How to Choose an Estate Sale Company: Questions to Ask and Red Flags

Talk to two or three companies

You will likely hire an estate sale company once, and it will handle nearly everything in the house. Talking to two or three before you choose is worth the extra day. You will learn what is normal just by hearing the same questions answered differently.

Each company should walk through the house before quoting. A company that prices a job over the phone, sight unseen, is guessing. The walkthrough is also your chance to judge how they treat the house and you.

Visit one of their current sales

Active companies run sales often, and those sales are open to the public. Go to one. You will see how the rooms are set up, how items are priced and labeled, how staff handle a crowd, and how checkout works.

Look for clear prices, tidy rooms, staff at the doors, and a calm checkout. Notice whether the house itself is being treated with care.

Check how long they have worked under this name

Ask how long the company has run sales, and under which names. A long history under one name is a good sign. If a company has used several names, ask why and look up reviews under each one.

Texas business entities can be looked up by name on the Comptroller’s free account status search. A sole owner trading under an assumed name may not appear there, so a missing result is a reason to ask, not proof of a problem.

Insurance, bonding and licensing

• Liability insurance. According to the Texas Department of Insurance, commercial general liability covers claims of bodily injury and property damage from a business’s operations. For a sale, think of a shopper who falls on the stairs or a wall damaged by a dresser on the way out. Ask for a certificate of insurance.
• A fidelity bond. This protects a business against losses from its own employees’ dishonesty, such as theft. Ask whether it also covers losses to you as the client, because that varies by policy.
• Licensing. Texas licenses auctioneers who take live bids, through the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation. Estate sale companies are not among the industries it lists. If a company also runs live auctions, ask for its auctioneer license number.

Questions to ask before you sign

Bring the same list to every company. Our guide to estate sale company costs in Texas covers what commissions normally look like.

1. What is your commission, and does it slide with the size of the sale?
2. Do you charge anything upfront, and is any of it refundable?
3. Who does the cleanout, and what does it cost?
4. How will you pay me, how soon, and what will the statement show?

Also ask about unsold items, conflicts of interest and references, covered in the sections below.

Who owns what doesn’t sell

This clause is easy to skim. Some contracts let the company keep or buy leftovers, then resell them elsewhere. That can be fine when it is disclosed and priced fairly. It becomes a problem when prices are set high, items go unsold, and the company takes them for nothing.

Get the answer in writing. Our guide to what happens to unsold estate sale items explains the usual options, from donation receipts to a buyout offer.

Conflicts of interest

Some estate sale companies also own an antique shop, a consignment store or an online store. That is not wrong in itself, but it creates a pull. Items that could sell well at your sale might be worth more to the company in its own shop.

Ask directly whether the company, its staff or their families buy from your sale, and whether anything is sold to dealers or friends before the doors open. An honest company will tell you its rules. You want items sold at the sale, to the public, and recorded on your statement.

Ask for references, and read the settlement

Ask for recent references and call them. A family can tell you what a brochure won’t: whether the company showed up when it said, left the house clean, and paid on time.

Ask to see a sample settlement statement too. An itemized statement with dates, totals and fees is a sign of a company that expects to be checked. See what belongs on an estate sale settlement statement.

Red flags

• A fee upfront, on top of a high commission, with no clear reason
• No written contract, or one you are asked to sign that day
• Vague answers about unsold items, payout timing or cleanout
• No proof of insurance when you ask for it
• Pressure to let them take items before the sale
• Several recent name changes, or no history you can find

Listing sites don’t vet companies

Being listed on a national site tells you a company exists and wants work, not that anyone checked that work. Some directories sell placement, so ask any site how it orders its list before you treat the order as a ranking.

Our own directory of Texas estate sale companies lists every company we find in public records and says plainly which ones we have not checked.

If you would like help, tell us about the house, and we’ll call you to go over your options, then match you with a few select companies. How matching works explains our process.