{"id":3221,"date":"2020-03-05T10:23:05","date_gmt":"2020-03-05T17:23:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/estatesales.org\/university\/?p=3221"},"modified":"2024-11-24T08:52:55","modified_gmt":"2024-11-24T15:52:55","slug":"estate-sales-vs-picker-sales","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/estatesales.org\/university\/estate-sales-vs-picker-sales\/","title":{"rendered":"What Is a Picker Sale? Estate Sales Vs. Picker Sales"},"content":{"rendered":"

Estate sales, tag sales, picker sales, digger sales, and downsizing sales all serve the same purpose.\u00a0They are sales that occur over a period of time to liquidate the personal assets inside a home.<\/p>\n

What Is a Picker Sale?<\/h2>\n

Estate sale companies organize picker sales.\u00a0The quantity of items, type of items, location of the items or the home itself will dictate whether it’s a traditional estate sale or picker sale.<\/p>\n

Picker sales are just another form of holding an estate sale where none of the items are inventoried or tagged with a price. Attendees at a picker sale can dig through any room, box, closet or drawer.<\/p>\n

Shoppers ask for a price on the spot for the items they’ve selected and you negotiate a final purchase price.<\/p>\n

Estate Sales Vs. Picker Sales<\/h2>\n

There are many things that make a picker sale similar to an estate sale, yet quite different.<\/p>\n

These differences are evident in the process of the sale itself. In an unregulated industry such as estate sales, companies set their own estate sale procedures, policies, and estate sale rules<\/a>.<\/p>\n

It’s the company\u2019s job to get the most value possible for their client by relying on their experience, shoppers that attend their sales, and the best methods they can apply to have a successful sale.<\/p>\n

Since most companies earn their estate sale commissions based on the amount they generate at each sale, it’s in their best interest to sell as much as possible and earn their clients as much as they possibly can.<\/p>\n

How Popular Are Picker Sales?<\/h2>\n

Estate sale shoppers love the excitement of hunting for that next unique find.<\/p>\n

A picker sale is exciting for many shoppers because they are literally hunting for items in closets, drawers, boxes, and making a pile of items they\u2019re interested in buying.<\/p>\n

That excitement creates a buzz around picker sales that shoppers find quite appealing.<\/p>\n

Not every sale can be treated as a picker sale, and there are many differentiators that a company takes into consideration.<\/p>\n

\"Picker
Picker sale in a barn. Photo credit: Erin at Betton Place Antiques Estate Sale Service<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

When and Why a Picker Sale?<\/h2>\n

We reached out to Erin Fredric-Barnett, owner of Betton Place Antiques Estate Sale Service<\/a> in Florida and South Georgia.<\/p>\n

Erin has a lot of experience in the estate sale industry and holds many picker sales, we wanted to know more.<\/p>\n

Erin said \u201cThere are many reasons we hold a picker sale. There are many families that are in desperate situations, and they want to get as much as they can for the items they have, the geographical location also plays its part. After a hurricane, for example, the home is not in perfect condition to inventory, stage, and hold a traditional estate sale. We don\u2019t turn those clients away; we do the best we can to help them because they need us.\u201d<\/p>\n

Erin summarized her picker sale process to give us an idea of what it\u2019s like.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen we started performing picker sales, we did to meet a need in our local area. We have a well-established process we follow that is fair to all parties involved. The sales are very successful, but we have mastered the art of holding picker sales\u201d.<\/p>\n

Strategies that Work<\/h2>\n

We also spoke with Brad and Stacie Boerger with Best Sales by Boerger<\/a> serving the Northwest Arkansas area.<\/p>\n

They have several years of experience in providing estate sales in the Arkansas area. We asked them to further explain why an estate sale can be considered a picker sale?<\/p>\n

They explained that an estate sale company will choose a sale strategy based on many variations. A sale can be a combination of an estate sale and a picker sale based on many factors.<\/p>\n

The Boergers said, \u201cWe have used many strategies when helping our clients liquidate their personal assets. Depending on the items, location of the sale, and what makes the most sense for our clients\u2019 bottom line\u201d.<\/p>\n

Stacie Boerger continued \u201cA picker sale has nothing to do with minimizing the amount of labor, it sometimes requires more work, but happens to be more profitable for our clients based on many factors that require us not to price anything. We like to call indoor sales \u201cdiscovery sales\u201d, but we have used the term \u201cpicker sales\u201d quite often for garage and barn areas on the property.”<\/p>\n

Labor Costs<\/h2>\n

There\u2019s a misconception in the public that these sales are easy to do, there\u2019s no labor involved, but it\u2019s quite the contrary.<\/p>\n

Any successful sale will require a lot of labor and why you’re involved before, during, and after the sale has ended.<\/p>\n

Depending on your estate sale contract<\/a>, you might be responsible for also clearing the leftovers after the estate sale<\/a> is done.<\/p>\n