1) Why choose B-KEEN to conduct your Estate Sale?
Paramount customer service, Honesty, Integrity, Professionalism, attention to detail, determination, current market knowledge, flexibility & willingness to do whatever it takes to Bring top dollar for your goods. We work very hard to beautify and make your entire home look
show-room ready. We evaluate, Appraise, appropriately price & display everything,
in ways similar to what one might find in a fine
department store. Please note that your best interest is also ours and
we will not sell things for less than we must, however, it is
liquidation
and to be thoroughly effective, things must be priced to sell in a few
days only. If you choose us, we will Prominently promote a highly
acclaimed 1st Class Estate Sale on your property, conduct a weekend sale event and Satisfy or Exceed your needs and expectations.
2) How much will it cost?
Nothing out of pocket, we charge a competitive percentage rate or
“commission” from the sale revenue. As every household is
different so too is the work needed to liquidate it. We “bid” each job
differently, and lock this rate into our plain-English contract, before
getting started. No extra or hidden charges, we accept cash & credit cards for all purchases and all related charges come from
our commission. In-fact, We provide everything required to prepare and conduct the sale,
except for part of the advertising, shared
with our client, based on our rate and paid from gross proceeds of the sale. We feel this is fair because some
home locations and unique goods do require a greater than normal
advertising distribution. Normally our ad costs for 1-newspaper and 5-online insertions runs less than $130 in total.
3) Can my family and I just sell it all ourselves?
Yes, but it is VERY time consuming, frustrating, and deceptively difficult.
4) What’s involved in the process?
Preparation by digging through every: room, closet, cabinet, chest,
drawer, box, bag, container, garage, attic, basement, shed, yard, garden
& storage facility. Discarding all trash, sorting, categorizing,
thorough assessment, cleaning, displaying, photographing, researching,
appraising
and pricing days on end. We optimize presentation, plan pedestrian flow,
restrict access & remove doors as needed, add extra lighting, try
to
keep merchandise off the floor via folding tables, shelving &
displays. Other considerations include sale timing, logistics, safety,
code compliance,
parking and communicating with helpers, clients, family, Realtors,
neighbors & more. Clever, prominent advertising and effective
promotion by
signage, e-mail, ads in-print and on-line are all essential. Optimally,
your Estate Sale will be a very busy event with adequate staffing to
direct
and assist customers, answer questions, negotiate, handle and record
payment (be certain you are “PCI Compliant”
if accepting credit cards), cover security and ensure safety. With
everything correct, including pricing,
discounts and sale techniques, little if anything will remain afterward.
Charities are a good way to part with leftover items which you or your
family does not want, you’ll get a tax benefit and many organizations
will pick up, locally we recommend the “City Square”, due to their generous Homeless benefit (over 92% efficient), professionalism and reliability.
5) How long will it take for B-KEEN to conduct an Estate Sale?
After we answer each others questions, agree on things, confirm scheduling, sign a contract and then get started, households vary greatly and Typically
require from One to Three Weeks to prepare and conduct a 2, 3, or
4-day, weekend sale event. A couple days may be needed after
the sale, to get the place completely cleared out and provide your
funding (some credit card transactions require 3-days to pass
completely).
6) How do we decide what is worthy to sell and what is not?
Almost everything is worth something to someone. Just pull out all
keep-sakes, photos, data-media, private information, prescription
medications and anything else you don’t want exposed to the general
public. Please let us decide what has value and what does not.
Don’t Throw Anything Away,,, EXCEPT… : used packing materials,
used underwear (unless its clean and VERY Old-Vintage!),
stained or damaged clothing, dead
batteries (please recycle), spoiled food, dirt & debris. Please note
also that
while some soiled, pet or other damaged items may retain some value,
keeping them in your sale could adversely affect the over-all outcome.
We hope you’ll understand in matters of this regard and allow us to
recommend whether to retain or omit beforehand. Please seek advice on
anything questionable!
7) Can B-KEEN sell automobiles, boats, RV’s, the house and/or Real Estate?
We sell all types of vehicles and have attracted successful home-buyers for past clients. We offer a Reduced rate for vehicle sales
and include Home advertisement with contact information referrals at No extra charge. We currently lack licensing
required to sell Real Estate.
8) Is B-KEEN insured against injury and theft?
Safety & Security are our highest priorities. We take every
precaution to prevent mishaps by: providing clear & wide pathways,
marking
step-downs and immovable trip hazards, trimming hazardous trees and
brush, consolidating valuable smalls and staffing-up as needed to
protect the public, our client’s home and vulnerable merchandise.
