About Us Q&A

VCS Estate Sales & Liquidation Services, LLC

Utah’s Full Service Professional Estate Sale Liquidation and Personal Property Appraisal  Experts!

Contact Us to set up a Consultation! (801) 652-1512 vcsestateservices@gmail.com

to request a 1 hour onsite FREE Consultation or more information!

 “Make memories last with treasures from the past” 
It’s good for our planet! 

ANSWERS TO SOME QUESTIONS YOU MAY HAVE:

Why use the professional services of VCS Estate Sales & Services to liquidate your estate? When family members are faced with questions like “What are we going to do with all this stuff ” and ” What are these items worth”, they need to call a professional liquidator. Family members often are inexperienced in establishing the true value of household items and the time it takes to make the estate “Sale Ready.” A number of detailed decisions can leave the family feeling overwhelmed. By contracting with an estate liquidation company like VCS Estate Liquidation Services, you can leave the research, displaying, promotion and management of the sale (basically all the work) to us. Additionally, a sale conducted by professionals will yield greater revenue on the contents, thus helping to offset the expense of the service.

Are You Certified, Licensed and Insured? Yes, VCS Estate Liquidation Services is Licensed and Insured in the state of Utah. We are also members of ASEL The American Society of Estate Liquidators, The Asheford Institute of Antiques and ACNA Antiques & Collectibles National Association. As well as Certified Personal Property Appraiser by CAGA, AIA.  In addition, VCS Estate Services, LLC has a Business  BBB A+ Rating.

What does it mean to be sale ready? Estate merchandise needs to be sorted, researched, priced, tagged, displayed and aggressively advertised. This takes time and extensive knowledge, experience, training and the years of experience. Home must be unoccupied during the entire set-up and sale process.

I live out of state do I need to be in town for you to do my estate sale? No, However, we will need to do the consultation with you or your agent on site then once we have a signed contract and keys, we can take care of the rest. We can handle all needed documents via computer Scanned PDF, FedEx or Priority mail if needed.

Do I need to sign a contract? Yes, A legal and binding contract protects the interests of all parties involved and is the professional way to offer this service. The contract used by VCS Estate Services, LLC is thorough and easy to understand.

Do you inventory all my items for sale? NO, unless requested there is an additional administrative hourly fee for this is huge and time-consuming process, however we do take a general photographic inventory for marketing, and we provide generalized final summary of the items sold.

Do you collect UTAH State Sales Tax? Yes, VCS Estate Services is required by Utah State Law to collect, file the return and pay UTAH state sales tax at all sales and display our license prominently near the register as required by law. We take care of all of this.

What experience and designations do you hold? VCS Estate Liquidation Services has over 30+ years’ experience appraising, evaluating, buying and selling antiques, collectibles, Jewelry, as well as household goods. We have over 3,000+ subscribers to our email marketing program. We also use on-line social media marketing Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, to facilitate the estate liquidation services for your personal estate needs. We hold professional designations from the American Society of Estate Liquidators and Certified Personal Property Appraiser by CAGA & AIA and are Members of The Asheford Institute of Antiques. We have a Better Business Bureau  A+ rating. Also always check out of client testimonials on our website.

What if I need to sell the home, can you help me with this? Yes, If needed VCS Estate Services can help you with a referral to a honest and professional broker and can answer questions or list the home for you. If the home is already listed, we will work with your real estate agent to get flyers to hand out at the sale, it’s like a huge open house, since offering this service we have assisted in selling a number of homes and this service is included.

