How We Run Sales
We run several distinctly different types of sales plus a new ‘Hybrid’ sale that combines an Online-Only Auction with a traditional Public sale.
We’ve outlined how they each work below, with a lot of information shown for the Online Bidding sales, since that it new to Tennessee and unique to us!
**NEW: Hybrid Sales**
We offer online-only auctions in conjunction with many of our sales.
Our customers love this innovation! Online Auctions allow our customers to bid on some of the most-sought items in our sales before the first day of the Tag Sale. Only some items in the home get auctioned; we still run a regular Tag Sale in the home to sell everything else. Day 1 of the Tag Sale is ‘Preview Day’ for the auction items. In other words, you can come look them over in person before the auction ends. And you can shop all the Tagged Items at the same time!! In most cases, the auction ends the evening of that first day. We require that customers pick up their auction items at the home site the day after the bidding concludes. At present, as with tag sale items, there is NO Sales Tax, and we do not charge a ‘buyer’s premium,‘ which makes our Online Bidding one of the best and most innovative formats to hit Estate Sales in Tennessee in a long time! Try it out! If you have questions, see the FAQ’s at the bottom of this page.
Public Sales
We run 2 and 3 day sales that are open to the public.
Usually, everything in the home is for sale and everything is tagged with a price. Anyone can come buy at these sales during the opening hours. Most often, we start these sales Friday at 2 PM and we advertise on or website, in the newspaper and on craigslist.
We put out street signs to help you find us. For security reasons, we don’t announce the actual address until the night before; the most reliable way to be sure you get the address is to get on our mailing list. Fill out the contact form on our home page to be added to this list. We always post the hours, the discount structure and important parking info on the mailings also. Each night after the sale closes, we update our website and craigslist ad to show the items that will still be available the following day.
We tend to have a big draw on Fridays for the open so we hand out numbers to people who arrive early. Just before we open, people line up by number so we can facilitate an orderly entrance into the house. For a 2 PM sale, numbers usually go out at Noon. If you arrive before the open, look for the checkout tables (usually outside) and someone there will have the numbers, usually written on our business cards.
Once the sale opens we have staff available inside the house to help mark items sold and/or to carry things to checkout for you. We will hold items at checkout and lots of people go in and out of the house several times and ‘make a pile’ at the checkout station. We safeguard these piles and individual items at checkout. Items behind the checkout staff have been reserved so we ask that customers not come into that area unless it is to add more items to their pile. We may not always have enough staff to move furniture pieces out of the house for you so we ask our customers to expect to do that part themselves. It’s part of the fun of the estate sales – and it’s part of how we keep the prices so reasonable. We have a list of movers we recommend should you need one.
Typically in a public sale we have been contracted to sell everything in the house. All items in the sale are marked with a price, usually on a white or colored ‘dot.’ These prices are firm on the opening day.
Some sales have a 25% off period; all our public sales have a 50% off period towards the end. Discounts may not apply to gold and silver items. See published info and signs at the sale for this info. Also, Discounts apply only to items that are still out on display when the discount starts; they don’t apply to items placed at checkout before the discount period begins.
We ask customers not to hide, hoard or carry items around for long periods before a discount period begins. When we pass the closing hour on the last day, we sometimes sell all remaining items in bulk. Contact us if you are interested in this type of purchase. Our clients praise us because we always leave a clean, empty house.
For Payments, we accept cash and good checks at all sales. We are usually also prepared to accept gold and silver as payment, or to buy these metals outright at market prices. At some sales we accept credit cards.
Our Sales are not auctions.
They are ‘tag’ sales and everything in the sale is for sale when doors open. We do not pre-sell items. All items on our listing and in our pictures will be in our sale when it opens. However, please understand that rare exceptions do occur if the family changes their mind about something last minute.
Appointment Sales
Sometimes we get sales where there is very limited parking or where homeowner rules that prohibit public sales. We advertise these as ‘Appointment Sales’ and we require customers to book an appointment in advance.
