Why Choose Us?

 Great Scott has years of estate sale experience and team appraisers with a proven track record. Great Scott specializes in maximizing profits and minimizing family stress.

Estate sale companies can fail in multiple ways, often due to poor practices and misleading information provided to clients. One common failure is the misrepresentation of item values; companies may falsely claim that antiques and collectibles are worth significantly more than they actually are, sometimes telling clients that a pair of antique brass andirons could sell for $1,800, when reputable auction houses estimate their value at only $200. This kind of false optimism is often used to secure the job, but it leads to disappointment and financial loss for the client when the true market value is revealed.

Another failure is the inability to price items accurately. Estate sale companies are expected to price every item correctly, but they often lack the expertise to do so, resulting in items being underpriced or overpriced. Overpricing leads to unsold inventory, while underpricing means clients lose potential revenue. In some cases, companies may even price items at 2-3 times the eBay sold price, making them uncompetitive and unattractive to buyers.

Failure can also manifest in poor customer service and unethical practices. Some companies refuse to provide price information in advance, even when asked directly, and may block potential buyers who inquire about prices. In one instance, a company blocked a buyer after they asked for the price of a high-value item, which was seen as unprofessional and counterproductive.

Furthermore, estate sale companies often fail to deliver on promised services. For example, after an online estate auction company generated only $6,000 in gross sales, the seller received only $1,320 after the company kept the first $3,800 and charged additional fees. The company also failed to provide junk removal services, leaving the seller responsible for clearing the remaining items, which ultimately cost them $4,700 to remove, resulting in a net loss of $3,380.

Finally, estate sales themselves are often inefficient, with up to 80% of items sold below market value and 20% remaining unsold. The model relies on price reductions over several days, but there is no mechanism to discover true market value, unlike auctions where competitive bidding determines the final price. This structural flaw means that estate sales frequently fail to maximize the value of the estate’s contents.