Furthermore note that a typical homeowners insurance policy covers
most serious accidents and we would additionally assume due
responsibility, if needed. Short of silver polish in the eye, ouch!!
(staff-member, our problem), we haven’t had a claim or big problem yet.
9) Can clients influence pricing of their stuff which B-KEEN is commissioned to sell?
No and Yes. We allow it on certain items, if discussed and agreed to,
up-front. Many high-value items are unlikely to return an appreciable
portion of their fair market value in a typical Estate Sale and may be
better suited to auction or other venue. We won’t give your stuff
away (there’s no profit in doing that), but we also don’t want to go the
extreme other direction, it can have a similar effect. A prominence
of high-priced items in an otherwise typical household, can scare away
business. Estate Sale customers will not feel sentimental values
nor do they care what items cost when new (unless our price is higher
. Some buyers who find, what they feel to be, over-priced
items will call & tell their friends: “don’t come here” (witnessed
at 3rd party sales), and then quickly exit to seek another sale… This
trend can snowball and soon the sale will end, leaving a house full of
stuff, not much revenue and a big dilemma!
10) Does B-KEEN allow Pre-Sales (items to be sold before the advertised beginning of sale) ?
No, unless mandated by our client for family and close family friends
only. Extremely rare (we’ve done it once) and we clearly post it in
our ads if we do. We do not allow any other Pre-sales.
BTW, neither do we answer early pricing questions, as it can
create an unfair advantage (seen it), not to mention the time lost from
preparations. Thanks for your understanding & continued
support!
11) Are there any items which B-KEEN doesn’t handle?
Some clients have guessed that we don’t handle clothes or other, often
categorically low-value items, and hence discarded or donated
things without even asking. This is very frustrating because we’ve found
that the addition of sales from so many small, low-value
items can often add up to rival or exceed the total from larger value
items. Certainly, it is less work to simply prepare and sell big,
beautiful, & expensive pieces, but we know that today’s economy has
many people seeking more modest finds and we want to attract
as many buyers as we can. Toward our mutual benefit we really do sell everything from fine furniture, antiques and precious
jewelry to common household & garage bric-a-brac, All of it! BTW, clothing is the primary incentive for which our
preferred charity likes to help us clean up after a sale.
12) What happens to items which B-KEEN couldn’t sell?
That decision is entirely up to our client, we only get one chance. With
non-influenced pricing it is generally not a problem. If needed,
we might help sell limited items via appropriate auction or other means
and recommend the use of charity to
dispose of everything else.
ABOUT US
We champion the needs of our clients absolutely above all other concerns! Flexibility, innovation,
attention to detail, honesty and rock solid dedication enable us to exceed client expectations. Whatever it takes, you can
count on us to make it happen! Highly acclaimed by clients and customers alike, we go the extra mile to positively provide
an excellent shopping experience, attracting impressive buying crowds and quickly liquidating your Estate Contents. We’re very
experienced and in-tune with market trends in today’s struggling economy. We efficiently address unique client needs and return
top dollar.
While our service levels vary greatly, professionally orchestrated,
Genuine Estate Sales
(aka. Tag Sales) and
Entire Content Appraisals are what we do best.
Additional services include Personal Property
Item Appraisals, Estate Inventory, Photo-Document and Custom Packing for moving, storage & more. We help people in
situations with the loss of loved ones, divorce, downsizing or any reason requiring liquidation or protection of assets in a
timely and sensible manner. We’re affordable and willing to travel distantly or work closer to our home in Plano Texas.
We also have close ties to many cities in Texas especially Houston, and similarly along the West Coast of Florida, most
notably in the Tampa Bay Area. We are interested in all locations if circumstances are right, its just that some locations
are much more affordable than others, please don’t hesitate to ask.
In 2013 we are going strong with private appraisals and fine sales in progress. We’ve also
a bit of extra good news to tell: Barry has found a new lady and wasted no time in making her his partner, they tied the
knot in Nov.’12 She comes to us with strong backgrounds in business, accounting, marketing, interior design & much more.
She’s already proven her skills and is certainly an asset… Barry says she’s a keeper! She may seem quiet and soft spoken,
but don’t be fooled, she is sharp as a tack. We hope you’ll visit our next sale
where you can meet her.
Conceived by Barry and Lisa[1] Kuenn in 2008, from the discovery of widespread shortcomings and
poor business practices in the existing Estate Sale Industry, while avidly shopping over the previous 15 years. One day,
while shopping different Estate Sales in the Dallas area, a light bulb moment, Barry said to himself “I could do a better job
than these rude people”, and so the personal & professional challenge was on, he decided this would be his next career.