Booking an appointment is quick and easy. A link from the email or our webpage will take you to a calendar that allows you to choose immediately from available times. Once you choose a time slot, you automatically receive the address and a reminder via email or text. Usually we take appointments from late morning into evening so there will be a time slot that works for everyone, even on workdays. We also have time slots that don’t fill up so it’s usually possible to come to these sales on the ‘spur of the moment’ if you can’t plan ahead – just check the website. Since we are trying not to get big crowds at these sales, we don’t usually put out our street signs, except right at the home.
We often advertise these sales only to our mailing list. Sign up for emails by using the Contact Form on our home page.
We do a couple things differently at appointment sales to adjust to a limited crowd. First, we publish more prices on the website and email so our customers know ahead of time what we’re asking on furniture and other high end items. Secondly, since there’s not a good way to have a ‘discount period’ in these sales, we accept written offers for anything in the sale, during any appointment slot. Just fill out a 3×5 card at checkout and we’ll phone you back towards the end of the day if you have the highest offer on an item that didn’t bring our asking price.
Hours, payment options and parking instructions will be posted on our website and in our emails and you should plan to bring help for moving large or heavy items.
Blowout Sales and Root & Haggle Sales
Our Blowout Sales are usually one-day affairs when we have a partial estate or a moving sale.
We empty the house in one day! Prices start lower and we are happy to collect your written offers during the day on any item in the home. Usually there is a half price blitz for the last hour or two, and we review all the offers before we go half price and award items to folks with offers at leat 10% over half. These sale are lots of fun; the stuff is good and the crowd is usually smaller than our big public sales so it can be easier to get what you’re after. We publish the times and discount periods in advance; we give out numbers iin advance of the open. We accept cash, good checks, and credit/deibt with 3% surcharge.. Things move fast at these sales so you will need to bring help to move furniture. Since we usually have to empty the house the day of sale, there’s all kinds of crazy deals in that last hour!
Root and Haggle Sales are wildly fun affairs. They happen when we get a contract to empty a house on short notice. We only price a few (or even none) of the items in the sale. We may not even stage anything. When we open the doors, you get to come into the home, root around in closets and boxes and tool benches and bedrooms and gather up things you want. Carry them to checkout and we’ll haggle over your finds and try to reach a fair price. We are always open to large-volume buyers, dealers and buy-out guys at these sales. To get maximum access to these type sale, get on our mailing list. Since they’re short notice they rarely make it into the newspaper and sometimes not even craigslist.
FAQ’s on The New Bidding Process
Our Blowout Sales are usually one-day affairs when we have a partial estate or a moving sale.
How does it work?
You can view and bid on items in the sale through our website. The Bidding Process allows you to submit bids on items before the sale opens. We have Set this sale up so that the Online Bidding will end Friday After we close for the day. That way you can come to look at any items over in person before you make your final bids.
Is Everything up for Bid?
No, only the 33 items shown on the bid page. Everything else is tagged for sale when we open. Is this a Live Auction? No, this is a ‘timed’ auction, and only available online. There is no bidding at the sale.
How do I bid?
Click the link below and you will go to a webpage for the bidding. From there, click on the ‘View Items and Bid’ link. You must register to bid – and your registration will be good for ALL our future bidding sessions. There will be many!
Do I get a notice if I get outbid?
The system is set up to notify you if you get outbid.
What is a ‘Maximum Bid’?
Enter a ‘Maximum Bid’ amount only if you want to bid higher than the bid you are entering. The system automatically raises your bid for you if someone bids against you so you don’t have to watch the page all the time. If no one bids higher than your initial bid then you won’t approach your maximum bid. Sometimes someone else already has a maximum bid higher than yours; when that happens you’ll see you’ve been outbid instantly.
When does the Bidding End?
For most sales bidding will end after the first day of the tag sale, which allows people to view the items on day one. The website will show a timer on the last day so you can count it down. Items end when the timer runs out; there are no extension, even if someone bids in the last second. How Do I know if I win? You can always watch the page but for your convenience, we will invoice all winners late Friday night
Do I have to pick up my Item at the house?
Yes. Winners must pick up their items on Saturday, preferably in the morning.
QUESTIONS?
We’re happy to help with anything else you want to know. Complete this form or call Will at 865 765 3514