MERCANTI

We are delighted that you think Mercanti may be a good fit for your estate. Here are a few points to keep in mind before contacting us:

• The home must be vacant in order for an estate sale to take place. Mercanti will not perform liquidations in occupied residential properties.
• Please send photos for our review of the property showing as much of the contents as possible. We prefer to start with a simple photo tour to see if your property is a good candidate for a Mercanti estate sale.
• Please do not contact us months in advance. If you are interested in working with Mercanti, we recommend reaching out to us when you are ready to begin the liquidation process, or very close it.
• Mercanti generally does not do rushed liquidations on emergency timelines. It takes several weeks to prepare and conduct a full-service, professional estate sale.
• If you are thinking of having an estate sale at your property DO NOT perform any donations. Do not give away or donate any clothing, which is a common mistake. If you are inviting family to come into the property to take what they want prior to hiring an estate liquidator, please keep in mind that top companies like Mercanti will not perform estate sales at "picked-over" properties. We need an abundance of desirable,  sellable items in order to complete a successful estate sales.  

Before we step in and get started we recommend that the family remove from the property everything that they want to keep including sentimental objects, family photos, paperwork and documents. Once we get started we ask that nothing leave the property, as we are preparing all of these items to be part of the estate sale. For the safety of our clients, items left at the property including personal paperwork, documents, bank statements, family photos and medications will be properly disposed of. We do not want these items on site during the estate sale. Please leave the internet service on as this will be very helpful in preparing the estate sale and taking digital payments. Continue with the gargbage and recycling service as we will be filling them with waste and putting them out to the curb each week. 

Estate Liquidation refers to an industry of professionals who are hired by their clients to empty a home or building of all personal property. We do this by selling items directly from the property as well as performing donations and discarding of items. Most of the items will be sold at an Estate Sale over a weekend that is open to the public to come in and shop. In addition we also sell to our network of dealers, collectors and shop keepers who we have built wonderful relationships with over the years. At the end of our work, our client has a property that is empty of all personal property, enabling them to move forward with the property's next phase including leasing the property, listing it for sale or even going into renovations.

You don't pay us. We pay you! Like most estate liquidators, Mercanti works on Commission. You don't even have to pay us anything up front. By giving us access to your property for a period of time and permission to perform an estate sale, we are able to sell off hundreds if not thousands of items, generating income. We then split this income with you after the estate sale has culminated. 

We typically offer a standard 50/50 commission split with most of our clients. A high-end home with valuable collectibles, jewelry or artwork can sometimes procure a lower commission rate from us. A messy, packed home with worthwhile vintage collectibles can incur a higher rate. It does not make sense to offer the same commission rate across the board as all homes are different, just like people. Some homes are a huge amount of work with lower-value items, while other homes are less work with high-value items.

A 50/50 commission split is extremely fair and common for most estate sales. There is a tremendous amount of time, energy, preparation, labor and expertise that goes into producing a successful estate sale. Some companies will offer a lower commission split like 30% in order to get the job. We don't do that. A lower commission rate will not put more money in your pocket. Our advice; choose the best company you can find. Look at their website, past sales and check out their reviews. Go with the company that seems the most professional, the most honest, and the most capable of procuring sales. Let's do some math together. 70% of $5,000 is $3,500 while 50% of $10,000 is $5,000. Are you following? Choose the best company, not the company offering to take the lowest commission. 

Unfortunately there are predatory companies that take advantage of people even after the passing of a family member. Mercanti will never bill a client for our services. If we think an estate will not gross enough income in order to cover all of our expenses, we will not take the job. We will never blindside our clients with hidden fees nor have them come out of pocket for any expenses during or after the estate liquidation process.

All the expenses to prepare and conduct a Mercanti estate sale come out of our commission. This includes:

• Re-organizing the entire property into a "pop-up store" and making it safe for the public to enter 
• Bringing in tables, garment racks and other trade fixtures to merchandise the estate sale 
• Pricing hundreds. if not  thousands, of individual items 
• Sorting garbage + recycling
• Displaying custom signage at the property to direct and inform customers 
• Ordering custom, outdoor signs printed with the estate address, which we place around the local neighborhood each day of the sale, to pull in local pedestrians, drivers + neighbors 
• Professionally photographing the estate and items for sale to be used in our advertising campaigns
• Creating and publishing multiple paid advertising campaigns of the estate sale on social media, trade publications + various online platforms. (we pay for all the ads.)
• Full staffing during the estate sale to assist customers and keep the property secure
• Private sales before, during and after the public estate sale with our professional network of dealers
• Performing charitable donations to non-profit organizations with tax write-off receipts for our clients for all donations
• Coordinating the final clean-out of the estate after all sales + donations have culminated (client pays for junk hauling only)
• Identifying rare, unusual, highly-collectible and higher-value items
• Identifying and coordinating the proper removal of prohibited or restricted items that cannot be legally sold at an estate sale
• And even more!

All of this comes out of our commission at no additional charge to our client. We truly offer a great value!