How to price items for an estate sale
Pricing an estate sale is a different job from pricing for eBay or Etsy. Shoppers come expecting bargains, everything has to go in a few days, and there are hundreds of things to tag. This is a way to get through a whole house without underpricing the few things that matter or overpricing the many that don't.
Before you price anything
- Agree as a family on what is being kept, and take it out of the house. Items left in place get tagged and sold by mistake
- Set aside anything that might be valuable: jewelry, sterling, art, signed or marked pieces, early furniture, collections. These get researched one by one, or appraised
- Clear out papers and medication, and anything with personal information, before anyone else walks through
- Decide how many days the sale runs and how you'll discount, because that changes where you start
The starting point for everyday household items
Most of a house is everyday things: dishes, linens, small appliances, decor, tools, books. Estate sale shoppers won't pay close to retail for used versions of things they can buy new. A common starting point is a fraction of what the item would cost new today. Guides from estate sale companies put it anywhere from about 20% to 50%, lower for things that are dated, worn or easy to find, higher for things in demand and in good condition.
Never price an everyday item at retail, or at the top price you can find online. Online prices are what a buyer pays after shipping and a wait. At the sale the shopper is carrying it home today, without a return policy.
Price in round numbers. $1, $3, $5, $10, $15 and $20 are quicker to tag, quicker to add up at checkout and easier to discount.
Price by category
| Category | How to price it |
|---|---|
| Furniture | Check recent local sales on Facebook Marketplace or Craigslist for similar pieces. Solid wood and known makers hold value; large dated pieces often don't. Price to sell, since it's the hardest thing to have left over |
| Dishes, glassware, kitchenware | Price sets together and odd pieces cheaply. A complete set is worth more than its pieces. Check the maker's mark on anything that might be a known pattern |
| Linens, clothing, books, media | Low, simple prices or by the bag. Look closer at vintage clothing, signed or first-edition books and records in good condition |
| Tools and garage | Name-brand tools in working order sell well. Test anything with a motor and say whether it works |
| Decor and art | Mass-produced decor is priced like everyday items. Original, signed or older art gets researched first |
| Jewelry, silver, collectibles | Research every piece or have it appraised. Keep these near checkout or in a locked case |
Expect some categories to be worth less than they used to be. China, crystal and formal dining furniture are the usual examples: plenty of it, and fewer buyers.
Research the few things that matter
In most houses a small number of items carry a large share of the value. Find them before you price, not after a dealer pays $5 for them on the first morning.
- Look for marks, labels, signatures and stamps on the underside, back and inside of things
- Check sold prices on eBay (search, then filter by Sold items) for anything with a maker's name. Asking prices aren't a guide
- Check auction house results for higher-value pieces. Many publish past sale prices
- For anything that could be worth hundreds or more, pay an appraiser. Appraiser associations list members by area
Price these items below what they sell for online, but not far below. A shopper at the sale saves the shipping and the wait, and that's worth something to them.
Discount over the days of the sale
Many estate sale companies lower prices as the sale goes on. A common schedule:
| Day | Prices |
|---|---|
| Day one | Full price, usually firm |
| Day two | About 25% off |
| Last day | About 50% off, sometimes more in the final hours |
Start high enough that the discounts still leave a fair price. Shoppers know the schedule, so the urgency on day one comes from the chance that someone else takes the item first.
You can exclude items from the discount. Say so on the tag ("firm" or "no discount") so there's no argument at checkout.
Tag everything, and write it down
- Use tags or tape that come off without leaving marks on wood and paper
- Put the price and a short description on each tag, so a tag moved onto a different item is easy to spot
- For anything over about $50, note the starting price and the lowest you'll accept in a list or spreadsheet. Decide before the sale, not at the table
- Bundle small things: a box of kitchen utensils for $5, or a fill-a-bag price on the last day
What to sell online instead
Some things fetch noticeably more online than any estate sale shopper will pay. Pull them out before the sale if you have time to list them:
- Collectibles with a following, where buyers search by name
- Small, valuable items that are easy to ship: jewelry, watches, cameras, pens, figurines
- Vintage pieces at least 20 years old that suit Etsy, such as mid-century decor, vintage clothing and kitchenware
- Anything specialized that your local shoppers won't recognize
Run the sum first. After marketplace fees, shipping and your time, a $20 item is usually better sold at the sale. Our guide to pricing estate finds for resale online shows how to work out what you'd keep.
If you hire an estate sale company
Estate sale companies usually take a commission on what they sell, often around 30% of the gross, and more for houses that need extra work. Ask what's included (pricing, staffing, advertising, cleanout of what's left), whether they research valuable items, and how they handle things the family wants kept.
Where LegacyList fits
LegacyList is for the items you decide to sell online. Photograph them room by room, and it drafts a listing for each item with a suggested price, which is an estimate to check against sold prices, not an appraisal. You can keep everything from one house in a lot, with what it cost, and see the profit as items sell on eBay and Etsy.