Vivian's Blog
Information about Estate Sales, antiques & collectibles, appraisals, local antique shops, and anything else that we feel like passing on. Most of the posts will be from me, but Michael and perhaps other team members may join us. Please join in and add your comments. We love hearing from you.
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Estate Sales in Austin Texas Are Different
We are in the midst of an estate sale in Austin TX. Like many things, estate sales are a little different in Austin.
We had a nice crowd and as always had a lot of fun. It was a great sale and I am looking forward to tomorrow.
Just for fun I did a little research on the Internet, checking out the web sites of other Estate Sale Managers in the area. There are a lot of people who do estate sales here, as you would expect. There were some interesting differences.
One thing that was surprising is that some local companies charge a "Setup Fee". For example, one company apparently has 3 principals. When they have an estate sale, they charge in excess of $100 per person "Setup Fee". This means several hunderd dollars are taken off the top of the estate sale proceeds. They also take off the advertising costs. Then after they have deducted all of that, they do a 60/40 split. Wow! Why would anyone put up with that? What do they think a commission is for?
Looking around I saw several other references to Setup Fees including on one website that proudly proclaimed they do not charge those fees. Good for them. They understand what fair business practices are and do not try to disguise their fees by calling labor costs Setup Fees, charging the clients for it, and then charging a more than a full and reasonable commission on top of that.
We work on a commission basis and never add an extra fee here or an extra fee there to try to pad our return. Working on a straight commission is the the best incentive one can have to provide the absolute best service you can provide.
Austin is fun. We love doing sales here. I know there are a lot of good, hard working, fair minded, and honest estate sale companies in Austin. It is a pleasure working alongside of those professionals. The efforts of the good professional companies working together can help change the bad image that many people in Austin (and elsewhere) have of the Estate Sale industry.
Come check out our sale in Austin Texas.
Comments
Let me guess. You charge a Setup Fee. Bet I'm right. :-)
I am not telling anyone else how to run their estate sales, but I will point out different issues when I see them. That is especially true when I see practices by other businesses that may harm the the public's image of Estate Sale companies. Like other professional Estate Sale companies in Austin and elsewhere, we often have to overcome some negative impressions that many in the general public have of people performing estate sales. I will always point out things that I believe are detrimental to the industry. My company operates in an open, ethical manner and always has our clients best interests in mind. I know there are plenty of other Estate Sale companies that operate in the same manner. Those of us who do, must always do what we can to promote fair and honest practices in our industry as well as make note of behavior that detracts from our industry's reputation.
I wish you well in your endeavors and hope your focus will be taking care of your clients. When we focus on our clients best interests, it is always amazing at how well things turn out for us, too.
Hi Vivian, I have enjoyed reading your blogs, I find them full of fun and interesting information. Since I am a 'technodork', I just found the subscribe button and have signed up to read all of your blogs. I really wish I could have made it by your Austin sale, but I will make it to the next one for sure. There is SO much work out there that I am always passing sales on to other companies, I don't understand why people have to be negative. Thanks again for a good read, Melissa
I am sorry that we missed each other in Austin a couple of weeks ago. We will be back as soon as I get a chance. We have so many things happening in SE Texas right now and there is a really good sale coming up just below Fort Worth. We stay busy. :-)
I enjoyed your website as well. Michael traced it down for me. Both of us thought it was a good effective site.
I do get to Austin fairly often to spend time with my sons, so maybe I can catch one of your sales on one of those trips.
I agree. There is a lot of work out there. We refer sales to others, too, and are always on the lookout for good trustworthy businesses that we can recommend. I look forward to talking to you about that.
Thanks for your comments. I look forward to meeting you in person.
Hello Vivian,
Just found your blog online. That's the first I've heard of set up fees? All I can say is, wow! How about a company that charges a $250 initial consultation fee. Oh, but it gets waved if you hire the company to do the sale. I agree, if we focus on our clients best interest, we all win.
Ouch! $250 for a consultation fee would be a great racket. No need to do the sales, just get a bunch of appointments and collect the money. Hard to believe what some people will try to do.
Thanks for your comments. We actually love our clients and work hard for them. Our goal is always to do the very best for them that we can. That is the best focus and the most rewarding for both of us.
Have fun. Come visit one of our sales when you get a chance (when we are in the area).
If you don't like the way other estate sale companies run their sales in Austin then go away. We don't need you telling us how to run our estate sales.