estate sale ASAP. What should we do? A - Call us ASAP. Some sales can be prepared in as little as four days, others take up to a month to sort, clean, tag, stage, research, price, advertise & sell all items. We produced 24 highly successful Central, Northwest & West Austin estate sales in 2011 & we expect to continue to do an average of two equally outstanding sales each month. Anne Dee Estate Sales does high-end sales, such as Manana on Lake Austin, Long Champ & Bold Ruler in Davenport Ranch, Cromwell Hill in Old Enfield, West Gibson in Bouldin Creek, Las Lomas in West Lake Hills, West Courtyard in Shepherd Mountain & Comanche Trail in Oasis Bluff & mid-range sales, inc. Bridle Path in Tarrytown & Valley Springs in Stratford Hills. On occasion, we do smaller two-day sales, such as Sunny Slope in Tarrytown Oaks or Wood in West Lake Hills. We are frequently asked by our out-of-town clients if we can suggest a realtor. Three who particularly please us are Margaret Denena (512.784.7099) of Prudential Texas Realty, Theran Greer (512.797.7849) of Wilson Goldrick & Carol Ann Pevehouse (512.431.1556) of Sky Realty. All three go beyond the expectations of their clients & can not be recommended highly enough.  Q#2 - What do you charge for your services? A - Since our first estate sale in 2007, we have charged 38% commission from proceeds of in-house sales; cars & pickup trucks, sold through sealed bid auctions, are charged 25% commission. Although most local companies, while lacking our expertise, charge 40 to 60%, we see no reason to raise our rates. Q#3 - Why should we use your company? A - We know what we're doing & we've been doing it longer than most. We'll share an e-mail that arrived August 29, 2010: "You won't believe this. I go to the last day of a [central Austin estate] sale today & sitting inside a kitchen cabinet with florists vases & measuring cups is this ewer. Priced at $8, but this is half-price day, of course.... Thank God, you pulled out that vase at the Cedar Park interview [last week] so the Rookwood mark was fresh in my mind. 1888, signed by one of their famous artists, Matt Daly. From research I've done, I think the value is between $500 & $1,000." How in the world did this valuable Rookwood pitcher escape notice of the estate sale company who was running the sale? How? The person who was pricing didn't have a clue. And, unfortunately, more & more people who don't have a background in antiques or even business, who have absolutely no qualifications, decide to launch a website & enter the field because "it sounds like fun." Truth is, if done right, running a successful sale is a great deal of work & an excellent estate sale professional will make sure that every item is researched; the person who does the pricing has to instinctively know all sorts of things, such as the difference between Navajo & Zapotec rugs, good & bad art, good & bad costume jewelry, reproduction glass versus the real thing & so on. Our advice: (1) Don't be deluded by a website, (2) get proof the company you are considering has produced dozens of successful sales & (3) carefully check out credentials & references. Take time to do careful research or your estate sale might turn out to be nothing more than an indoor garage sale. Q#4 - I live out of state. Is that a problem? A - Not at all. We have had clients from California to Canada. You can easily follow our progress on your estate sale by watching the "Next Sale" section of our website. We post descriptive details & new photographs nearly every day while we are preparing your sale & we respond to your questions via e-mail or phone ASAP. Q#5 - I just signed your contract to have an estate sale in two weeks. What do I do now? A - All we really ask is that you remove everything from the house that you want to keep. If that is absolutely impossible, put the items that you do not want sold in a closet or bedroom that can be sealed off during the sale. As a full-service estate sale company, the staff at Anne Dee Estate Sales will handle everything from weighing gold to disposing mercury. To see photographs of six of our broom-swept houses, go here. Q#6 - What if I decide to keep an item after you & your staff have started to work? A - No problem, but we will charge our regular commission for anything removed once work has begun. If you have overlooked small personal items, such as photo albums or your mother’s wedding ring, we will, of course, return those items to you at no charge. Q#7 - I need to stay at my home while you are preparing the estate sale. Is that a problem? A - We cannot get productive work done if there are people or pets living on the premises. Please make other arrangements & be completely moved out before our staff moves in. Absolutely. No. Exceptions. Q#8 - Should I throw away junk stored in the garage? A - Please do not dispose of anything before hiring us. Ephemera* such as old magazines, postcards, photographs, calendars et al can have great value; seemingly ordinary items such as toys & tools can be worth hundreds. Let us do the tossing. 
