Bogard's Estate Sales

frequently asked questions

What services does Bogard’s provide?
Bogard’s provides professional estate sale liquidation services. We conduct general estate sales, downsizing sales and moving sales. We can do a 1 to 3-day sale depending on the amount of property that needs to be sold. Most sales are conducted on Saturday and Sunday.

What sets us apart from other estate sale companies?
With over 20 years in the Estate Sale liquidation industry, we consider ourselves one of the leading companies in the St. Louis metropolitan area that provide estate sale services. We understand the St. Louis market and work hard to get top dollar for your items. We are also certified personal property appraisers, skilled marketers and have an expert staff to help us manage our sales.

What do we charge to conduct a sale?
We work on a percentage of the sale gross. We deduct our fee from the estate sale total. There are usually no up-front expenses for the seller. We do not charge any guarantee minimum. We find that if a company charges a minimum (some estate sale companies do), there is no incentive for them to sell your items. We only work on a percentage, so we want to sell as much as possible! The percentage that we charge is based on the volume and type of sale needed. We always provide our bids free of charge and can provide the actual fee percentage once we bid on your estate sale project. Cleanout fees may be involved and those are negotiated and explained before the contract is finalized and signed.

Do we give an estimated total of what we think a sale will generate when we do a bid?
Due to the ever-changing market conditions and differing property to be sold, we can’t project what any sale will gross with 100% certainty by just going on a bid, so we refrain from doing so or trying to project totals. It’s all about expectations with us. What we can do is promise that we will work hard to sell your items and get the highest prices for them that we can.

Do you appraise all the items to be sold?
We use our appraisal expertise to guide us in pricing items that are to be sold, however, official (legal) appraisals are not a part of the sale process. Appraised values and actual sale price values are not the same thing. Appraisals are mostly done for replacement value of items or when a family trust is involved, and the value is needed. We can provide additional legal appraisals, but these fees are not included as part of our sale service. We would be happy to discuss any appraisals you need during the bid process.

Do you have references and are you bonded and insured?
Yes, we provide current references with our contract packet. We have full insurance and we are bonded.

What do we do with things that don’t sell after the sale?
It depends on what choices you make when you sign our contract. You can opt to keep what doesn’t sell or you can choose for us to handle the disposal. We will discuss both options with you when we give you a bid on your sale.

How much time does Bogard’s need to setup a sale?
Normally, we like to allow a two-week setup time. Most every item will need to be valued and priced. It’s also important to have enough time to publicize the sale via our website, social media and email marketing. We like to get photos online at least the week before so that customers can view and share the sale information.

Can someone be living on the property during the setup and sale?
No. Due to the logistics of setting up and conducting the sale we cannot do a sale if the property will not be vacant during the setup and sale. Mostly this affects our ability to contract for moving sales. If you will be relocating and have a move out date, we will try our best to accommodate your schedule to see if we can make a sale work for you.

What types of sale payments do we take and how long does it take to get sale proceeds disbursed?
We accept cash and credit cards at all our sales. We do not accept personal checks. Disbursement check is always delivered within 5 business days. Checks can be written to one individual, split among family or to a trust account.

Do you let the owner put reserves on any items?
No. Bogard’s is responsible for determining the sale value of all items to be sold.

Can we keep items in the house that are not to be including in the sale?
No, all items that are not to be sold must be removed from the property PRIOR to us starting setup for the sale. There may be certain exceptions and we would be happy to talk to you about that during the bid process.

Can we sell automobiles?
Of course!

How long does it take for cleanout after the sale?
Most cleanouts are done within 1-2 days.

Do you do buyouts?
No, our business is the liquidation (selling) business.