Estate sale companies can be extremely helpful if you find yourself in need of holding such a sale. Estate sales can be a fun hobby, a serious business, a home-based business or a part-time sideline for those looking to invest in low-cost estate sale lots for potential turnover.

An estate sale company figures out what is valuable and what isn’t in an estate. An estate might include war service medals, college and high school yearbooks, Japanese kimonos, carvings or other travel memorabilia. Large amounts of possibly valuable items, such as folk art, clothing, jewelry, collectibles, record albums, electronics, or fine art and ceramics, might be found. Estate sales can be places where one-of-a-kind objects or mementoes can be replaced or discovered. Antique clothing, original furniture, paintings and other treasures can be found at estate sales when nobody else—except the estate liquidator—recognizes their value. If you sold these items yourself, you might lose money if you don’t know what the items are worth.

Bulk estate sales can be organized by random assembly into lots with numbers. Notices of public auctions should occur in a manner that publicizes auction contents to likely buyers. Estate liquidators must often transport the goods from mortuaries, properties where the deceased has lived, garage sales, or consolidated estate or county towing or expediting yards where public property has been disposed of.

Estate sale liquidators often organize the premises, appraise items, publicize the sale, answer questions, conduct the sale and provide security. They should be able to describe the contents of certain lots, or take initiative in sorting like items by year or type for the best potential estate sale profits.

They often put together “box lots” in which several goods are sold in a single box. These lots are numbered and divided by boxes or cords with numbered cards or placards placed inside. Then, the estate sale company will auction off the goods and handle the transactions. At the end of the day, they will wind up with around 30% of the profits.