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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: June 1, 2 & 3; June 8 & 9; June 22 & 23
Past Sales | 2012 | 2011 | 2010 | 2009 | 2008 | 2007
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 Austin estate sales in 2011 & we expect to do 30 or so equally lucrative sales this year. Anne Dee Estate Sales does all kinds of sales inc. high-end (e.g., 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 (e.g., Bridle Path in Tarrytown & Valley Springs in Stratford Hills). On occasion, we do smaller two-day sales, such as Sunny Slope in Tarrytown Oaks & Wood in West Lake Hills. The biggest misconception about Anne Dee Estate Sales is that we only do sales with antiques & vintage items. So. Not. True. Sure, we really know our antiques - as any estate sale professional must to avoid unknowingly cheating their clients - but common household goods sell just fine, thank you. In fact, in this difficult economic climate, second-hand items from Pottery Barn, Crate & Barrel, Macy's, Smith & Hawken, Williams-Sonoma et al are in high demand. We are frequently asked by our out-of-town clients if we can suggest a realtor. Four who particularly please us are Margaret Denena (512.784.7099) of Prudential Texas Realty, Jeff Embree (512.750.6280) of Blairfield Realty, Theran Greer (512.797.7849) of Wilson Goldrick & Carol Ann Pevehouse (512.431.1556) of Sky Realty. All four go beyond the expectations of their clients & are highly recommended by Anne Dee Estate Sales.  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 want 30 to 60%, we see no reason to raise or lower our rates. Our average estate sale grosses more than $20,000, with most clients receiving checks for about $12,000. The right location, the right items & the right company are the three biggest factors determining a truly lucrative sale. 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? Duh? 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 be told, however, if done right, running a lucrative sale is a great deal of work. An excellent estate sale professional will make sure that every item is researched. The indispensable iPad is an excellent start, but the person who does the pricing has to instinctively know all sorts of things, such as the difference between Navajo & Zapotec rugs, original Carnival glass versus reproduction, good & bad art, good & bad costume jewelry & so on. 
 As an example, we recently realized the current value of a vintage perfume while checking out dozens of fragrances on our trusty iPad. Only one proved to be exceptionally pricey: Caron's Le Tabac Blond, a French unisex perfume with scents of leather, tobacco leaves, vanilla. On February 27, 2012, our first two bottles sold on eBay for $747.17; all told, six bottles from two estates totaled $1,952.66. That's $325.44 per bottle! Who'd have thunk it? - Estate of Mary Jo Zanders & Estate of Leslie Hill 
Folk art values can also be a challenge to the uninitiated. On February 26, 2012, this 17" plywood "Guarding Angel" by Howard Finster sold on eBay for $365; a second piece went for $382.77 on March 9, 2012. - Estate of Mary Jo ZandersOur 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 almost 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. It really is that simple. The service we provide is all inclusive. Our staff will handle everything from weighing gold & silver to disposing of mercury, from individually pricing each item of clothing to taking what doesn't sell to charity, from researching each book to auctioning the exceptional titles. 
On December 1, 2011, "The Meyer Family: Master Potters of Texas" sold on eBay for $87.56; that same day "Early Texas Furniture & Decorative Arts" sold for $66 & "José Vives-Atsara: His Life & His Art" went for $89.99. - Estate of Dillon PowersQ#6 - What if I want to keep an item after you & your staff have started to work? A - No problem but, if we choose, we can 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. 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 hanging around 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 unexpected value; seemingly ordinary items such as toys & tools can be worth hundreds. 
While preparing an estate sale last spring, our observant manager spotted an old football program in a bag of trash discarded by the client. On March 27, 2011, we sold this 1966 Michigan State Spartans-Notre Dame Fighting Irish souvenir program on eBay for $228.49. - Estate of Dennis Van AustinCabinet cards are a type of portraiture photograph popular in the late 1800s; today most of these photos sell for less than $10. However, not all cabinet cards are created equal. On September 22, 1892, renowned NYC photographer Charles Eisenmann captured the image of Miss Lulu, Tattooed Princess with the Sells Brothers Circus. On April 24, 2012, with 17 bids on eBay, tat lady sold for $224.50. - Living Estate of Don & Susan Madden Q#9 - So everything is of value? A - Well, not everything. Florist vases & budvases (clear, green, milk glass), ordinary clear glass, single coffee mugs, wire coat hangers, microwave cookbooks, Reader’s Digest Condensed Books, out-of-date textbooks, mass market paperbacks, National Geographic magazines et al, newspapers, cassette tapes, dried & plastic 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 finds which resulted in exceptional profits 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. - Estate of Virginia Godfrey • A silver Palmetto Regiment Medal with original leather pouch, issued ca 1850 to South Carolina Volunteer John Pitts, sold on eBay for $1,500 on November 8, 2009. - Estate of Lewis King • 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 after the estate sale, the 13" globe sold for $2,225 on August 23, 2009. - Estate of Ila Scott Welch 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. 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. Corrugated cardboard boxes are flattened & taken to Randalls' in-store designated recycling areas; aluminum, glass, paper & plastic go in our personal recycling bins. 
Worn towels & blankets go to Austin Animal Center. Unexpired canned & packaged food is donated to the Capital Area Food Bank, used cell phones go to Cell Phones for Soldiers & prescription glasses to OneSight. 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. • Last year, Cell Phones for Soldiers provided 593,535 service men & women with cost-free phone cards to communicate with family while serving in the U. S. military. • OneSight is a family of vision care charities dedicated to providing healthy vision, eyewear & sun protection to those in need worldwide. Since 1988, these charitable efforts have provided free vision care & eyewear to more than 8,000,000 people & have granted millions of dollars towards optical research & education. • 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 home, complete the bookkeeping & write you a check. You will be paid by Monday evening, following your two- or three-day estate sale. And that's a promise. |
