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 up to three weeks to sort, clean, tag, stage, research, price, advertise & sell all items. At this time, Anne Dee Estate Sales can produce two estate sales each month.

We do high-end sales (such as 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 & Camelia, Greenflint & Hyridge in Westover Hills).

Q - What do you charge for your services?

A - We charge 38% commission from the proceeds of in-house estate sales. If an estate requires packing up & moving to another location, our commission is substantially higher.

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.

As a full-service estate sale company, the staff at Anne Dee Estate Sales will handle everything from weighing gold jewelry to disposing hazardous waste. The house is left broom-clean, ready for realtor or new owner. To see photos of five of our recent houses after the estate sales, click here.

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. Absolutely. No. Exceptions.

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, mass market paperbacks, National Geographic magazines et al, newspapers, cassette tapes, dried flowers, chipped china & glass, 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, opened toiletries, worn underwear, used holiday ribbons & wrapping paper, opened puzzles & other incomplete items, outdated computer & other electronic equipment & expired packaged food don’t have much of a market, but just about everything else does.

Q - Do you do appraisals?

A - If you are planning an estate sale, we will be happy to give you an idea of what we think your items will sell for in the Austin area. We are not accredited appraisers, however; for that service, we recommend:

• Joan Lowe, 512.478.7585, joanlowe@austin.rr.com
• Eliza Morehead, 512.472.8200, eliza@moreheadapp.com
• Vivian Fellows, 512.358.6504, vfellows@austin.rr.com
• Cynthia Brown, 512.847.0330, Wimberley, TX

Q - 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-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 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 2009 success stories that went beyond the estate sale:

• 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 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 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 - 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 & general household goods to the Salvation Army Thrift Store. Worn towels & blankets go to Town Lake Animal Center. 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.

• The largest animal shelter in central Texas, Town Lake Animal Center provides shelter for more than 22,000 animals each year.

• 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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