Should You DIY an Estate Sale?

When a family needs to liquidate the contents of a home, one of the first decisions may be whether to conduct the estate sale themselves or hire a professional company.

That question was recently addressed by Charles Schwab in an October 20, 2025 article, “What Is an Estate Sale and How Does It Work?” Schwab describes estate sales as useful not only after a death, but also during downsizing, and notes that managing an entire household of possessions can involve significant financial and emotional considerations.

The article raises a simple but important question for families: Do you have the time, training, and temperament to handle the sale yourself?

There is no universal answer.

Some families may be perfectly capable of managing their own sale. Others may benefit considerably from professional help. Understanding what is actually involved can make that decision easier.

When Holding the Sale Yourself May Make Sense

Running your own estate sale can give you complete control over the process.

You decide what is sold, how everything is priced, when discounts occur, how buyers are handled, and what happens to anything left afterward.

A family-run sale may be worth considering when:

• The amount of merchandise is manageable.

• Family members have enough time to prepare the home.

• Someone is comfortable researching and pricing items.

• There are enough people available to help during the sale.

• The family is comfortable dealing directly with buyers and negotiations.

• Security, parking, checkout and crowd control are relatively simple.

• The family is emotionally comfortable watching possessions leave the home.

There can also be a financial advantage. Instead of paying a company a percentage of the sale proceeds, the family keeps the money generated by the sale.

But keeping the commission does not necessarily mean the family will ultimately come out ahead.

The result still depends on pricing, research, advertising, organization and the ability to actually sell the merchandise.

What Families Sometimes Underestimate

An estate sale can look deceptively simple from the outside.

Put prices on everything, open the doors and collect money.

In reality, preparing an entire household can involve days or weeks of sorting, staging, cleaning, researching, pricing, photographing and advertising.

There may be hundreds or even thousands of individual decisions.

What should this sell for?

Is this piece valuable?

Should these items stay together?

Is this jewelry costume or precious metal?

Is this painting decorative or something that deserves further research?

What should happen if an item does not sell?

How should discounts be handled?

Then there is the sale itself: answering questions, watching rooms, managing checkout, controlling access to the home and dealing with buyers who may want to negotiate.

Schwab describes organizing, pricing, cataloging and displaying a lifetime of belongings as a substantial undertaking—particularly when family members are simultaneously dealing with a death, downsizing or other major life change.

Research Can Matter More Than People Realize

One of the most important points in the Schwab article concerns pricing.

According to an estate-liquidation professional interviewed by Schwab, professionals should research what comparable items actually sold for, rather than relying simply on asking prices found online.

That distinction matters.

Anyone can list an item online for almost any price. An asking price does not tell you whether someone actually bought it.

Completed sales, auction results and other reliable market evidence can provide a much better indication of what buyers are willing to pay.

This becomes especially important with items such as:

• Antiques

• Fine art

• Jewelry

• Coins

• Sterling silver

• Collectibles

• Designer furniture

• Rare books

• Vintage clothing

• Specialty collections

Schwab recounts one example in which six painted cabinet plates were eventually identified as rare pieces associated with Queen Victoria's favored artist and sold for more than $35,000.

Most homes will never contain a discovery of that magnitude.

The lesson is not that every attic contains a fortune.

The lesson is that identification comes before pricing.

What a Professional Estate Sale Company May Provide

A professional estate sale company may take responsibility for much of the work the family would otherwise have to perform.

Depending on the company and contract, services may include:

• Sorting and organizing

• Research and pricing

• Staging merchandise

• Photography and advertising

• Buyer communication

• Staffing the sale

• Security and crowd management

• Checkout and payment processing

• Structured markdowns

• Accounting

• Coordination of remaining merchandise after the sale

That convenience has a cost.

Estate sale companies generally receive a percentage of the sale proceeds, although fee structures vary considerably depending on the company, location, size of the estate, labor involved and additional services requested.

Schwab recommends interviewing multiple companies, researching their reputation and making sure the relationship is a good fit before signing an agreement.

Hiring a Company Does Not Remove the Homeowner's Responsibility

Professional help can reduce the workload, but homeowners should still understand how the sale will operate.

Before signing a contract, ask questions.

Who determines prices?

How are valuable items researched?

What is the discount schedule?

Can the homeowner establish minimum prices on certain items?

Can employees or company owners purchase merchandise?

How and when will the homeowner receive payment?

What accounting will be provided?

What happens to merchandise that does not sell?

Are cleanout, donation or disposal services included?

Are there additional charges beyond the commission?

The goal is not simply to find someone willing to conduct the sale.

It is to understand what you are agreeing to before the sale begins.

Emotional Considerations Matter Too

There is another part of this decision that has nothing to do with money.

Some people can comfortably watch strangers purchase their parents' furniture, dishes, clothing and personal belongings.

Others cannot.

Neither reaction is unusual.

Estate sales often occur during periods involving death, relocation, declining health or major downsizing. Decisions that appear purely financial can carry significant emotional weight.

A professional company can sometimes create useful separation between the family and the transaction.

For other families, participating personally may provide greater comfort and control.

That is something worth considering before deciding which approach is best.

Don't Wait Until Everything Becomes Urgent

Another useful point raised in the Schwab article is the importance of planning ahead.

Families who delay decisions until a home must suddenly be emptied may find themselves operating under intense time pressure. That can make careful research and thoughtful decision-making much harder.

Whenever circumstances allow, begin earlier than you think necessary.

Identify items family members want to keep.

Locate important documents.

Separate personal papers and photographs.

Identify potentially valuable collections.

Discuss expectations among family members.

Then decide whether the remaining job is something the family realistically wants to manage itself.

The Estate Sales 101 Takeaway

Holding your own estate sale can work very well for the right family.

Hiring a professional estate sale company can also be extremely valuable.

The better question isn't:

“Which method is better?”

It is:

“Which method is appropriate for this particular home, family and collection of belongings?”

Consider the volume of merchandise, the amount of research required, available time, family involvement, emotional circumstances, security, marketing and the complexity of the sale.

And whichever route you choose, give yourself enough time to understand what you have before deciding what it is worth.

Source: Charles Schwab, “What Is an Estate Sale and How Does It Work?” by Austin Jarvis, October 20, 2025.

Estate Sales 101 provides general educational information about the estate-sale process. It is not legal, tax, financial, appraisal or other professional advice.