Yes, you can hire someone to sell your stuff, and millions of people do it every year through estate sale companies, consignment shops, auctioneers, and online selling assistants. You authorize the professional to sell your property on your behalf, they handle pricing, marketing, and buyers, and they take a commission from the proceeds, typically 25% to 50%. You keep ownership until each item actually sells. The parts that trip people up are the fees stacked on top of the commission, the tax treatment of any profit, and federal rules that make certain recalled items illegal to resell at all.
Which Type of Seller Fits Your Situation
Four kinds of professionals do this work, and each one suits a different job.
Estate sale companies run a multi-day sale out of your home. They price and display everything from furniture down to kitchen utensils, manage crowds, and process payments on site. This is the option when you need to empty a whole house quickly after a death, a downsizing move, or a divorce. Their crew handles setup, though they expect the home to be walkable before they arrive.
Consignment shops take individual items and display them in a storefront. They work for curated goods like designer clothing, antiques, jewelry, or high-end electronics, where the right buyer needs to see the piece in person. The shop sets the price, sometimes with your input, and you get paid only after someone buys. If nothing sells, you either retrieve the item or the shop donates or disposes of it under the terms of your agreement.
Auctioneers use competitive bidding, which makes them the right call for unique items where fair market value is genuinely uncertain: fine art, heavy machinery, rare collectibles, and real property all move through auctions regularly. Bidding can drive prices above what a fixed listing would get, but it can also come in below expectations when turnout is weak.
Online selling assistants list your items on platforms like eBay, Facebook Marketplace, or specialty resale sites. They photograph, write listings, talk to buyers, and ship. This suits people who own valuable items but don’t have the time or platform experience to sell them well. Some charge a flat per-item fee; others take a percentage of the final price.
What It Actually Costs
Commission is the headline number. For estate sale companies it typically runs 25% to 50% of gross proceeds, and the rate usually drops as the total value of the estate rises. A $100,000 estate can command a lower percentage than a $15,000 one. Consignment shops fall in a similar range, with standard retail arrangements often putting 40% to 60% of the sale price in the consignor’s pocket.
What blindsides people are the charges outside the commission. Professional sellers frequently bill separately for:
- Advertising. Multi-channel marketing, signage, email blasts, and social media ads can run $300 to $1,000 or more, depending on the size of the sale and the market.
- Setup and cataloging labor. Sorting, tagging, photographing, and arranging typically costs $25 to $45 per hour per crew member. Some companies fold this into the commission for organized estates, but cluttered or hoarded homes trigger hourly charges.
- Cleanup and disposal. If you want the company to clear leftover items and trash, expect dumpster rental around $500 to $600 plus crew time at $25 to $50 per hour.
Your contract should list every fee beyond the commission percentage. If a company quotes a commission rate and dodges questions about additional charges, treat that as a warning. Get the full cost structure in writing before you sign.
What Belongs in the Contract
The consignment agreement or sales commission contract is where your payout is actually decided. Read it before signing. A solid contract covers:
- Commission rate and fee structure. The exact percentage, plus any charges for advertising, labor, storage, or cleanup.
- Listing duration. How long the professional has to sell before the agreement expires.
- Minimum or reserve prices. The floor below which specific items cannot be sold without your approval.
- Unsold item policy. What happens to items that don’t sell, and your deadline to retrieve them.
- Payment terms. When you get paid and by what method.
- Liability and insurance. Who bears the risk if items are lost, stolen, or damaged in the professional’s possession.
If a boilerplate contract skips one of these points, ask for it to be added. Verbal promises about reserve prices or payout timelines are worth nothing once a dispute starts.
You also want your own written inventory of everything being turned over, with descriptions and condition notes. Without it, there is no way to prove what was entrusted to the seller or to verify that everything was accounted for at the end. For high-value items like original artwork, vintage vehicles, or jewelry, bring proof of ownership: titles, certificates of authenticity, provenance documents, and purchase receipts. Those records establish your right to sell and protect the professional from unknowingly handling stolen property.
Items You Cannot Legally Resell
Federal law makes it illegal to sell any consumer product that has been recalled by the Consumer Product Safety Commission, whether or not you knew about the recall. This applies to professional sellers and individual owners alike. Having a recalled product in your inventory and offering it for sale violates the Consumer Product Safety Act.
Civil penalties for selling recalled products can reach $100,000 per violation, with a maximum of $15,000,000 for a related series of violations.1Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 15 USC 2069 – Civil Penalties The CPSC specifically identifies several categories that must be destroyed rather than resold:
- Drop-side cribs. These cannot meet current safety standards even with aftermarket hardware, and must be destroyed regardless of condition.
- Certain infant bath seats. Models made before December 2010, and those that attach to the tub floor with suction cups, should be destroyed.
- Baby walkers. Any walker without rubber gripping strips underneath, or with a base narrower than 36 inches, fails the mandatory standard.
- Hair dryers without immersion protection. Any hair dryer lacking a built-in immersion protection device and a recognized testing lab certification mark should not be sold.
- Three-wheeled ATVs. These cannot legally be imported or sold in the United States at all.
Before any sale, both you and your professional should check the CPSC recall database at cpsc.gov for anything that could plausibly be subject to a recall.2Consumer Product Safety Commission. Resellers Guide to Selling Safer Products The professional should be doing this routinely, but you share responsibility for what gets sold under your name.
How to Vet the Seller Before You Sign
The barrier to entry for estate liquidation and consignment is low in many areas, and the quality range is enormous. A few steps separate the reliable operators from the ones who cost you money.
