When you hire an estate sale company, you’re not just hiring a service, you’re trusting someone with your family’s home, possessions, and memories. This isn’t a small transaction. It’s a major financial decision that involves handing over the keys, giving access to every room, from under the bed to the back corner of the attic, and trusting a team to manage the process with honesty, professionalism, and care.
That’s why finding a trustworthy estate sale company is worth the effort. And one of the fastest, most effective ways to start that process is by looking at online reviews.
Why Online Reviews Matter in the Estate Sale Industry
Estate sales aren’t something most families hire out more than once. That means you’re probably starting this process with little experience, and possibly a lot of anxiety. Online reviews can offer an incredible shortcut, giving you insight into a company’s professionalism, work quality, and how they treat their clients.
Most large metro areas like Kansas City have over 30 estate sale companies, and you don’t want to interview them all in person. Within an hour or two of research, you can narrow down your search to the three to four top companies in your area. This will make a massive decision much easier to approach with confidence.
Where to Look: Beyond Google
Google reviews are often the first place people look, and that’s a great start. But it shouldn’t be the only place you go. Here’s why
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Google reviews can be manipulated
Some companies incentivize reviews by offering $5 to $10 in exchange for a five-star rating. While this isn’t always a red flag, it does skew the accuracy of the company’s overall rating. -
Yelp offers more rigorous review standards
Yelp reviews are harder to game, which makes it a great secondary source. It’s not unusual to find a company with a 4.5-star Google rating but only 2.5 stars on Yelp. That kind of discrepancy is worth paying attention to. -
BBB and Angi are worth checking too
While they may not have as many reviews, these sites can offer more detail about complaints, resolution efforts, and service consistency over time. These sites are also more likely to have client reviews vs. shoppers.
Sorting Through Shopper vs. Client Reviews
Estate sale companies serve two very different groups:
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Clients (the families who hire the company to run the sale)
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Shoppers (the general public attending the sale to buy items)
A typical company may run one estate sale per week – so they’ll have four clients per month, but as many as 1,000 to 2,000 shoppers attending. As a result, the majority of online reviews will be from shoppers, not clients.
While shopper reviews can tell you about sale presentation or pricing, they’re not what you should base your decision on. In fact, if all of the shopper reviews are about bargain pricing, that could be an issue for you, the potential client.
When reviewing feedback, look specifically for reviews from clients. They’ll usually talk about the estate sale process itself: how the company handled pricing, communication, cleanout, or how respectful the team was. These are the insights that matter most to you.
Use Google Maps to Search for Specific Review Keywords
If you want to dig deeper into what past clients are saying, you can search within a company’s Google reviews using keyword filters. Just go to Google Maps and search for the estate sale company you’re researching. Scroll down to their reviews, and just above the first review you’ll see a magnifying glass icon. Clicking that icon allows you to type in specific terms that matter to you. (See image below)
For example, try searching for words like professionalism, recommend, honesty, integrity, organization, pricing, or communication. These keyword searches can quickly reveal whether multiple reviewers are talking about the same strengths, or the same problems.
Read the Bad Reviews
Every estate sale company is going to have some negative reviews. That’s to be expected. What matters more is what those bad reviews actually say.
Make it a point to intentionally sort and read the one-star reviews for any company you’re considering. Are the complaints mostly from shoppers who were frustrated that the prices were too high? If so, that might actually be good news for you as a client, as it could mean the company prices items responsibly to protect your financial outcome.
But if the complaints are from clients, or if the reviews mention more serious issues, you’ll want to pay close attention. Red flags to watch for include:
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Lack of professionalism
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Poor communication or follow-through
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Hidden or unexpected fees
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Non-payment or delays in payment after the sale
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Not taking care of the house in the process
Sometimes, the bad reviews are more revealing than the good ones. A company with mostly positive reviews but one or two very concerning ones might still be worth considering, just be sure to ask about those situations in your interview.
What to Do After You’ve Read the Reviews
After spending some time reading reviews across multiple platforms, you should have a shortlist of one to three companies that feel like a good fit. The next step is to move from research to conversation.
Start With a Phone Call
An in-home consultation can take up to two hours, so it’s best to start with five minute phone call. If you have a specific date you need the sale to be completed, check their availability. If you have any deal-breaker questions, ask them on the phone. Do know that most estate sale companies won’t give you a firm commission rate or fees before seeing the project in person. This first step also lets you evaluate the companies tone and professionalism.
Schedule an In-Person Consultation
If you’re still interested in a company after the phone call, schedule an in-person consultation. All estate sale companies will offer this for free. It’s a two-way interview, where you are exploring the company and they are seeing if the project is one that want to take on. Make sure to make decisions before the consultation about what is and isn’t for sale. Most companies will want to see the estate in person before offering a final quote or commission rate. That walkthrough helps them understand the scope of the project and gives you another chance to assess their approach, professionalism, and scope of service.
Prepare Your Questions
Go into the interview process prepared. We recommend using this list of 14 questions to ask when interviewing an estate sale company to guide your conversations. This is a big decision. It’s worth being thorough.
Final Thoughts: Trust Takes Effort, but It’s Worth It
The estate sale process is emotional, complicated, and often unfamiliar. Because it involves your family’s home and belongings, the stakes are high. That’s why taking time to read reviews and compare companies is so important.
You’re looking for more than just someone to price items and run a sale. You’re looking for a partner you can trust, someone who will handle your transition with professionalism, integrity, and care. With the right research and the right questions, you’ll be well on your way to finding the team that’s right for you.