How is Advertising Handled? VCS Estate Sales & Liquidation Services will begin by taking many professional photographs of your items, we then advertise your sale on multiple local and national marketing platforms to include specific estate sale listing websites; Estatesale.com, Estatesale.org, our business Facebook pages and VCS Group Pages, Social Media Sites, Twitter, Instagram, in Newspapers if requested (for a Fee), and Online Classified ads, like KSL.com, Craigslist.com, as well as our own company website at www.vcsestateservices.com and our large customer & dealer email list that grows every day! We ensure there are plenty of professional directional signs in the neighborhood to direct traffic to the location of the sale. We do not publish the address/location of your estate until the day prior to the sale, this is to ensure that the home and its contents are safe. Advertisement in newspapers will be done, but client is responsible for all print advertisement costs including in a smaller city papers as needed, all other advertising is included in our commission rate. In addition, we were honored to be 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017 & 2018 Most Viewed Estate Sale company in Utah by Estatesale.com and the Four (4) year winner of the Salt Lake Best Business Award. We also won the Top 50 Estate Sale Company in the United States by Estatesale.com three years in a row.

How Much Will it Cost? Like all professional liquidators, VCS Estate Sales & Liquidation Services charges a competitive standard base rate on the gross sales in the Salt Lake City Valley, if your estate is outside of the Salt Lake City valley, fees are higher due to additional travel time, costs and expenses, the rate is also dependent on additional factors quantity and quality of the items offered for sale. If the estate requires extra clean up as in the case of extreme collectors. If a total clean out is requested (this is not part of the estate sale contract) a separate contract for clean out service will be required. However, we will work with you to determine the most economical services that we can provide. Our fees for the estate sale services are taken from the proceeds of the sale after fees and state taxes (State Sales Taxes are paid by the shopper at time of purchase and is not a tax that is charged to you nor do we collect commission on it, it is to pay to the State of Utah and we do all the returns and paperwork for you) Note: If your residence is in a condition that would require the VCS team to come in to do excessive Pre-Clean in order to set up an effective estate sale, there will be a per hourly pre-sale prep fee. We will let you know if this fee applies in your case at the time of your consultation.  All information regarding any additional fees is covered during our free onsite consultation. We know that commission rates and fees are important to our clients, but it is also important to understand the amount time and hard physical work that is required as well as, the professional marketing, advertising, customer service, research, set up, staging, pricing, sale management as required for a successful sale for that commission rate. The best thing is we take all the stress off you, you hire us to take care of it and we do what we promise and are contracted to do, VCS Estate Sales & Liquidation Services, is honest, and professional and we will do what it takes so that we meet or exceed services contracted for. We want our clients to understand that when looking at what services you get for the rate we charge, it is minimal. Beware of lower rate services they tend to be less experienced, produce a lower quality and return less value to you the client. VCS Estate Services LLC.is an established company that offers a high-quality professional service at a competitive rate.

How Long Will it Take you to Conduct the Sale From Start to Finish? This depends on contents of the home and the size of the job. We typically run a 3-day sale. Ideally, we advise a minimum of 10-14 days for prep and advertising, plus the 5 days for sale days and tear down, this generates an interest and promotes the sale. We also require control of the property for a minimum of 10-14 days to prepare, organize, display, research, promote and price the items, and set up all our equipment. If requested clean out of the estate is requested and contracted for we add an additional 4 to 7 days. During this time, we ask that the home is not occupied so we can effectually do the job we are hired too. This also take the stress off you.

What if There are Items I Would Like to Keep? We ask you to remove items that you want or that have sentimental value, or we determine a place in the home that these items may be secured in. However, we ask that you notify us of the items that you want to remove prior to signing the contract, because our agreement to conduct the sale is based on the contents of the estate at the time the contract is signed. Items removed from the sale after the contract is signed will incur a removal fee equal to the commission rate. Keep in mind, any items we find during our setup that may hold sentimental value to you will be set aside and returned (keys, family photos/personal letters,) NOTE: Once you have signed the contract, VCS Estate Sales & Liquidation Services asks that NO items be removed from the sale, and that no other family member have key or access to the home. Customers come from all over the state of Utah, and they expect the items advertised will be available for sale when the doors open. Once the sale has been completed, you are entirely welcome to take any of your items that are remaining unsold Just let us know.

What happens to my leftover property after the sale? The property is yours.  You may choose to keep it, dispose or donate it yourself. We may be able to offer options for clear out services, an additional fee and contract for this service would apply, we can discuss your needs during the consultation.  Not every item will sale, we work hard to sell everything as it benefits you as well as us, but there are always items that just don’t sale.

