An estate sale is a public sale of a household's contents, usually run by a company in the home over one to three days. As of October 2026, estate sale companies typically keep 30-50 percent of gross sales, and the most common rates are 35-40 percent, according to EstateSales.net survey figures reported by HomeLight. A typical sale grosses about $18,000-20,000.
The company sorts, prices, advertises, staffs the sale and handles payment. You receive the proceeds minus the commission and any agreed fees, usually within a few weeks. The single most important thing you can do is go through the house before the company prices it, so that jewelry, coins, art and papers that could be worth more elsewhere are found and handled separately.
Quick answer
- Commission as of October 2026: usually 30-50 percent of gross, most often 35-40 percent, lower for large sales.
- Most companies want an estimated gross of at least $5,000-10,000. Below that, a buyout, online auction or donation often fits better.
- Sales usually run one to three days, with discounts on the last day.
- Pull gold, coins, signed art, documents and anything you might keep before the company prices the house.
How an estate sale works, step by step
- Walkthrough. You invite two or three companies to look at the house. Each estimates what the sale might gross and quotes a commission and fees. There is usually no charge for this visit.
- Contract. You sign with one company. Read for the commission, the minimum fee, charges for cleanout or hauling, who pays for advertising, what happens to unsold items, insurance, and when you get paid.
- Family removes what it keeps. Everything personal, every document and everything family members want leaves the house before staging.
- You pull the high-value items to check separately. Jewelry, coins, art and collections are looked at by someone who specializes in them. More on this below.
- Staging and pricing. The company sorts, cleans, groups and prices everything, often over one to two weeks. Companies generally need at least a few weeks' notice to assess, price and market a sale.
- Advertising. The company lists the sale with photos on sites such as EstateSales.net and on its mailing list. Serious buyers and dealers plan their weekends from these photos.
- The sale. Usually Friday to Sunday. Dealers arrive first. Prices are often discounted on the last day, commonly by half.
- After the sale. Unsold items are donated, bought out, hauled away or returned to you, as the contract says. You receive a settlement statement and a check.
What estate sale companies charge in 2026
| Item | Typical range | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Commission | 30-50 percent of gross | 35-40 percent is most common; larger sales get lower rates |
| Sliding scale | Higher percentage on small sales | A company may charge 50 percent on a $5,000-10,000 sale and 40 percent above that |
| Minimum gross | $5,000-10,000 estimated | Some take smaller sales with a flat minimum fee |
| Cleanout and hauling | Extra, varies | Often quoted separately |
| Advertising | Usually included | Check the contract |
| Payment | Usually within a few weeks | Get the date in writing |
HomeLight, citing EstateSales.net surveys, reports that a typical estate sale brings in $18,000-20,000 gross, which at a 35-40 percent commission leaves the family roughly $10,800-13,000. Only about 4 percent of sales gross more than $70,000.
What sells at estate sales, and what does not
Estate sale buyers are dealers, collectors, resellers and neighbors furnishing a home. They pay for things they can use or resell.
| Sells well | Sells slowly or cheaply |
|---|---|
| Mid-century modern furniture and lighting | Large dark wood bedroom and dining sets |
| Quality tools, workshop machinery, garden equipment | Formal china sets and crystal stemware |
| Cast iron, Le Creuset, Pyrex, good kitchenware | Upright pianos and organs |
| Sterling silver and gold jewelry | Encyclopedias, book club books, magazines |
| Vintage clothing, handbags, watches | Tube televisions, VHS tapes, older electronics |
| Art, prints and frames | Entertainment centers and wall units |
| Records, cameras, stereo gear | Collectible plates and mass-produced figurines |
| Collectibles with active markets: coins, stamps, toys | Worn upholstered furniture and mattresses |
The slow sellers are not worthless, but they bring little. A full set of formal china for twelve may sell for $50-200, as our guide to old china explains. Collector pieces in the same categories are the exception, which is why the walkthrough before pricing matters.
How to find the valuable items before the sale
Estate sale staff price hundreds or thousands of items in days. They are good at furniture and household goods and less reliable on specialist items. Dealers at the door on the first morning are looking precisely for the things priced too low. So before the company starts:
- Jewelry. Read the stamps on everything. Gold marked 10K, 14K, 18K, 585 or 750 is worth its weight at a gold buyer, and signed and period pieces can be worth more. Our estate jewelry value guide shows how to sort a box in an afternoon.
- Coins and paper money. Check drawers, closets and safes. US dimes, quarters and halves dated 1964 or earlier are silver. Our guide to inherited coins covers sorting.
- Sterling flatware and hollowware. Look for STERLING or 925. A sterling service is often worth thousands at melt. Silver plate is not.
- Signed art. Paintings with a legible signature, limited edition prints with pencil numbers and signatures, and anything with a gallery label.
