2021 Estate Sale Industry Survey

2021 was a rebound year for the estate sale industry. Like many other businesses, 2020 has had lasting effects. Around the fall of 2020, we started to see a rebound in shoppers attending sales and the number of companies conducting sales. The momentum the industry gained in the fall continued throughout 2021, and it now looks like the industry is back in line with what we would expect to see.

Over the past five years (since 2017), we have been conducting our Estate Sale Industry Survey to help companies understand the industry in which they are operating. It can be a great benchmarking tool to use when comparing your company to industry averages.

The surveys over the years have shown trends, such as the growth of companies moving sales online. This was specifically true in 2020 and has continued to be the case in 2021. We have seen worker wages go up as well as sale minimums rise. We have also seen a lot of consistency within the industry over the years. We have noted many of these throughout the survey breakdown below. Thank you to all 1,098 companies that took the time to make this survey possible.

If you want to see a more detailed report than the breakdown below, we have made the data more accessible in our full data report. You can also take a look at the 2020 survey results for comparison.

What type of sales do you conduct?

The type of sales that companies who have taken the survey conduct has stayed consistent over the years of surveys. This year 77% of companies that took the survey conducted estate sales only, while 17% conducted both auctions and estate sales, and 7% conducted only auctions. The types of sales that companies operate have stayed fairly consistent over the years.

What is your gender?

64% of estate sale companies are female led. While 34% of companies are male lead, and 2% preferred not to say. The estate sale industry being a female lead industry has stayed very consistent over the years of surveys.

What is your age at the time of taking this survey?

A new survey year and the average age of survey respondents has increased from 58 in 2020 to 59 in 2021.

What is the highest level of education you have completed?

90.3 % of estate sale company owners have experience with higher education. With 38.1% having graduated from college, 12.65% having completed Graduate School, and 1.7% completing their doctorate.

Is your estate sale business your primary source of income?

An estate sale business is not always a primary source of income for its owner. 50.8% of owners do not have their business as their primary source of income, while 49.2% do.

In which state are most of your sales located?

California and Texas had the most survey respondents, with 14.5% from Texas and 7.7% from California. Illinois came in third with 6.5% of respondents. The estate sale industry spans a vast majority of the United States, as you can see, with all but nine states represented in the survey.

How many years has your company been conducting sales?

Fifteen years is the magic number of years a company has been conducting estate sales, and this has stayed consistent over the past five years of surveys.

On average, how many sales do you conduct a year?

In 2021 the average number of sales an estate sale company conducted a year was 32. This is up from last year's average of 29. This is something we will continue to watch in future surveys.

Does your company currently have a business license?

A company's requirement to have a business license is greatly affected by the state and local laws in the company's area. The 2021 survey found that 77% of estate sale companies have a business license while 23% do not.

How much staff (including yourself) do you typically have on hand during each sale?

Typically estate sale companies have on average five staff members during each sale. This includes themselves, which stayed consistent with what was found in the 2020 Industry Survey.

What is the average hourly wage paid to your staff/workers?

We have seen an increase in the average hourly wage paid to staff/workers since 2019. The average wage was $14.91 in 2021, $13 in 2020, and $12 in 2019.

How do you report the majority of your workers’ income?

Fifty-two percent of estate sale companies report their worker's income through a 1099 (contract work), while 19% report it through a W-2. 28% of companies indicated that they do not have staff.

Do you currently have workers' compensation insurance?

Fifty-eight percent of companies do not have workers' compensation insurance, while 22% do. Another 20% indicated that they do not have staff. This was about a three percent increase over 2020.

Do you conduct background checks on your employees?

Twenty-six percent of companies conduct background checks on their employees, while 52% do not. Twenty-two percent of companies indicated that they do not have staff. This finding is very similar to last year, with any change well within the survey's margin of error.

Does your company currently have liability insurance?

Seventy-seven percent of companies indicated that they have liability insurance, while 23% indicated that they do not. This is consistent with the findings of the 2020 survey with any change within the margin of error.

Is your company currently bonded?

The number of bonded companies has stayed consistent each year, with 38% bonded and 62% not.

Do you use a Point of Sale system? If so, which one?

Square has reigned supreme over the years of surveys, with this year coming in at 47.6% of companies using their service. Clover with 4.6% and PayPal Here with 4.5% was a not-so-close second. 30.4% indicated that they did not use a point of sale system.

Does your company take items on consignment?

In 2021 44% of companies took items on consignment, and 56% did not.

Do you own a consignment shop?

In 2021, 8% of companies owned a consignment show, while 92% did not. This is very similar to the findings of the 2020 survey.

Do you offer estate sale buyouts as a service?

We know that there are times when clients look for companies that offer buyouts as a service instead of hosting a sale. In the 2021 survey, 32% of companies provided this service, while 68% did not.

Are you a certified appraiser?

Forty-five percent of companies are not certified appraisers, while 18% are certified appraisers themselves, and another 7% have a certified appraiser on staff. Thirty percent of companies hire an outside appraiser when needed.

What source(s) do you use to price your items?

Seventy-nine percent of estate sale companies use their experience to price items in their sale, while 86% use completed eBay listings to find a price. Worthpoint came in third with 42%, followed by Live auctioneers at 34%. eBay is the top source for pricing items and has remained consistent over past surveys.

Do you require a signed contract for each sale?

Ninety-three percent of companies require a signed contract for each sale, while seven percent do not. A 3% change from 2020, and this percentage change is within the survey's margin of error.

