Sell a household online, with pickup handled by our team
Online Estate Sales in Nashville, TN
We photograph, price, and list the household on our website. Shoppers buy at the marked price or make an offer, and paid buyers collect during a scheduled pickup. The home never opens to the public.
In-home, offsite, online, or a combination
Find out whether an online sale fits your household
Tell us what needs to be sold, where it is, whether anyone can be at the property, and the date you are working toward. We will review the contents and recommend an in-home sale, an offsite sale at our Berry Hill venue, an online sale, or an in-home or offsite sale with an online listing for the categories that sell by name.
The consultation is free. Use the online estate sale consultation form or the form further down this page. Please do not discard, donate, or move sale items before we have looked at them.
What an online estate sale is
In an online estate sale, the contents of the home are sold through a listing on estategreats.net. There is no public event at the property. Every item has its own photos, a description, and a price. Shoppers can save an item with the heart icon, ask a question about it, make an offer, or buy it at the listed price.
Items have set prices that drop on a published schedule as the sale progresses, and shoppers can also make offers. This is not an auction: nothing goes to the highest bidder when a timer ends. If you want bidding on a small group of rare items, ask about it at the consultation.
We also post the sale on EstateSales.NET so its subscribers see the photos and dates. That post sends shoppers to our listing, where buying, offers, and pickup scheduling happen.
Online sales are listed alongside all of our estate sales on the upcoming estate sales page.
From walkthrough to pickup
How an online estate sale works at Estate Greats
Free consultation
We review the contents and your dates, then put the format, pickup plan, and commission in writing.
Photograph, research, price
We set aside what the family is keeping, then photograph, research, and price each item.
The sale runs online
The listing runs on our website for at least 30 days. Shoppers buy or make offers, and we handle questions and review offers with you.
Pickup and reporting
Paid buyers collect during the scheduled window. You get an itemized report and settlement, and we handle anything unsold as agreed.
What happens when a shopper presses Buy
- The item is reserved for that shopper for five minutes.
- Other shoppers see it marked pending with a countdown.
- The shopper pays online, and the item is marked sold.
- If payment is not completed within five minutes, the hold ends and the item can be bought again.
Offers stay open during the sale. An offer does not hold the item; it can still be bought at the listed price until the offer is accepted and paid.
Reasons families choose an online sale
These are the situations where an online sale usually makes sense.
- No public traffic through the home. A two or three day in-home sale brings hundreds of shoppers through the rooms. Online, only paid buyers arrive, at a set time, for the specific items they bought.
- Condo, HOA, apartment, or building rules. Many associations prohibit public sales, signage, or weekend parking on the street. If you have time for a 30-day listing, an online sale avoids moving everything to our venue for an offsite sale, because buyers collect at scheduled times and a listing with scheduled pickup usually satisfies rules written to stop crowds. Ask your association before you book.
- Heirs who live elsewhere. The executor and the family can watch the listing from any city, review offers by phone or email, and see what sold in the itemized report without traveling for sale weekend.
- A smaller or spread-out household. An apartment, a downsized home, or a house that has already been partly cleared may not have enough left to draw a crowd for three days. Listing what remains, item by item, can still reach the buyer who wants it.
- Collectible categories. Coins, records, cameras, tools, toys, and similar categories are searched for by name. A photographed listing lets those buyers find the item without waiting in a line on opening morning.
- A listed, occupied, or sold home. If the property is on the market, still lived in, or has a closing date, an online sale keeps the public out and lets pickup be scheduled around showings and moving dates.
- Privacy. The listing shows the items and leaves out the address. Buyers receive the pickup location after they pay.
- Weather and parking. Browsing and buying happen on a phone or computer, so rain, heat, and a narrow street do not reduce turnout. Only the pickup day depends on weather.
Where an online sale is a poor fit
An online sale takes more photography time on our side and more effort from buyers, so it is not the right choice for every household. We will say so at the consultation.
- A large volume of everyday household goods. Kitchenware, linens, garage shelves, and boxes of decor sell best when shoppers can walk through and fill a bag. Photographing and listing every low-value item separately takes time the sale may not repay. Those households usually belong in an in-home estate sale.
- Items buyers need to inspect in person. Upholstery, mattresses, appliances, and pieces with condition questions draw fewer online buyers than the same items in a room where they can be opened and tested.
- Large items with no local buyer. Furniture, pianos, and other pieces that cannot ship are local pickup only. Smaller items can be shipped, so a collection with out-of-state buyers can still sell online; ask at the consultation which items qualify and how shipping is priced.
- A tight deadline. An online sale runs for at least 30 days, and buyers collect after it closes, so the home is not empty until then. If it has to be cleared sooner, an in-home sale finishes in a weekend, or an offsite sale at our Berry Hill venue moves the inventory out first.
Combining an online listing with an in-home or offsite sale
Many households mix formats. Coins, records, cameras, and other collectible categories go online for at least 30 days, and the everyday goods sell at an in-home estate sale or an offsite sale at our Berry Hill venue. One agreement, one itemized report, and one settlement cover both parts.
If you have a combination in mind, say so when you request a consultation. If you are not sure, we will look at the contents and your dates and recommend one.
