Estate Tips

Estate Tips

Why Choose Hiddenworth?

At some point in our lives, it is inevitable that we will be on a collision course with a house or business full of stuff. Whether it’s our own, parents, a close family member, friend, or acting as an executor/executrix of an estate or business, you have a good chance of dealing with a lifetime collection of stuff that quite frankly, most people don’t want to hassle with.   A sudden death of a family member, financial urgency, divorce, job relocation, downsizing; the list is endless as to why there is a need to liquidate an estate or business.

The reality though, is most of us are unprepared to deal with this stuff on our own.  Whether it’s time, physical, emotional, or geographical constraints, it is hard to manage the disposition of an entire lifetime of your own or a loved one’s accumulations. Even working in the liquidation business, we’ve experienced our own family challenges when dealing with a loved one’s estate. 

We have handled the liquidations of homes, bars, farms, businesses and even churches.  Each sale, whether online or in-person, is a different venue with 100% different items, which requires a 100% different approach.  There is never a one-size-fits-all mentality with respect to handling a liquidation.  

Our mission is to provide unparalleled service and compassion to our clients in a time of need, with the goal of re-homing pre-loved items in a fun, environmentally conscious way while maximizing the value of an estate or business.  By using our multi-channel liquidation approach, experience, network, and commitment to being a leader in the liquidation industry, we are well positioned to handle most liquidation projects.   

tools

LIQUIDATION tIPS

  1. ASK, ASK, ASK! Talk to your friends, relatives, realtors, estate attorneys, or anyone else that may have faced similar circumstances as you, whether professionally or personally; chances are, they have.
  2. Don’t throw ANYTHING away! What seemingly looks like a pedestrian object can be something of great use or value to someone else.  Whether we sell or donate something, we take the “anti-landfill” approach to liquidations.
  3. Have a well-defined idea of what needs to be liquidated well before the initial consultation with a liquidator. 
  4. Gather as much information or provenance on objects that may be of particular interest to the liquidator before initial consultation. 

     5.  Have a list of questions to ask during the initial consultation.  We encourage you to             glean as much information as possible before the first meeting.

     6. Visit an estate sale or view/participate in an online auction of ours to give you an idea of how they work prior to initial meeting.  

initial consultation-what to expect

  1. Initial walk through of property with client will determine the need for an estate sale/online auction or a combination of both. 
  2. Items that will not be sold will be discussed prior to sale.   
  3. Potential unsaleable items (soiled furniture, hazardous materials, etc.)  will be discussed. 
  4. Logistical issues will be discussed (parking, HOA restrictions, etc.)
  5. Sale timeline will be discussed.  

2024 industry trends

From conducting our sales, there are certain objects that are in high demand. Whether this is a regional trend or a national trend, we have had an inordinate amount of interest in the following:

Mantiques

From rusty oil cans to vintage erotica to vintage barware, this is a niche of the collectible industry that can't be defined in a neat and tidy way, but has that, "I know it when I see it" type of buyers. Mantique brick-and-mortar stores are continuing to open up in urban areas, where one-of-a-kind items found in these stores are a nice respite from the chain driven stores that rely on moving mass produced products. Owner's of these stores are always scavenging for new product to replenish their inventories.

Records

Yes, that's right folks, records are back, and in a big way!! In the age of Itunes, Spotify, and Pandora, records are experiencing a resurgence. The younger generations, who have never experienced life without the internet, are leading the new vinyl revolution.

Record parties are the new social craze, where guests are bringing records, carefully selected, to the host's house to drop the needle for a night of entertainment.

Mid Century Modern

Simple lines, classic appeal and functional; this aesthetic seems to be finding its way into more and more homes. Our estate sales from previous years revealed the demand for this style in the Erie area.

Radios

Although the advent of internet radio & Spotify is a wonderful way to listen to anything you could possibly want, the inner music purist is alway's present. Reproductions of an Atwater Kent radio with 21st century technology can be found just about anywhere, but there's nothing like the real thing. The demand for vintage radios is a unique technological paradox, whose collectors embrace new formats of listening to music, but keeps their roots firmly grounded in the transistor age.

Military Relics

Military collectors are just as deep as our country's military heritage. Military items are one of the first things people ask for at our sales.



The last decade has seen a huge increase in the number of people who collect militaria and war relics. There are many reasons for this including the recent 80th anniversary of D-Day.


Vintage Jewelry

One category that never seems to wane with respect to demand is vintage costume jewelry. Costume jewelry is sometimes labeled as “fake” jewelry, but it often holds its own against fine jewelry with respect to workmanship and materials.

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