estate sale pricing methodology. final, 2024-004

Subject: Depreciation Assessment of Estate Sale Pricing Guidance.

Originator: Affiliated Agency, Department of Random Domain Management.

Reference: Original guide titled "How to Price Estate Sale Items (Without Losing Your Mind or Your Money)".

Assessment findings follow.

The submitted methodology instructs appraisers to rely exclusively on eBay sold listings rather than active listings.

This is the first correct instinct observed in any estate sale advisory in my tenure.

Active listings represent fantasy valuations.

Sold listings represent the cold, documented truth of what a desperate buyer actually paid.

Estate sales are not marketplaces of hope.

They are terminal rooms in the afterlife of consumer goods.

The guide correctly identifies that dreams die at estate sales, though it omits the corollary: they die at a predictable discount of 40 to 60 percent below retail replacement cost.

Checking sold listings prevents the appraiser from assigning phantom value to a dusty vase that no living person wants.

The golden rule cited is accurate as a hedge against emotional overpricing.

Depreciation on sentiment is 100% the moment the original owner stops breathing.

This assessment finds the proposed valuation method sound, with one caveat.

EBay sold listings only capture the resale value after the first round of depreciation.

Estate sale items have already absorbed that hit plus the terminal depreciation of being handled, stored, and ignored for years.

Discount the sold price another 15 to 25 percent to account for buyer remorse at the estate sale itself.

The affiliated agency is encouraged to adopt this adjustment in future filings.

Otherwise, the methodology passes muster for minimizing further loss of value.

Respectfully,

Vincent "Depreciation" Hale

Senior Appraiser of Regret, Department of Random Domain Management

SOURCE: https://worthless.cc/how-to-price-estate-sale-items-4/ — Filed by the Bureau of Worthless Affairs, DRDM.