What is your average commission rate?

The average commission rate is up one percent in 2021 over 2020, with the average being 37%. This change is within the margin of error of the survey.

Do you charge your client any fees outside of commission?

In 2020 49.8% of companies charged clients fees outside of commission, but in 2021 54% charged fees. In 2021 46% did not charge fees outside of commission. We have seen this fluctuate over the years, which could be within the margin of error.

What types of additional fees outside of commission do you charge? (Check all that apply.)

Seventy-three percent of companies charge for trash removal. Advertising was second with 43% of companies. Professional cleaning (30%), Disposal Fees (26%), Credit card fees (25%), and moving fees (24%) round out the top six.

How soon after a client's contract has been signed do you typically start their sale?

On average, in 2021, it took clients 17 days to start a sale after the contract was signed. This is a two-day increase over 2020 and a three-day increase over the 2019 survey.

On average, how many days does it take your company to set up an estate sale?

Like 2020 it took companies on average nine days to set up a sale, which is consistent year over year.

Do you share your sales on social media?

Instagram is on the rise! In the 2020 survey, around 34% of companies used it to advertise their sales, while in 2021, 42% used the platform. Facebook is in the top spot for estate sale companies, with 89% of companies using the service to share their sales.

Does your company have an email subscriber list?

In 2021, 72% of companies had an email subscriber list, while 28% did not.

Which paid online marketing channels did you use over the past 12 months to advertise your company?

(Select all that apply.)

Social media is not the only online marketing channel used by estate sale companies to advertise their sales. Of the companies surveyed, 82.5% advertise their company through EstateSales.NET, with Facebook Ads coming in second with 45%. EstateSales.Org was third with 19.7%, and Google Ads was 19.1%.

Does your company currently have a website?

Thirty percent of estate sale companies do not have a website, while 70% do. This is consistent with what was found in the 2020 survey.

What is the most common reason your clients need an estate sale?

Forty-six percent of companies indicated that downsizing/moving was the most common reason their clients needed an estate sale, while 49% of companies gave that the reason for needing a sale was because of death.

What is the smallest sale your company would be willing to take (in gross revenue of sale)?

The results of this question have stayed consistent (within a few hundred dollars) over the years of surveys. In 2021 the average minimum amount required for a sale was $8,469.

Did you turn down any sales within the past 12 months?

In 2020 83% of companies turned down sales over the year, while in 2021, 89% of companies had turned down sales. This is a notable change year over year, and eleven percent of companies had not turned down sales.

What was your reason(s) for turning down sales in the past 12 months?

The top reasons for turning down sales in 2021 were: Too few items (78%), Items of little value (67%), Too busy/scheduling conflicts (52%), and the sale location too far away (49%).

On average, what are your total gross sales for an individual estate sale?

In 2020 the average total gross sales for an individual estate sale at $18,029, while in 2021, we saw an increase in the average to $19,584.

After the contract is signed, do you allow the client or the client's family members to remove

items from the home?

64% of companies would allow clients to remove items from a sale even if a signed contract. Thirty-seven percent of these companies will sometimes charge their commission on the removed items, while 16% will always charge it. Eleven percent will allow it and not charge a commission. Thirty-six percent do not allow clients to remove items after signing the contract.

What do you do with found cash?

The findings on this question were identical to the 2020 survey. Eighty-two percent return found cash to the client without taking a commission. Eighteen percent return the cash but take a commission.

Do you pre-sell items?

Sixty-three percent of companies do not pre-sell items, while 37% elect to pre-sell items. This was a slight change over 2020, but any differences were well within the survey's margin of error.

Do you allow early entry into sales?

This question's results were identical to the results found in the 2020 survey. Twelve percent of companies allow early entry into their sales, while 88% do not.

What procedure do you use to let buyers into your sales?

Fifty-eight percent of companies use the line formation method for their sales. Thirty-three percent use a signup sheet, while 29.3% use numbers they provide. Street numbers are the least used, with only 7.6% of survey respondents indicating that they use this method of entry.

Do you allow your clients to attend their own estate sales?

Forty-seven percent of companies indicated that they do not allow their clients to attend their estate sale, while 45% did allow it but discouraged it. Eight percent of companies encourage their clients to attend their estate sales.

Do you accept credit cards?

Sixteen percent of companies do not accept credit cards, whereas 84% do. Twenty-one percent charge a fee while 23% require a minimum and 40% do not.

Do you collect sales tax at your sales?

Sales tax laws vary nationwide, and not all companies must collect sales tax. Fifty-one percent of companies indicated that they collect sales tax, while 49% do not.

What do you do with unsold items when the sale is over?

Donation of unsold items (74%) was the top choice of companies for handling unsold items while Leaving the items with the client (54%) and disposing of items (49%) were second and third on the list.

Do you move unsold items from one estate to another?

Eighty-two percent of companies do not move unsold items from one estate to another, while 18% indicated the move items to another estate.

On average, how many days after a sale has ended do you typically pay your client?

The average number of days for payment to be delivered to the client after the sale was eight days. Up by one day over 2020, but the survey's margin of error could explain this slight change.

Would you like to see your state regulate the estate sale industry (license requirements, education

requirements, etc.)?

In 2021 62% of companies felt that the industry should not be regulated, while 38% believed it should be.

Did you incorporate online estate sales or online auctions into your business model at any point in

2021?

In 2021, 55.2% of companies did not incorporate online estate sales or online auctions into their business model at any point in 2021, while 27.3% did. 17.5% were already selling online.