*While preparing an estate sale last spring, our observant manager spotted an old football program in a garbage bag full of trash discarded by the unsuspecting client. On March 27, 2011, we sold this 1966 Michigan State Spartans-Notre Dame Fighting Irish souvenir program on eBay for $228.49.- from the estate of Dennis Van Austin, 1943-2010 Q#9 - So everything is of value? A - Well, not everything. Florist vases & budvases (clear, green, milk glass), single coffee mugs, wire coat hangers, Reader’s Digest Condensed Books, out-of-date textbooks, mass market paperbacks, National Geographic magazines et al, newspapers, cassette tapes, dried & faux flowers, chipped glass & pottery, used candles, fruitcake & cookie tins, plastic give-away beverage cups, used orthopedic slings & supports, bedside commodes, hospital souvenirs (such as non-skid socks, vomit bowls), waterbeds, stained mattresses & used mattress pads & bed pillows, tattered towels & other worn-out linens, opened toiletries, worn underwear, used holiday ribbons & wrapping paper, opened puzzles & other incomplete items, outdated computer & other electronic equipment, moldy or rusted appliances & expired packaged food don’t have much of a market, but just about everything else does. Q#10 - How do you determine prices? A - Our staff has been selling antiques & household items for more than half a century. We’ve learned how to price antiques & collectibles, furniture, original art & prints, books, jewelry, china, glass & pottery, linens, kitchen & household, clothing, toys, appliances, tools & yard items so it all sells in a two- or three-day estate sale. For high-end antiques & art, we use price guides, local experts, the Internet & we don’t hesitate to contact Sotheby’s, Christie’s, other auction houses. In May 2008, we sold, through auction, a client’s Porfirio Salinas oil (autumn scene, no bluebonnets) for $7,000. A circa 1920 Manchester Kashan carpet, auction-valued at $7,000-$10,000, was recently identified & appraised for us by the Worldwide Head of Carpets at Sotheby’s & a collection of five pieces of Sevres-style French ceramics were auction-valued at $11,000-$16,000 by Sotheby’s Worldwide Head of European Ceramics. Three of our 2009 exceptional finds which resulted in high-yield sales for our clients: 
• A 1979 lithograph, "Pescaderas" (The Fisherwomen) by Nicaraguan artist Armando Morales, went unsold at our May 22-24 sale. Auctioned at Heritage Auction Galleries after the estate sale, the 21.5"x33" print sold for $2,000 on November 11, 2009.- from the estate of Virginia Lee Godfrey, 1924-2009 
• A silver Palmetto Regiment Medal with original leather pouch, issued ca 1850 to South Carolina Volunteer John Pitts, sold on eBay by us for $1,500 on November 8, 2009.- from the estate of Lewis O. King, 1927-2009 
• An 1822 terrestrial globe, made by America's first commercial globe maker, James Wilson of Albany, NY, went unsold at our August 7-8 sale. Auctioned on eBay by us after the estate sale, the 13" globe sold for $2,225 on August 23, 2009.- from the estate of Ila Scott Welch, 1904-2009 Q#11 - What happens to the unsold items? A - Most items do sell, but usually some clothes & household items are left to be boxed up & hauled away. Unless the family wishes otherwise, we take unsold clothing, books & general household goods to the Salvation Army Thrift Store, Assistance League Thrift House or Top Drawer Thrift. Worn towels & blankets go to Austin Animal Center. We also recycle whenever we can, e.g., wire coat hangers are reused by our neighborhood dry cleaners & recent periodicals are shared at our library’s magazine exchange. Unexpired canned & packaged food is donated to the Capital Area Food Bank. Hazardous waste is taken to the Household Hazardous Waste Facility in southeast Austin. • The largest animal shelter in central Texas, Austin Animal Center provides shelter to 23,000 animals each year. • In 2011, the Capital Area Food Bank of Texas provided more than 24 million pounds of food to 21 central Texas counties. • Household Hazardous Waste Facility is open to City of Austin & Travis County residents & businesses for the purpose of safely disposing hazardous waste, including paints & solvents, lawn care chemicals, cleaning products & automotive products. Q#12 - When will my house be empty & when do I get my money? A - Give us 24 hours after the sale to empty & vacuum your house, complete the bookkeeping & write you a check. You will be paid by Monday evening, following your two- or three-day estate sale. Promise. |
