Throwing an estate sale on your own saves money, costs time

Although most people hire a professional estate sale company to organize, market and conduct the sale, many people opt to do the work themselves. This option can save you the company's fee of 25 to 45 percent of total sales revenue, but before you decide to host on your own, consider these factors:

Time: Many estate sales last for two or three days. You'll need to be present before, during and after the sale each day to set up, manage the sale and clean up. In addition to those hours, you'll need to clean, appraise and arrange all of the items for sale, as well as figure out what to do with any items that are left over. You'll also need to publicize the estate sale and enlist help from others to manage the sale.

Organization: If you're sorting through heirlooms with a large family, lack of organization could lead to disappointment. Arguments may ensue regarding who gets to keep what and who should keep the money from the estate sale. One solution is to tag prices on all of the goods. Each family member can then set aside the items they want before the sale and tally up their amounts. After the sale the money should be distributed so that each person has received the same total amount. For example, if each person is entitled to $100, a person who sets aside $50 worth of items will receive $50 in cash after the sale, while someone who sets aside $90 worth of items will receive $10 in cash.

Appraisals: Your sentimental attachments might lead you to price heirlooms far above their real value, while your lack of expertise in antiquing could lead you to drastically under-price rare items. If you do it yourself, consult an antique price guide, or research similar items to find their prices on the Internet and in antique stores.

Publicity: Before the sale you'll need to publicize the sale. You can start by ordering newspaper advertisements, but you may want to also consider distributing flyers, posting signs and contacting friends and family over the phone, in person and via email. An advantage to hiring an estate sale company is they usually come with a long list of estate sale clientele.

Set up: Shoppers will be more likely to pay full asking-price and less likely to haggle with you if you take the time to clean the items for sale and present them in an organized manner. You can set up folding tables to display items, or fashion your own from a large sheet of plywood, a sawhorse or a few stacks of cinder blocks, and a tablecloth or a bed sheet draped over the top.

Clean up: There may be many items leftover, which you'll need to divvy out to family members, donate to a charity or keep and sell at another time or through another venue. In addition, you'll need to clean up any mess from the sale and discard trash.

Management and Security: During the estate sale you'll need to direct those helping you, delegate tasks, answer shoppers' questions, guard the profits and keep an eye out for shoplifters.