What Is the Language of Estate Liquidation and Estate Sales

Starting an estate sale business is challenging but can be made easier by speaking the language. As a beginner, you may be a fast learner, and that’s a good thing because the learning curve for this business is not a slow process. You have to hit the ground running in theory, practice and language to keep pace and become "esoteric" in one of America’s best-kept secret societies that earn money.

Estate liquidation has its own vocabulary consisting of words and methods that community insiders know, understand and speak.

This post is an overview of most of these words and meanings to help you learn—and communicate with the rest of us.

Antique: An item at least 100 years old

Authentic: Real, genuine, original

Bird Dogging: The ability to find a treasure in trash

Certified Appraisal:  The ability to set a value, estimate the amount of damage, evaluate the worth, significance, status, and give an expert opinion of value, i.e. fine art, wines, antiques, period jewelry

Classic: Outstanding of its kind

Closet Collector: A collector who keeps a low profile about what he or she collects

Collectible: An item that is worth far more than it appears because of its rarity and/or demand

Early Birds: Buyers who try to gain access to a sale before it begins

Esoteric: Likely to be understood by only a small number of people (insiders) with specialized knowledge or interest

Estate: An extensive area of land, usually with a large house, owned by one person or organization, personal property, holdings, possessions, domain

Estate Sale:  An on-site, professional sale or auction to dispose of a substantial portion of personal property and Real Estate

Estate Sale Pre Selling: A sell-off of an estate or collection before the advertised sale

Estate Seller: A person who sells personal property in exchange for money

Faux: Artificial or imitation

Feeding Frenzy: A period of intense excitement over a particular item, especially at estate sales

Flea Market Vendor: A person whose livelihood depends on buying and selling at flea markets

Forced Collectible: A popular item a clever marketer created. The supply decreased, but the price increased with media hype so demand skyrockets

Garage/Yard Seller: A person who sells used household and personal items on a regular basis

Estate Garage Sale: This is an “indoor garage sale” promoted as an estate sale with used low quality household and personal items

High Grading: Buyers and family members “cherry picking” the best items before sale begins

Informal Appraisal: A good estimate of value using intuition and experience more than research to determine an opinion of value

Junk: Anything regarded as worthless

Junkie: A person who travels to sales looking for treasures in junk

Junkin: Attending sales to look for treasures in junk

Keystone: A jewelers’ term that means one half of retail, list price or asking price

Liquidator: Someone who has the ability to price merchandise for a quick sale

Liquidation Value: Value that is lower than fair market value by clients who are compelled to sell in a short time period

Low Balling: Bidding or negotiating lower than the value of the item

Mercenary: A person or company only in it for the money

Paper: Paper and document collection, i.e. old letters, books, catalogs, posters, postcards, photographs, autographs, manuscripts

Parlay: Buy something valuable with $2 and sell it for more. Compound interest is an example of parlay

Personal Property: All of someone's property except land and interests (holdings) in land that pass to their heirs

Picker: An expert at finding things of value

Pre Chase: Finding potential customers for antiques and collectibles before items are purchased

Pre Select: An opportunity to buy items before the advertised sale

Rescue: The act of finding antiques and collectibles before they get to the landfill

Salted Estate Sale: When an estate seller and/or client brings in items from other sources

Salvager: Someone who recycles estate sale leftovers and scrap

Scalper: Someone who gets top dollar for selling items in high demand

Scavenger: Someone who picks at the low end of the scale, i.e. behind the Salvation Army Store in the dropped off donations

Scouts: Someone looking for rare books to sell to book dealers

Scrounger: Someone who buys “anything”

Smalls: Valuable items that can be easily packed and shipped

Take Profit: Close out with a profit

Vintage: Something collectible and valuable at least 40 years old

Thanks for reading and watch our videos daily, and post a Comment to ask me anything about estate sales!

Written by Tonza Borden from Atlanta, Georgia:  Hi, I'm estate liquidator of EstateSaleServiceAtlanta.com, and publisher of Secret Of Estate Sales Marketing Success: REAL Estate Sale Techniques & Templates To Go From Beginner To Getting An Endless Stream Of Estate Sale Clients. I help people find the resources they need to succeed in estate liquidation, worldwide.


You May Also Like…

Pickers Guide:  How to Develop an Eye for Finding Valuable Things at Estate Sales to Sell on eBay Like Lynn Dralle +1