How in-home, offsite, and online sales differ
Every Estate Greats sale includes research, pricing, photography, marketing, buyer questions, checkout, and itemized reporting. The formats differ in where shoppers see the items and who comes to the property.
| Question | In-home sale | Offsite sale | Online sale |
|---|---|---|---|
| Where shoppers see the items | In the rooms of the home during sale days | Staged at our Berry Hill venue during sale days | On our website, item by item, from any device |
| Who enters the home | The public, during posted hours | Our team, to move the approved inventory | Our team for photography, then paid buyers during the scheduled pickup window |
| How long the sale runs | Two or three sale days | Two or three sale days at the venue | At least 30 days online, then a scheduled pickup |
| How items are sold | Marked prices with scheduled discounts | Marked prices with scheduled discounts | Marked prices with scheduled discounts, plus Buy and Offer buttons; a Buy holds the item for five minutes |
| Best fit | Full households with a wide range of everyday goods | Homes an HOA, listing, occupancy, or privacy issue keeps closed, when the sale must finish quickly | Smaller or spread-out households, collectible categories, and families who do not want a public event |
| Pickup | Buyers carry out purchases at checkout | Buyers carry out purchases at checkout | Scheduled pickup window at the home (at the venue when combined with an offsite sale) |
| Weather and traffic | Rain, heat, and parking affect turnout | Venue parking; weather still affects turnout | Browsing and buying are unaffected; only the pickup day depends on weather |
| Combined with an online listing | Yes: collectibles online, the rest sold in the home | Yes: collectibles online, the rest sold at the venue | This is the online part |
| Reporting | Itemized sales report and settlement | Itemized sales report and settlement | Itemized sales report and settlement |
Pickup, moving, and what buyers are told
Pickup windows are set per sale and published on the listing. Buyers collect at the property during that window, or at our Berry Hill venue at 644 W Iris Drive when the online listing is part of an offsite sale. If you do not want buyers at the home even for a pickup window, an offsite sale is the better fit.
Buyers are told at checkout that they are responsible for loading and transporting what they bought. For furniture, pianos, and other large pieces that means bringing help, packing material, and a suitable vehicle, or hiring movers for the pickup window. Our team is on site during the window to check items out against the sales record.
If a buyer pays but does not collect, the listing terms and your agreement say what happens next. Anything that does not sell follows the plan we set before the sale: the family keeps it, it goes to an independent donation partner, it moves to a later Estate Greats sale, or we clear it as separately quoted cleanout.
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Free consultation
Tell us about the household
Tell us what needs to be sold, where it is, and the date you are working toward. Choose the sale format you have in mind, or ask us to recommend one. Photos are optional; wide shots of each room help us judge the volume before we call.
A member of our Nashville team reads every submission and follows up by phone or email. The same form is on the online estate sale consultation page if you want to come back to it later.
We use your information to respond to your inquiry. Privacy policy.
Online estate sale questions
What is an online estate sale?
An online estate sale sells the contents of a household through a web listing, with no public event at the property. Estate Greats photographs, researches, and prices the items, lists them on our website, and handles buyer questions, payment, and pickup. Shoppers browse the listing from anywhere and buy at the marked price or make an offer.
Is an online estate sale the same as an online auction?
No. An online auction sells each lot to the highest bidder when a timer ends. An Estate Greats online sale lists each item at a set price, with discounts scheduled as the sale progresses, the same way our in-home sales work. A shopper can buy at the current price or make an offer, which we review with the seller under the plan in the agreement.
How does the Buy button work?
Pressing Buy reserves the item for five minutes while the shopper completes payment through the same online checkout used for accepted offers. Other shoppers see the item as pending with a countdown. If payment is not completed in time, the hold ends and the item can be bought again.
How long does an online estate sale run?
At least 30 days. The pickup window follows the close of the listing, so plan on the home holding the sold items until then unless the plan moves them to our Berry Hill venue.
Can I combine an online listing with an in-home or offsite sale?
Yes. A common plan sells the collectible categories online and the everyday goods at an in-home sale or an offsite sale at our Berry Hill venue, under one agreement with one itemized report and settlement. Tell us the combination you have in mind, or ask us to recommend one.
Do shoppers come to the house?
No shoppers browse the property. Only buyers who have paid for an item collect it, during a scheduled pickup window at the location named in the listing. If you do not want anyone at the home even for pickup, an offsite sale at our Berry Hill venue is the better fit.
How do buyers get their items?
Buyers pick up in person during the window set for the sale. They bring their own help, packing material, and vehicle for furniture and other large pieces. Pickup details are published on the listing and confirmed with each buyer at checkout.
Do you ship items?
Smaller items can be shipped. Shipping is quoted per item and arranged after payment. Furniture and other large pieces are local pickup in Middle Tennessee during the scheduled window.
Is the sale also listed on EstateSales.NET?
Yes. We post the sale on EstateSales.NET so its subscribers see the photos and dates, and the post directs shoppers to our listing, where the buying, offers, and pickup scheduling take place.
How much does an online estate sale cost?
Estate Greats is paid through the commission and terms set out in your written agreement before work begins. Any separately quoted work, such as moving items to the venue or a cleanout after the sale, is listed as its own line so the commission and the extra costs are never mixed together.
What happens to items that do not sell online?
We agree on the plan for unsold items before the sale starts. Depending on the household, the remaining items may return to the family, go to an independent donation partner, move to an in-home or offsite Estate Greats sale, or be removed through separately quoted cleanout work.
Start with the contents and your dates
Ask about an online estate sale in Nashville
Send the approximate amount of contents, whether the property is occupied or listed, the date you need it cleared, and a few photos of the rooms if you have them. We will tell you whether an online sale, an in-home sale, an offsite sale at our Berry Hill venue, or a combination fits, and what the agreement would include.
Before you hire anyone, review the questions to ask an estate sale company and how estate sale commission works.