I'm sorry I'm not an expert.
But I'll play one here..
I've seen people offer to accept Paypal on Craigslist but I don't know how that works.
Just a thought :>

With Christmas being on the weekend--just realized this today, I don't know if the weekend before is a good idea for last minute shoppers or not.

You can always set up a paypal account to take credit cards at the estate sale. Of course, you'd have to have wireless capabilities and then probably a printer, too.

Almost everyone who shops at your kind of sale expects to pay cash. Stipulate cash only in the ads, or give buyers 24 hours to come back with the cash after leaving a "downpayment" with you.

I know someone who sold her furniture at her house sale the week before xmas two or three years ago.

If I go to an estate/garage sale, I know to bring cash with me. Even some of the estate sales run by businesses here don't take credit cards (they do collect sales tax, though.) I don't think this is something you should worry about. People will go to the ATM if they really want something... (I have sold cars, furniture, etc... cash only.)

RE: the timing of it... I'd wait until January. The weekend before xmas is filled with last minute gift shopping at stores, cleaning the house for guests, xmas parties, etc.

You could try listing the larger items on Craigslist immediately, though... I'd think that would improve your odds of selling everything.

thanks guys, that is very helpful!

Do you have an ipad? I've seen vendors at our local farmers market taking credit cards that way.

WTG, bestyears! There is a Paypal App. I think if you can advertise that you will take credit cards by paypal, that would be a huge benefit.

best - I'm on one. I will take a look

The link below explains how it's done. DD recently used her iphone at a trade show for all transactions requiring a CC. Then a receipt was instantly sent to the buyers phone (if they had online access).

Here is a link that might be useful: mobile payments

I don't think it is ridiculous to hold a sale before Christmas. Despite common belief, not everyone has a full schedule of Christmas events in December. You may have the perfect piece of furniture for someone who is planning to entertain. And people seem to have more money to spend in December than January.

Go for it, but be nice to your helpers in case you need them in January.

And "cash only" is the way to go, IMO.

Um, where are u? I'd happily visit your sale even if it was the day before Christmas. I love your taste and imagine you'll have some great pieces to sell.

mtnrdredux, I just did a quick search and came up with this site that seems to have some good info...

Here is a link that might be useful: Estate Sales - 10 step guide

Arapaho, how nice of you! very helpful

Daisy, How kind. The house is 12 miles west of NYC. I thought i had updated my profile so that people can email me? It doesnt seem to be there, though. I will try to add it again!

mtnrdredux - Despite the overwhelming media assumption, not everyone "does" Christmas. Jews, atheists, Buddhists, Muslims, and pagans might all like to have3 some non-seasonal shopping.

Have the sale, have some hot drinks available (cider?) and for mercy's sake, NO CHRISTMAS MUSIC! If I hear one more bad rendition of a carol, I will go postal.

mtn'dux, those frequenting estate sales will gravitate to them no matter the day or date. If you're ready to have it, go for it. ;o)

Yes! There is a way people can do credit card transations now, using I think Foursquare and a device you can get at any Apple store.

My students do a lot of fundraising activities; at least one of my student leaders is using the system and swears by it. I actually tried it myself, they were selling Chick-Fil-A sandwiches on campus and I used my debit card. It scanned through and charged my account just like a business transaction would.

I tried looking up Foursquare online but it really didn't explain anything. You might check with your nearest Apple store. Evidently you buy a 'device' that costs $10, and Apple gives you a $10 credit. Or at least that's what my student told me :).

Actually, running, it is just called Square. And its on its way to me! Amazing device, free, and only 2.75% plus 15c per transaction. Seems ideal. Works w iphone or ipad.

I immediately thought of it for fundraising that we do, but it seems to require a swipe and a lot of what we do/sell is on line

I have an estate sale business that I have been running for 11 years now. The weekend before Christmas is perfectly fine for running a sale and actually is a good one. We do them right up until the holidays and we even now hold sales on some holiday weekends, such as Memorial Day, Labor Day, etc....which never used to be done before. I am in the Chicago area and we are number one in the country for the amount of estate sales...so I am not sure where you care located, but people love them and will come. My one big piece of advice to you is to advertise in the right places. Local newspapers are fine, but only a certain amount of people read them anymore or look for sales there. We still do them, but it is secondary. The main place online that most of the companies advertise is estatesales.net Do not omit this!! We pay large fees to belong as gold members and advertise our sales without a charge, but they allow 'privately listed' sales and everyone who regularly goes to these sales go to this site. It has been around for a long time now (I have been a member since 2004) and it is the 'go to' place for estate sales. Also you can put your sale on estatesales.org, estatesale.com (singular on sale) and also put the sale on craigslist and point that ad to your main listing on estatesales.net but put the craigslist ad on the night before very late so you come up at the top. Post as many pictures on estatesales.net as you can, that is the key so people can see individual items (not just the room) that you are selling and they will come for specific items sometimes. Pull out anything and everything you don't want any longer, as the more you have, the better people like it. They even buy half empty bottles of cleaning supplies, used towels, bedding, you name it.....it all adds up and brings people in. As for credit cards, I would not advertise that you will take them, as then every person wants to use their debit card for $2 purchases and it becomes a hassle at checkout. If you feel that someone will buy a more expensive item if you take a credit card, then just use Paypal....if you don't have an account, you can sign up easily and you don't need to buy 'Square' or any other thing or sign up for a service, if this is a one time deal. But as many people posted, CASH IS KING!!! Most people know that cash is the main thing accepted at estate sales. You can advertise on estatesales.net that it is cash only. That way people will know ahead of time. You can post your Terms and Conditions on there......such as Cash Only, No Early Birds, Numbers given out at 8:30 (or whatever), we reserve the right to refuse entry to anyone at any time, etc. The key is good pictures and good descriptions of what you have....i.e., Ethan Allen maple dresser.......brands, type of wood, any details, etc. If you need any further help or information, you can email me through my web site. Good luck!

Here is a link that might be useful: my site

wow, Timesavers, thanks very much for the advice.

Timesavers, welcome to GardenWeb and thank you for this valuable information! I am going to clip your post for future reference.

By coincidence, I was looking at estatesales.net last night.

If you don't mind saying, how are estate sellers paid? Is it a strict per cent of the gross sales or is there an upfront charge as well?

You can take credit card payments through intuit as well.