How to start an estate sale business?
Where to begin?
How do you price items for an estate sale business?
What items sell best at estate sales?
Read the full article to get all the answers…
if you trying to find out how to start an estate sale business you came to the right place Starting an estate sale business is a smart low investment startup that can be run from home or office. I mean who doesn’t love a good deal when they see one right? We have all seen or even done a yard sale before.
- We pick and choose which unwanted items we don’t want anymore.
- Determine a price for each item and place them out in front of the yard, and wait for customers to come to buy them.
- And just like we made anywhere from $100-500 bucks or on a good day maybe more, we enjoyed a nice day out on the yard drinking lemonade, real fun and simple right?
Well no, Not as quiet.
As a business owner of an estate sale company, your clients are the relatives of someone who just passed away most likely. And they are ready to split the items among themselves and are determining which items to keep, donate, or sell. SO, WHERE DOES A ESTATE SALE COMPANY COMES IN?
1.How to run an estate sale business yourself
To get started on how to start an estate sale business the first thing you will need to do before you spend any money on legal stuff is draw up a business plan. As you will be new to the business it will be hard to get new clients. You will have to build up trust and make a lot of connections. So, you will have to go through every single contact you have and start making a list and see if you have any friends in the real estate business or home contracting business, or any business that deals with homes for a start.
The goal is to gather as many connections as possible that will become a word of mouth for your business. Referrals are a valuable asset in new startups. Clients have to trust they are in good hands, these are items that have been in the home of a loved one and must be valued as if it was your own. So, if your company got referred by a friend or family member to you this is a great sign that you trusted to work for them, SO YOU HAVE TO MAKE SURE YOU HAVE YOUR GAME PLAN IN PLACE….
2.WHAT IS NEEDED TO RUN A ESTATE SALE BUSINESS
By earning trust, clients will need to know that you are credited, fully licensed, and insured. So, here are some of what is needed to get going:
- Contact your local state licensing office and ask about which license is needed—–if needed to start an estate sale business
- Come Up with a catchy name and make sure you include estate sales in it as it is the main business.. Don’t forget to also check to see if the domain name is available
- Build a nice simple website, and start offering your services on it. It will be handy to add to your business card and you can always include testimonials from future clients and showcase your portfolio.
- Hire a lawyer to properly write agreements and contracts in order to make sure everything is accurate. We understand that the budget is tight for new businesses but this MUST GET DONE!
3. ESTATE SALE APPRAISING
Before you start pricing items make sure you clean out any rust and make items look as new as possible to boost up the appraisal.
When pricing items there is really no certain guideline to follow. Every estate business has its own unique way. Most estate sale companies that have years and years of experience usually go with a fair market price based on the following key factors:
- How well maintained is the item?
- What Is the price listed?
- How rare is the item?
- Is it an antique?
- Is it sellable?
- How much will you have to spend on advertisement?
And much much more…best suggestion is to hire an expert and co-work with him/her on your first 3 – 5 deals and maybe even more deals. Your goal is to make the client leave knowing he got the best amounts possible for their items. It is also important as a company that you close the deal with a profit. After all, you will have to advertise a lot to get people to come and shop. Keep the markup based on items anywhere from 20-35% based on your experience.
4. Should you buy an estate sale business franchise
if you are still trying to figure out how to start an estate sale business You can always consider buying a franchise and enjoy the support and backup it comes with. The average cost to franchise an estate sale business is $20,000 to $75,000 for an initial investment with a net worth of 100K.
Benefits of buying a franchise
- Unlimited support–you have a whole back office working with you to help you step by step
- Franchisors manage all advertising, this cuts your cost and spending unnecessary money. A lot of new startups shut down because of money not spent well on marketing.
- You grow faster by getting clients faster as you are now part of a trusted brand. So, customers will feel more comfortable using your service
- There is less risk ( you still can lose even with a franchise ). Not all franchise stories are a success, so, keep in mind you are not guaranteed success because you paid for the franchise.
Overall buying a franchise is costly and yes it can be successful but as compared to starting a business on your own, it is less costly. It can also become successful if done right and planned properly. So is it worth buying? We ask you
5. The Breakdown
Get to know the market better, maybe get a part job working as an estate sale helper to get the feel. figuring out ways on how to start an estate sale business can be overwhelming, Ask questions, contact other companies in other states and make them aware you want to start an estate sale business in your state, not theirs. So, they feel more inclined to respond to your questions and won’t handle you as their competition. You will definitely need to network with people who are already in this field. Find blogs and groups on Facebook, check out what software companies are using, get quotes on appraising companies that you might want to work with if you move forward. The more you know the better it is. Even though it may be a low investment business it will still take up time and effort. Do all your homework before you spend any money. Good luck! if you like this article you defiantly should check out investing in mortgage notes
Please leave a comment below, and if you have any questions we are always happy to answer.