- Watches and cameras. Mechanical watches by Rolex, Omega and other Swiss makers, and older film cameras and lenses.
- Documents and papers. Wills, deeds, stock and bond papers, savings accounts, photographs, letters and military records. These belong to the family and the executor, not the sale.
- Hidden spots. Inside books, under drawer liners, in coat pockets, freezer boxes and the backs of closets. Families find cash and jewelry in all of them.
Anything that might be worth more than a few hundred dollars deserves a specialist look: a coin dealer, a gold buyer, an auction house specialist or an antique appraisal if you need a document for the estate.
Estate sale or something else?
| Option | Cost | Speed | What you get | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Estate sale company | 30-50 percent commission | Two to six weeks | The most money for a full household | Houses with a lot to sell, gross of $10,000 or more |
| Online estate auction | Commission, varies by company | Two to four weeks | Wider reach, buyers pick up | Smaller households, homes where a public sale is impractical |
| Auction house consignment | Seller commission plus buyer's premium | One to four months | Market price for better pieces | Art, antiques, jewelry and collections worth more than a few hundred dollars each |
| Buyout | The buyer keeps the margin | Days | One check, house cleared | Speed, small or modest estates |
| Selling it yourself | Your time, marketplace fees | Weeks to months | The most money per item | A few good items and time to spare |
| Donation | No commission, possible tax deduction | Days | A cleared house and a receipt | What is left after the sale |
A buyout is a single offer for everything, usually from a dealer or a cleanout company. It is fast and simple, and it is priced so the buyer profits, so expect a fraction of what a full sale would gross. Ask two or three buyers. For donations, keep the receipt, and note that the IRS requires a qualified appraisal for a donation of property valued above $5,000. Our guide on where to sell antiques compares the selling channels in more detail.
Say you are clearing a parent's house
Say you are clearing your mother's three-bedroom house. Before calling anyone, you spend a weekend going through it. You find a jewelry box with about 20 grams of 14K gold, a coffee can of pre-1965 dimes and quarters with $15 face value, a sterling flatware service, and an oil painting with a legible signature.
You sell the gold to a gold buyer who quotes per gram, for about $1,050-1,350 at $4,000 gold. A coin dealer pays about $600-620 for the silver coins at $58 silver. You email photos of the painting to a regional auction house, which suggests an estimate of $600-900 and takes it for a fall sale. The sterling stays in the estate sale, priced by weight, because the company agrees to price it at no less than melt. The rest goes to an estate sale company at 40 percent. The sale grosses $14,000; you receive about $8,400 less a $400 cleanout fee. Unsold items are donated. Had the jewelry and coins gone into the sale unchecked, they might have been priced as costume and loose change.
Common mistakes
- Throwing things away before the walkthrough. Old papers, toys, records and kitchenware that look like trash can sell. Let the company see the house as it is.
- Not pulling jewelry, coins and art. These are where underpricing costs the most.
- Hiring the first company. Get two or three quotes and ask for references from recent clients.
- Not reading the contract. Look for minimum fees, hauling charges and what happens to unsold items.
- Expecting retail prices. Estate sale buyers pay used prices, and dealers need margin.
- Holding a sale for a small household. If the estimate is under about $5,000, a buyout or online auction often nets more after fees and effort.
How WorthPic reads photos from an estate
WorthPic runs on the newest and most capable AI model available, tuned for exactly this kind of identification. When you are going through a house, photos of a single item, its marks and its underside are enough for it to identify what the item most likely is, from a pottery mark, a silver stamp, a coin date or a signature, and give an honest value range in US dollars with a most likely figure. It explains what drives the price and says which extra photo would settle a question. That helps decide what to pull before the company prices the house and what can safely go in the sale.
What it cannot know from a photo is the true metal under a stamp, whether a signature is genuine, or hidden damage. It identifies and estimates. It does not authenticate, grade or appraise, and it is not a buyer or a marketplace.
What to photograph
- Each item you are unsure about from the front in daylight.
- Every mark: stamps on jewelry and silver, backstamps on china, labels on furniture, signatures on art.
- Coins on both sides with the date readable.
- The underside and back of furniture and pottery.
When to get it looked at in person
Call in a specialist before the sale for anything that might be worth more than a few hundred dollars: gold and gem-set jewelry, coins, sterling silver, signed art, watches, guns, and collections of stamps, toys or cards. If the estate needs a document for the IRS, the court or heirs, hire a qualified appraiser before anything is sold.
Sources
- HomeLight: estate sale companies, costs and services: commission ranges, minimum gross, EstateSales.net survey figures, timelines and what sells.
- 26 CFR 1.170A-17, qualified appraisals: IRS qualified appraisal rules for donated property.
- 26 CFR 20.2031-6, household and personal effects: the expert appraisal rule for estate tax returns.
- eBay selling fees: fees for selling single items yourself.