Estate Sale vs.Garage Sale: A Simple Explanation

Have you recently been left an estate full of possessions that you don’t know quite what to do with? Do you want to change this estate’s value into liquidity that you can actually put to use?If so, then you’re probably considering doing some kind of sale. Many people in your situation consider putting on a garage sale or an estate sale in order to turn the possessions into liquid money.However, what few people know is that there is a big difference in an estate sale vs. garage sale. In this article, we’ll introduce you to those key differences so that you know which of these two popular liquidity methods is the right choice for you in this unique situation.

What Is a Garage Sale?

A garage sale is a common mechanism to get rid of a bunch of possessions in exchange for money. With a garage sale, one is typically reasonably confident of assigning values to the possessions up for sale and then having people stopping by to buy them.

The customers who are typically present at a garage sale are just your run of the mill consumer. They may be family, friends, or people who just saw your garage sale sign that you put up at various spots in your subdivision. They’re generally just around to see what kind of deals that they can score for cheap, and may not be looking for anything in particular.

What’s an Estate Sale?

An estate sale, on the other hand, is a very different beast when compared to a garage sale.

The first characteristic of an estate sale is that it is not conducted by the actual owner of the property. Instead, the services of an estate liquidator are used. This is someone who has been through the process of valuing and selling an estate’s possessions many times before and thus has a wealth of experience that can be used to ensure that you get the most money for the possessions.

Another characteristic of an estate sale is that it usually contains very specific items that may be hard to value for someone who is not overly familiar with those items. For instance, that could include rare paintings. If you yourself are not well-versed in art, then it would be unwise for you to simply sell those at a garage sale, as you could seriously shortchange yourself if the painting in question is a particularly rare one that’s worth far more than what you pegged its value at.

Estate Sale vs Garage Sale: Now You Know the Difference

Now that you know the principal differences in the estate sale vs garage sale battle, you should have a better handle on which one makes sense for your particular situation. As a general rule of thumb, if you want to maximize the liquidation of the estate’s assets without having to put too much work in yourself, an estate sale is the way to go.

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