FAQ

What is an estate sale?
An estate sale is a sale typically held at a home where most, or all of the contents are for sale.

Why should I have an estate sale?
People have estate sales for many different reasons. Hopefully it’s just a move or a downsizing. Other times people are left with a house full of possessions after a loved one passes away. Other times estate sales are needed during a divorce or foreclosure. Instead of throwing things away or donating everything, you can clear out the house and make some money by having us conduct an estate sale for you.

How do you determine the value of the items?
We want all of our prices to be attractive, accurate and fair. To do this we utilize a wide variety of sources to determine value and market trends. Our first source of information is our experienced and knowledgeable staff. Some members of our team are very knowledgeable in the market of: furniture, glass, jewelry, coins, art, clothing, and automobiles to name just a few. We also use online databases, books and price guides to determine an accurate value of your items.

What do you charge for your service?
Unlike some estate sale companies that have hidden fees, charge an up-front cost or have a minimum amount of money they must be paid in order to conduct your sale, we simply charge a very competitive commission on the total amount your sale takes in. Our pay is based solely on the proceeds of the sale, which is why we work so hard to ensure a successful sale.

What happens to items that don’t sell?
That’s up to you. If there is an item of particular value left over after the sale we can take the item with us to sell on our 100% positive feedback E-bay account, arrange for a donation service to pick up remaining items which you will receive a tax write off for, or we can have a clean up service remove items that are not wanted or cannot be donated. We will leave your home “realtor ready”.

Do you have insurance?
Absolutely, we are bonded and insured!

Can I just conduct the estate sale myself?
There are many pitfalls to conducting your own estate sale. From our experience we have witnessed sales that severely under priced the valuable items and over priced the not so valuable items. This left an estate stripped of its potential value and left a mountain of items left over to be donated. It takes a lot of hard work to conduct an estate sale properly. Everything from research, pricing, advertising, and staging take a lot of time and effort. Our services will pay for themselves through increased sales of properly priced items.

How would you advertise my sale?
There are a number of ways to market your sale such as: online estate sale directories, social media, local newspapers, e-mail list to our subscribers and directional signage on the days of the sale.

Do you have a store or buy items?
No! We believe this is a major conflict of interest. How can you trust the accuracy of an appraisal for a particular item from a person who wants to buy that item from you? We have heard horror stories of estate sale companies underpricing items and telling friends and family to purchase them only to have them magically appear at their shop on sale for 3x the original price. Not all estate sale companies who own stores do this but it should certainly raise a red flag. Our Ebay account is strictly to sell items for our customers on consignment.

What is the process?
First of all don’t throw anything away! What may look like trash truly may be someone else’s treasure. People will even buy half empty bottles of shampoo! Then call us at: (708) 990-2466. We will set up a day that is convenient for you to view the home you wish to have the sale in and give you a free no obligation consultation. We will go over our services and answer any questions or concerns you may have. If you like what we have to offer we will then pick a sale date, go over the contract, and begin the process of pricing, staging, and marketing the sale.

Does Kibenella Estate Sales accept credit cards?
Yes! We accept all major credit cards at our sales and never impose a spending minimum on our customers, thus increasing sales.

Can I attend the sale?
Of course you can. Although we have noticed a few mixed emotions from the estate owner and the public when the owner attends the sale. We’ve seen the family members of the estate get offended when someone tried to haggle the price of their grandmother’s favorite painting. Or rummaging through their grandfather’s tools. We have also seen some buyers get uncomfortable and not buy anything while the family was there. However we work for you and it is totally your choice whether or not you’d like to attend the sale.

Why the name, “Kibenella estate sales”?
Kibenella is a combination of our three children’s names: Kiley, Benjamin and Annabella.

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FAQ