Start with licensing. Many states require auctioneers to hold a license, pass an exam, and post a surety bond, which is a financial guarantee that protects you if the auctioneer mishandles your money or commits fraud. Bond amounts commonly fall between $5,000 and $25,000. Ask any auctioneer for a license number and verify it with the state licensing board. Estate sale companies face lighter regulation in most places, but reputable operators voluntarily carry commercial liability insurance and maintain bonded status. A company that balks at showing proof of insurance is one to walk away from.
For high-value items like fine art, antiques, or jewelry, whoever prices your goods should carry recognized credentials, such as an Accredited Member or Accredited Senior Appraiser designation from the American Society of Appraisers. An item undervalued at auction is money you will never recover.
Check online reviews and the Better Business Bureau for complaint history. A pattern of complaints about missing items, surprise fees, or delayed payments tells you more than any sales pitch. Ask for recent client references and call them. The question that reveals the most: was the final payout what you expected based on the contract?
Some localities also require a permit to hold a residential sale. Your professional should know the local rules and handle the paperwork. If they seem unfamiliar with permit requirements in your area, that suggests limited experience there.
Getting Paid, and Who Pays if Something Breaks
Once you sign, the logistics start. Estate sale companies come to your home and take over for a one to three day sale. For consignment and auctions, you deliver items to the seller’s location or arrange for pickup. Online selling assistants usually need the items shipped to them or photographed on site.
After a sale, the professional should provide an itemized statement showing what sold, for how much, and what was deducted. Deductions include the commission plus any additional fees your contract authorizes. The remainder is your net payout. Most professionals pay within 14 to 30 days after the sale concludes, allowing for buyer payment clearance and return windows. Payment usually comes by ACH transfer or check. If the contract doesn’t state a payment deadline, insist on adding one. “Net proceeds paid within a reasonable time” is the kind of language that lets a dishonest operator sit on your money.
When you hand your property to a professional seller, they become a bailee, the legal term for someone holding another person’s belongings. A paid bailee owes a higher duty of care than someone doing you a favor. If items are damaged, lost, or stolen while in the professional’s custody, they are generally liable for the loss if they failed to exercise reasonable care. “Generally” matters here, because contracts can modify the rule. Some agreements cap liability, require you to insure high-value items yourself, or disclaim responsibility for damage during a sale. Read the liability and indemnification section before signing, and understand what happens if a $5,000 vase gets knocked off a table.
The strongest protection is hiring a professional who carries bailee liability insurance, which specifically covers loss or damage to property in the insured’s care. Ask for a certificate of insurance showing the coverage type and policy limits. If the value of what you are consigning exceeds those limits, reduce the lot, increase coverage, or add a separate policy of your own.
What Happens to Items That Don’t Sell
Not everything sells, and the contract needs to say what happens next. Consignment shops usually run 30, 60, or 90 day listing periods, then hold unsold items for a brief pickup window of roughly 10 days. If you don’t retrieve them, the shop donates or disposes of them. Some contracts state that unclaimed items become the shop’s property once the pickup window closes.
Estate sale companies handle leftovers differently because they are already in your home. Common approaches include heavy discounting on the final day, donating leftovers to charity on your behalf, or arranging a junk hauler at your expense. A few companies offer a buyout where they purchase what remains in bulk at a steep discount. Whatever the approach, the contract should say who pays for disposal and when the company’s role ends.
For auctioneers, lots that don’t meet reserve are typically returned. If the auction is off-site, you will need to arrange pickup within a stated window or face storage charges. Ask about storage fees before you consign, especially for bulky items like furniture or vehicles.
Taxes on What You Make
Here is where most people get an unwelcome surprise. If you sell a personal item for more than you originally paid for it, the profit is a taxable capital gain. The IRS treats personal-use property like furniture, jewelry, electronics, and collectibles as capital assets, and any gain must be reported on Form 8949 and Schedule D.3Internal Revenue Service. Publication 544 – Sales and Other Dispositions of Assets
If you held the item for more than one year, the gain qualifies for long-term capital gains rates, which are lower than ordinary income rates for most people. Items held one year or less are taxed at your regular income rate.4Internal Revenue Service. 2025 Instructions for Form 8949 Collectibles are a special case: long-term gains on art, antiques, coins, and gems are taxed at a maximum rate of 28%, which is higher than the standard long-term capital gains rate.
The flip side is less generous. If you sell personal-use property at a loss, that loss is not deductible. You cannot use it to offset other gains or reduce taxable income.5Internal Revenue Service. Publication 525 – Taxable and Nontaxable Income This trips up people who sell used furniture or electronics for far less than they paid. The IRS does not care that your couch depreciated. The only exception is casualty or theft losses, which have been restricted to federally declared disasters through 2025, with state-declared disasters becoming eligible starting in 2026.6Internal Revenue Service. Capital Gains, Losses, and Sale of Home
Form 1099-K
If a professional processes your transactions through a third-party payment network, you may receive a Form 1099-K reporting gross payments. For 2026, the reporting threshold remains more than $20,000 in total payments and more than 200 transactions in the calendar year. Both conditions must be met before the payment processor is required to issue the form.7Internal Revenue Service. 2026 Publication 1099 – General Instructions for Certain Information Returns
Getting a 1099-K does not mean you owe tax on the full amount. The form shows gross proceeds, not profit. You still calculate gain or loss by subtracting what you originally paid for each item. If you sold personal items at a loss, you report the transaction to match the 1099-K but show no taxable gain. Keep records of original purchase prices. Without them, the IRS may treat the entire sale amount as gain.
Sales Tax
In most states, the professional seller is responsible for collecting and remitting sales tax on taxable transactions. If they sell through an online marketplace, the platform itself typically handles collection under marketplace facilitator laws now adopted by the vast majority of states. Your contract should say who handles sales tax obligations, because a failure to collect and remit can trace back to the underlying transaction.