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ABOUT OUR COMPANY / WHO USES US

The Great Estate Sale is CPPAG accredited and we have been in operation for over 20 years, specializing in estate and content sales as well as the resale of household goods and furnishings. Most recently, we have expanded our estate and content sale services in response to the needs of the ageing population, people combining households and individuals involved in downsizing their place of residence to smaller accommodations.

ABOUT OUR STAFF

Along with our experienced and knowledgeable staff, and CPPAG accreditation in estate and content sales, we can help ease the transition that can be quite stressful to individuals and/ or their families. We also have individual employees available with extensive knowledge about every conceivable type of household item, including specialists for jewellery, rugs, paintings, etc. to make sure that we can serve you best.

WHAT WE DO

We must make an initial "no charge" visit to your home to ensure that the home has a sufficient quantity of items available in order for an estate sale to be conducted.
If an estate sale is accepted, our team will come into the home and sort the items, from the attic to the basement, including the garage. Anything that looks personal, ie: identity, insurance documents, photographs, money, etc., will be kept aside for the client. If required, we bring in clothing racks, locked display cases, tables, tablecloths, and shelving. It is our goal to aid in all aspects of your estate sale.

After unloading dresser drawers, cupboards, closets, cabinets and boxes, we will sort, display, research, and price all goods at fair market value; finally, we conduct the estate sale. The estate sale is advertised and marketed in order to obtain the right buyers for your household items.

As part of our commitment to meeting your needs, we will arrange for the sale and/ or removal of all unsold items from the estate sale area.

We are a Toronto-based company but will attend out of town referrals.

PREPARING YOUR HOME

What You Should Do

We ask first that nothing be thrown out from the estate or house contents until we see the home. We recommend that you remove personal items and/ or the other content that you wish to keep.

What Can Be Sold

Anything from the estate or house contents that is safe and legal. Estate and house content sales can consist of antiques, collectibles, cars, household furnishings, clothing, jewellery, tools, appliances, kitchen/ garden items, and what some people may consider to be ‘junk’.

OUR SERVICE RULES

We strive to maintain the best possible service for our clientele. With each sale, we follow a set of strict rules, each made to provide the customer with the assurance that they are getting top quality service and value.

  • For every sale that we handle, we promise that our crew gives their 100%, whether it is a large Bridle Path home or a small one bedroom apartment. With all sales, we strive to generate as much money as we can because we make a commission on what we sell. We also do not own a retail venue, are not dealers and we (this includes family members of our staff) do not buy any items from a sale. We try our best to avoid a conflict of interest.
  • We take every precaution to ensure that the home and the homeowners’ privacy is protected as we are insured for liability.
  • We conduct extensive research for unusual, one of a kind or historical items to ensure that we have enough knowledge on any such piece to be able to properly price and sell it. We have also liaised with art galleries, museums and auction houses in Canada, the U.S., and Europe when necessary.
  • We conduct extensive marketing and advertising for all estate home sales. We do this to make sure that with each sale, we reach a large number of potential buyers. We are sure to advertise and promote as far in advance as we can, to have the best chance at finding serious buyers.
  • About three-quarters of our business are referrals, which we take as a grand compliment. People who provide referrals for us are confident that we do our best. We have many clients who come back to us for assistance. We are also confident enough to keep previous sales on the website.
  • We offer our customer a complete solution to their estate sale needs, we stage, price and sell the contents of a sale, plus we donate any unsold items to charity and then clear the home of everything that was available for sale at the end. All of these services are included in our costs, there are no hidden fees. We can also arrange waste disposal and cleaners at the end of a sale, if required, though we do try to utilize public waste disposal to save the cost.
  • Our sales are fully structured and staffed (from 5 to 10 people); we have a centralized cash desk; all sales are recorded and the original sales sheets are given to the homeowner/Estate Trustee/Power of Attorney.
  • For all sales, the bottom line is that your contents are only worth what someone is willing to pay. For some of the more expensive items, in order to make the most money, we take offers and sell to the highest offer at the end of the sale.
  • We try to always hold our sales over a two-day period. We have learned from our experience that it is very difficult to sell an entire house’s contents in one day.
  • We require a contract to be signed prior to starting work on a house. Our policy is to leave the contract for individuals to share with their family/ friends/ lawyer prior to signing to ensure that they are comfortable. We do not pressure people to sign. Once this contract has been signed, we immediately start working on prepping a sale through marketing and advertising.

For over 20 years now, we have offered our customers top quality service for home and estate sales. We have always prided ourselves on our professionalism and customer service, consistently being called upon for repeat business, and achieve customer referrals based on exceptional past experiences.

OUR GUARANTEE

With all of our clients, we guarantee stress-free alternatives for people who are looking to sell belongings or inheritances in an estate sale. For many people, without the experience, it can be a troublesome and time-consuming task, and can also be emotionally draining. We will use our expertise and experience to make your estate sale experience as stress- and worry-free as possible.

CONDITIONS OF SALE/CONTRACT

Upon request

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