If you’re thinking an estate sale is in your future, get to know the experts at Laster’s Fine Art & Antiques, who have spent over 40 years guiding Triad residents in buying, selling, and consigning. Learning the finer points of their selling success will be time well spent! Here’s what to expect if an estate sale proves to be your best option.
- Laster’s works daily with attorneys, executors, administrators, individuals, and families to evaluate their particular needs. For estate sale clients, their services include market value appraisals, tag sales, selling items at auction, handling commissioned consignments, and the purchase of individual items, or entire estates if that best suits your family’s personal situation.
- While they specialize in estates of a high net worth, Laster’s handles estate sales of all sizes. “We handle high-end estates by either placing items in our store, or holding an on-site estate tag sale,” says Ryan Laster, one half of the father and son team who have made Laster’s the go-to experts. Along with his dad, Larry, they have handled some impressive estate tag sales with the highest integrity. While their main objective is to achieve the highest dollar amount for their clients, the company also strives to be respectful of every family’s privacy, so every service and transaction is held in the strictest confidence.
- To begin your process, Laster’s will ask you to either remove or very clearly tag the items you want to keep before they begin working in the home. “Sometimes we find clients don’t want to keep even one thing,” says Ryan. “Others end up keeping half the estate once they’ve taken a second look.”
- Once items are marked, Laster’s begins the process of assessing the estate and preparing it for a tag sale. Beginning with an initial walk-through, they offer expert opinions on what will sell and at approximately what price. Typically, this includes items inside the home, which can be everything from dishes and a refrigerator to artwork and fine furniture. Laster’s offers a “whole house” sale where essentially all the contents are priced and sold over a two-day period.
- Higher quality items discovered in the home will be taken to Laster’s gallery and sold at a premium. Once those more valuable items have been evaluated and removed, the team spends a week or two going through the contents of the home, discarding any trash and items that are simply not sellable, pricing what is, and staging the home for a successful tag sale.
- Following the sale, any unsold items will be sold to the highest bidder or donated to a local charity. The end result for the customer is a broom-swept home that is essentially empty.
If you’re not in the market for a full-house estate sale, the knowledgeable staff at Laster’s is also happy to assist you with downsizing projects or to handle the sale of any individual items that may have a unique history.
Words of wisdom from Ryan, who has seen his share of a wide variety of collections and circumstances: “The one thing you should never do is throw anything away! What you might assume to be trash may end up being the most sought after item in the sale!”
Laster’s Fine Art & Antiques is ready to guide you in buying, selling, or consigning. Visit them at 664 South Stratford Road in Winston-Salem, Monday through Saturday 10 a.m. – 5:30 p.m., or call 336-765-5919 for more information or a consultation on a particular piece. Follow them on Facebook, Instagram, and at lastersfineart.com.
