Cheaper Isn’t Always Better — What Estate Sale Commission Rates Actually Tell You
When you’re hiring an estate sale company, it’s tempting to go with whoever charges the lowest commission. That instinct makes sense on the surface. The lower rate means more money in your pocket, right? Not always. In fact, usually the opposite is true.
What a Realistic Commission Actually Covers
Running a quality estate sale in San Antonio takes real resources: research, staging, pricing, marketing, and enough experienced staff to run the sale properly. When you factor all of that in, a reputable company needs to charge at least 35% and more likely 40% to operate at a level that actually produces results. Anything significantly below that should raise questions.
So How Do Some Companies Charge 30%?
There are really only a few ways it works, and none of them are good for you.
They’re new and haven’t figured out their costs yet. That’s not your problem until it becomes your problem, and it usually does. Inexperience shows up in lower sales totals, poor pricing decisions, and companies that don’t last long enough to build a real track record.
They cut corners on labor. An understaffed sale is chaotic. Items don’t get properly staged, priced, or monitored and that costs you money.
They price everything high to compensate. Sounds good until nothing sells. Worse, some companies take the unsold leftovers and resell them through their own warehouse or store, making 100% on items that should have gone to you.
Most of the time, it’s a combination of all three.
What We Do Instead
With over 6 years in estate liquidation, we know how to control costs without sacrificing execution. We know the difference between trimming fat and cutting muscle and we know that too much of the latter means more items left on the table and less money in your pocket.
If a client chooses purely based on commission rate, we’ll pass on the sale. We’d rather work with clients who want strong results than compete to be the cheapest option in the room.