Angels Camp

Estate Sales and Clearances

Somebody has usually died, or is moving somewhere smaller, and a house full of things has become somebody else's problem to solve. We do this work often, and we would rather tell you plainly what we can and cannot do than sell you a service.

What We Do

We come and look, we tell you what we think, and then you decide. Depending on what is there and what you need, that ends in one of a few places: we buy some of it outright, we take some of it on consignment, we tell you honestly which pieces are worth more to a specialist than to us, and we say plainly which things have no resale value at all.

That last one matters. A house is rarely full of treasure and it is almost never full of nothing. Being told which is which, by somebody who is not charging you to say it, is most of what this first conversation is for.

How It Usually Goes

One
You tell us what is there, below. Photographs help enormously.
Two
We talk, usually on the phone, and work out whether a visit is worth anybody's time.
Three
We come and look, and tell you what we think, item by item where it matters.
Four
If there is something to agree, we agree it in writing before anything is moved.

There is no hurry in any of this, and nobody will push you. People who are clearing a parent's house are usually doing it in the worst month of their year, and that is not a moment for a hard sell.

What We Are Interested In

The same things we put on the shop floor, which is to say things somebody will be pleased to find:

  • Furniture with some age and some character
  • Lighting, including oil lamps and vintage rain lamps
  • Glass, china, barware and kitchen things
  • Art, prints, velvet paintings and objects
  • Old linens, quilts, towels with fun prints and vintage sheets
  • Anything genuinely odd that we cannot stop looking at

Whether a particular piece is bought outright or taken on consignment is a piece-by-piece decision, and the consignment page sets out how consigning works and what the terms are.

What We Cannot Do

Said here rather than discovered halfway through:

  • We are not a clearance company. We do not empty a house down to the carpets, and we do not take rubbish away.
  • We are not valuers or appraisers, and nothing we say is a formal valuation. If you need one for probate or for insurance, you need somebody qualified to give you one, and we will say so.
  • We do not handle firearms, ammunition, hazardous materials or anything that needs a licence we do not hold.
  • We cannot advise you on the legal or tax side of settling an estate. That is a solicitor's job and an accountant's job.

Nothing on this page is a quote, a fee schedule or a contract, and no commission, minimum, call-out charge or cancellation term has been set. Anything about money is agreed with you in writing, for your house, before anything is moved. If a question about money comes up that this page does not answer, ask, and the answer will be added here rather than agreed privately.

Start a Conversation

Tell us roughly what is there and where. Nothing here commits you to anything, and the first conversation costs nothing.

What sort of situation is it?

For something like this a phone call is usually kinder than an email. Only if you would like one.

For example: my mother's house in Murphys needs clearing before it is sold.

What is there, roughly, and anything that matters about how it needs to be handled. There is no need to be organised about this. We will ask the rest.

Angels Camp, Murphys, Sonora, or wherever it is.

A date, a month, or "no idea yet". All three are useful answers.

A rough count is fine. It tells us how much of a day to set aside.

Stairs, a narrow lane, no parking, a dog who will want to help.

Up to four photographs or PDFs, 8 MB each. Whole rooms are more useful than close-ups. They are stored privately and are never published.

Would rather just write to us, or ring after a message? Our address is treasurehunter@sanfranciscovintage.com