Frequently Asked Questions

Q - 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 a week, others take two weeks or longer to sort, clean, tag, stage, research, price, advertise, & sell all items. At this time, Anne Dee Estate Sales can handle up to two sales a month.

Q - 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. We will handle everything else from handwashing crystal to hauling away trash & hazardous waste.

Q - 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 - 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.

Q - 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, & books can have great value. Antique tools are in demand; vintage toys can be worth hundreds. Let us do the tossing.

Q - 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, used candles, fruitcake & cookie tins, plastic give-away beverage cups, National Geographic magazines from the past 60 years, dried flowers, chipped china & glass, used orthopedic slings & supports, bedside commodes, hospital souvenirs (such as non-skid socks, vomit bowls), waterbeds, used mattress pads & bed pillows, opened toiletries, worn underwear, used holiday ribbons & wrapping paper, outdated computer equipment, & expired canned food don’t have much of a market, but just about everything else does!

Q - How do you determine prices?

A - Our staff has been selling antiques & household items for nearly half a century. We’ve learned how to price antiques, original art, collectibles, furniture, books, clothing, shoes, handbags, jewelry, toys, china & glass, linens, kitchen items, holiday decorations, appliances, tools, & yard items so it all sells in a three-day weekend 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. A client’s Porfirio Salinas oil, an autumn landscape, was sold for $7,000 at Heritage Auction Galleries in Dallas in May. 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.

Q - 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, shoes, handbags, & luggage to Lisa’s Hope Chest, general household goods to the Thrift House of the Assistance League, housing materials & products to the ReStore of the Austin Habitat for Humanity, healthy, non-perishable food to the Capital Area Food Bank of Texas, used eyeglasses, sunglasses, & reading glasses to the Lions Clubs’ Recycle for Sight program, & worn towels & blankets to Town Lake Animal Center. On occasion, we have The Settlement Home for Children or The Arc of Texas pick up all unsold items. Receipts for tax purposes are given to the family. 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. All hazardous waste is taken to the Household Hazardous Waste Facility in southeast Austin.

• Designed specifically to help individuals in transition, Lisa’s Hope Chest is an Austin-based, non-profit organization that provides gently-used clothing free of charge to men & women in need.

• Assistance League of Austin is a non-profit organization providing direct services that address specific, basic needs of children & adults in schools, hospitals & senior facilities in greater Austin.

• Austin Habitat for Humanity’s ReStore provides good quality building materials at greatly reduced prices & supports housing projects for families in need.

• The mission of the Capital Area Food Bank of Texas is to nourish hungry people & lead the community in ending hunger.

• Texas Lions Clubs collect & recycle eyeglasses for distribution in developing countries.

• The largest animal shelter in central Texas, Town Lake Animal Center provides shelter to more than 23,000 animals each year.

• The mission of The Settlement Home for Children is to care for & promote the healing of troubled children & their families.

• The Arc of Texas is committed to creating opportunities for people with intellectual & developmental disabilities.

• 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.

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