April's Estate Sales

Not at all. Only interested in gold, silver, and jewelry.

After calling another estate sale company, and essentially getting one call back with no further follow-up, I contacted April's Estate Sales. I got a prompt appointment for reviewing the sale, and April was a few minutes early for her appointment to look at the items to be sold. She explained all details in a very complete and professional manner. My parent's home held all that might be expected to be there after 48 years, and I agreed with April's assessment of the value of the contents, generally. Everything would be priced to move, and April noted that she usually was able to get rid of about 80% of the contents of a home. The staging was well done. I was not present for the sale itself, except for the end when I received the funds from the sale. I also had to be at the home for a "pick-up day" the day after the sale to allow purchasers the opportunity to pick up large items. This date was set up well in advance at the same time the contract with April was signed. Two employees of April's conducted the set up and two conducted the sale itself. Anything found int he home of a personal nature (such as the parents copy of my wedding album that had been forgotten in a side drawer of a table) was placed in the bathroom (and April's does not allow visitors to use the bathrooms in the home). There were road signs placed to direct people to the home. Overall this was a very positive experience and I would recommend the company. Words of caution: If you have average stuff in a house, and a few cherished collectibles, don't expect to make a fortune. People expect bargains at an estate sale, and no matter how new it might be, its still used. I found not being present a benefit in this case, as both my parents are now gone. While Newfoundland is not exactly in an area bound to attract a lot of traffic for an estate sale, April was able to sell a large number of items from the house, and I am satisfied with the result of the sale.

April was fairly abrupt, but I believe I had been told that she was one of the better Estate Sale operations, and I took her brusque manner to be professionalism and world-weariness from dealing with nervous customers. When going over the contents of the house and discussing value, she was emphatic that we would never be able to sell the items for more than a fraction of their purchase price, despite their condition. During the sale, she insisted that we not be present. A year prior, with the help of 2 friends, I had held my own house sale, selling only minor household items. We cleared over $2,000. When April sold the major contents of the entire house (including 2 full bedroom sets, a full 12-piece set of gold-rimmed Lenox china, a full 12-piece set of gold-rimmed Lenox crystal, a full 24-piece set of Bavarian china plus and numerous cabinets & other pieces of furniture, a Lladro statue, etc), she only netted $4,000. I was appalled, but there was nothing I could do, since I wasn't aware of the ludicrously small amount of money for which she sold a 6-bedroom-house's worth of furniture. For an additional fee, a part of the package I contracted with April included full-house clean-out service of all of the items remaining. Any item that could be donated would be, and we would be provided with a receipt that we could use for tax-deduction purposes. Anything that couldn't be donated would become the property of the subcontractor. When Nick arrived, it quickly became clear that April had misrepresented to Nick the magnitude of the amount to be removed. He was obviously and understandably furious at April, but was very careful to make it clear that this was a matter between him & April, and did not take the situation out on us at all. He was thorough and courteous. However, despite repeated entreaties over the course of several months, we never received those receipts for items donated, which should have amounted to a substantial amount of money which could & should have been able to deduct from our taxes.