Estate Sales

ESTATE SALES

As part of the relocation or downsizing process, it is sometimes necessary to part with some of your belongings. If you have a lifetime of memories tied up in your possessions, this can be an extremely difficult thing to do. This is not only an emotional process, but a time consuming one. If you are doing it for yourself or a loved one, you can turn to Trusted Transitions to provide you with the experience and knowledge and attention necessary to assist with handling your estate sale.

Trusted Transitions will work with you keeps your family's best interests at heart by acting as your onsite advocate, coordinating the liquidation of your loved one's estate. We carefully manage the items in the home, treating them like our own, to ensure they're sold or liquidated in a timely manner. As your family's trusted partner, we manage the process efficiently and maximize returns. We give families peace of mind by minimizing the stress of estate sale planning.

Because of television shows like 'Antiques Roadshow' people have come to expect that their basements and attics contain valuable treasures. They might indeed; but they might not… Trusted Transitions uses a database of thousands of antique catalogues, guides and auction websites and sales guides to which we are members in order to research the value of your estate. We will be happy to explain the value cycles of collectibles that families may have been amassing and cherishing for years — even if we can't always share good news.

As a child, my mother used to drag me into antique stores and exclaim, "Oh look at that <table>! That's the same as the one we have at home!" Then after looking at the price listed on the item for sale, she would get even more excited, "Look, it's worth $5000!," I memorized those prices for some odd reason. I can recount them today. However, the reality is somewhere in between. That table (or any other item) can be priced at any value you want, but that does not mean it will sell at that price (I think that table was still in that shop about ten years later – so it wasn’t worth $5000 – that’s just what they wanted for it).

Many factors determine the value of antiques and collectibles:

Rarity

Just because an item is old doesn't mean that it is valuable. It's only if something is rare or has some unique quality that it is likely worth a great deal of money.

You can purchase ancient Greek and Roman coins – real ones – at a very low cost. These coins are thousands of years old, but they aren't rare. The Greeks and Romans produced many millions of them and since they were made out of very sturdy metals, every time a sunken ship with a cargo hold full of coins is discovered, the value of the coins goes down.

Condition

It goes without saying that something in excellent condition is worth more than something that is in poor condition. However, other aspects of an item can also affect its value.

Provenance

Who painted it or made it may be less important than who owned it. Having documentation or proof of a piece's history is key to its being more valuable.

Interest

An item does not necessarily have to have an intrinsic value for it to be valuable. Many parents from the 1930's threw away their kids' comic books without any thought of value. It is because they did so (rarity) and some children kept those comics secured (condition) that there are a few very valuable issues comics today. However, that being said, just as with stocks and bonds, interest in any antiques and collectibles ebbs and flows with the years. What is valuable today, may not be as valuable tomorrow and vice versa. That's why it is important to find a good, reliable, estate sale company such as Trusted Transitions who will thoroughly research your possessions and give you recommendations before you liquidate something on the low end.

Trusted Transitions will: