Pricing an estate sale is never about gambling and hoping items sell. Professional liquidators are hired to do two things — raise funds for the family and empty the home. Achieving both requires intentional pricing from the very beginning.

Holding out for eBay-level pricing often misunderstands the estate sale environment. Online marketplaces have millions of buyers. An estate sale has a limited window and a localized audience, and the most serious buyers typically walk through the door on the first morning.

In this episode, we discuss why strong results are rarely accidental, how strategic pricing drives momentum, and why meeting the market matters more than chasing theoretical value.

For the written companion article, visit: https://www.secondhandmarketreport.com/articles/strategic-estate-pricing

In this episode of The Secondhand Market Report, we talk about catch and release — the practice of recognizing value without feeling obligated to bring everything home.

Using a recent thrift store find as a starting point, I share why even good buys aren’t always the right buys, how capacity and inventory models shape our decisions, and why leaving something behind can be just as intentional as purchasing it. We also look at how brand recognition, demand, and resale velocity play into these choices, and why the best buyer for an item isn’t always you.

This episode is for resellers, estate professionals, and secondhand shoppers who are learning how to balance opportunity, experience, and sustainability in their work.

In this episode of The Secondhand Market Report, we break down the buyout model in estate sales and resale — what it is, how pricing actually works, and why it exists in the first place.

Buyouts are often misunderstood, especially by people who have never had to clear a house on a deadline. This conversation looks at the realities behind them: labor, time pressure, donation and dump costs, access issues, and the emotional weight that often comes with these situations.

We talk about:

• What a buyout actually is (and what it isn’t)
• Why some homes are not suited for public estate sales
• How pricing is determined behind the scenes
• Why speed and logistics matter more than “top dollar”
• How free days sometimes fit into the process
• The human side of clearing a lifetime of belongings

This episode is based on our written article exploring estate buyouts from the inside — shaped by real-world experience, not theory.

You can read the full article and explore more reporting on resale, estate work, and sourcing at: https://www.secondhandmarketreport.com