Do you conduct multiple sales? VCS Estate Sales & Liquidation Services normally only does one sale at a time, so we can give our clients the professional customer service they deserve. However, based on a client’s needs, our schedule, and time of year we may be required to hold multiple sales on the same weekend. we pride ourselves on customer service.

What if you find personal items during the setup? All personal items are turned over to the client so they may retain or dispose of them.

Do you research sale prices for my items before pricing? Yes, we do. Not everyone can be an expert on every type of item and the market is ALWAYS changing. We have a certified appraiser on staff. Our research is extensive, and many hours are spent obtaining fair secondary market values. Research is included with any sale and is part of our service to you. But it’s also what the market will bear, (what customers will pay) we only have three days to liquidated an entire property so discounts and offers need to be done in order to sell as much sellable merchandise as possible, however some items do not sell. Sale depends on may factors, time of year, quality and quantity of items, supply and demand etc.

Do you or your staff purchase items from our sale?  Yes, we do allow staff to purchase items from the sale at any time after the first group of the public has had the opportunity on the first day of the sale. However, customers must have the first opportunity to purchase the items available for purchase on the first day of the sale.

Do you sell vehicles and firearms? Yes, we sell vehicles! Cars, Boats, Motorcycles, ATV’s and RV’s! Firearms sales have restrictions and additional requirements, but we do sell them. There are several items, by State and Federal laws we may not be able to offer for sale to the public, and these items will be discussed with the client.

Do you provide references? Yes we do, once we have met with you for a consultation and determined if our services can assist you, we are happy to provide your with a list of previous clients for you to contact. That’s how confident we are that our clients will be satisfied! You may also view our testimonial page from our past clients on our website. We are also Accredited by the Better Business Bureau.

VCS Estate Services is a Member of ASEL. Why Should the Liquidator I choose be an ASEL Associate? ASEL “The American Society of Estate Liquidators” Is an organization of professional liquidators committed to honest, ethical business practices. In addition, ASEL has checked and verified referrals of each member and Associates have agreed to honor the high standards set forth by ASEL and operate their businesses in a manner that has the client’s best interests in mind.

What Do You Do to Protect My Property?

  • We do not provide your home address until the day prior to the sale.
  • We have adequate staff to keep an eye on things.
  • We have a single point of entry/exit to the home, when possible, in order to control customer flow.
  • We use display cases to showcase your jewelry and other small valuables.

Do you accept Credit Cards? Yes, we accept Cash and Credit/Debit cards, Accepting Credit and Debt cards highly increase sales. This service increases total sales on every estate sale we conduct.

One final note: When you decide to hire an estate sale company, there are a few things to keep in mind.

  • Family members should remove all the items they are keeping, before meeting with the estate sale company, however there must be enough sellable items in the estate for us to accept the sale.
  • A lower commission competitor will almost always equal lower level of service and return for you.
  • Designate an estate representative to meet with us, this person needs to have a legal right to enter into a contract for the liquidation of the remaining goods.
  • Please do not donate, throw anything away, or box up item or move then to the garage area these issues can reduce value or add costs to the sale prep. We sell everything from cans of motor oil to half empty bottles of dish soap.
  • Home must be unoccupied during the entire set-up and sale process.

What you can expect from VCS Estate Sales & Liquidation Services, LLC . VCS stands for “VALUED CUSTOMER SERVICE” and is our #1 company goal. We want our customers to be satisfied with our service and have built our reputation on professionalism, honesty, integrity, and a great concern for our client’s personal property. We are flexible and can offer custom options to assist your individual needs. VCS Estate Sales & Liquidation Services, LLC uses accounting practices to offer general summary to our client at the end of a sale so there is a clear understanding of items sold and prices realized. Our goal is to use our expertise to increase your sales so that your actual cost for our service is minimal.

PLEASE CALL OR EMAIL US WITH ANY ADDITIONAL QUESTIONS

Call: (801) 652-1512 or E-mail: vcsestateservices@gmail.com