Not letting go of his original goal, he still looks for improvement to be The Best in The Business,
in fact, many
customers have already gone out of their way to tell us that, bar none,
we are “THE BEST”. While we don’t make every customer
happy, we do try, and we receive lots of kudos. We have a similar track
record with our clients, most can not believe how good we
made their place look, how effective we are at selling their stuff,
thoroughly clearing the place out & returning higher totals than
they expected. We put forth great amounts of time & effort to
promote safe, well received and very effective Estate Liquidation
Sales.
Barry brings a variety of experience, knowledge (over
20 years), talent, tenacity, wit, and calm demeanor
to excel in this field. He is a retired electro-mechanical design
technician in the Dallas area for over 30 years, with a lifelong
interest in history, antiques, and collectibles. He earned an antique
brokerage certificate in 2000 at the Texas Institute of Antiques
and Collectibles in Denton and then traveled extensively, buying
authentic pieces to be sold via antique mall booths and on-line.
After personal life changes, the economic impact of 9-11 and then
growing ever tired of corporate bureaucracy, it was time to
begin a new path and focus full-time on promoting High Quality Estate Liquidations. We’ve enjoyed a good start and
continuous growth each year. In July 2010 Barry added the role of
Personal Property Appraiser, with a Certification from
CAGA (Certified Appraisers Guild of America),
to his repertoire. He loves research, history, antiquities, vintage and
finely crafted
items. Raised in an old world traditional family and steeped in
millennial world frenzy, Barry holds reverence to the old values
and lives by a motto spoken by his late father – “A man is only as good
as his word”. While we may only operate under signed
contract, we also honor our word and do what we say. Furthermore, Barry
insists that We not only do the job, indeed we do
it right!
We do have helpers, and rely heavily on them… our team of experienced friendly, helpful assistants and
consultants enable us to quickly accomplish our charter. They are all family or long-time personal friends with Barry and rest
assured they are trustworthy, honest and very qualified to provide clients and customers alike with Professional Service
Excellence.
As Barry’s previous antique brokerage focused on genuine antique and vintage merchandise offered in a
forthright manner, he also mandates our Estate Sale Service be “Top-Notch”.
We’ve combined our best ideas with
those of other top liquidators across Texas, Florida, Kansas and
Missouri to deliver expedient, first class sales. You’re assured
Unparalleled Satisfaction when you choose B-KEEN ESTATE SALES.
[1] With the greatest admiration and the deepest sorrow, I must inform everyone of the tragedy which has
befallen us… In mid-June 2011 my late wife, Lisa, was diagnosed with a seriously advanced stage of ovarian cancer. While she
declined uncertain modern surgery in favor of TCM (Traditional Chinese Medicine) treatments in China, she held strong like no
one else. However, after four short months, one day a tranquil calm took hold and she left our world. She went with a smile in
thinking about her favorite little dog Fabio and two daughters, Ellie and Jessica. I feel honored to have known her for nearly
nine years. She was as complex as anyone could be, strong willed, smart and had superior common sense. As Cantonese, Hakka
and Mandarin were her primary dialects, her English (not to mention Spanish) words didn’t always reflect her true thoughts.
She really had the biggest heart of anyone I’ve ever met and somehow always produced well planned generosity. She was
nothing short of miraculous in her cooking skills, things you’d be hard pressed to find on a menu anywhere and it would be
knock your socks off awesome! Ever had papaya or pumpkin soup? How about cantaloupe stir-fry? She was also perhaps the
cleanest person I’ve ever known and had a great sense of humor. With these and many more unwritten virtues, she will be fondly
remembered for many generations. She was a tremendous benefit to and very much liked this business. She enjoyed meeting
new people, I hope you had the chance. God rest her soul. -B
GOT STUFF? or OVERWHELMED?
Do you have too much stuff?
Would you like a simple way to turn it into cash?
Are you overwhelmed, too busy or unable to deal with it?
Don’t know where to turn or who to trust?
Let the Pro’s at B-Keen Estate Sales solve your problem.
With no money out of pocket, we carefully handle it
all and turn it into fast cash for you. We have the integrity,
experience, knowledge and dedication to take care of every detailed
step required to bring you top dollar for the goods you need cleared
out and provide complete documentation for your peace of mind.
While we must turn a profit to stay in business and some homes just
don’t have enough “stuff” to make it professionally profitable… most people
have more value in “stuff” than they realize.
Small or large, packed or not, urban or rural we can help.
Please give a call or “Send an Email” and let’s talk about it,
we don’t charge to talk or visit.
WE CARE
Do you have items with sentimental value passed on to you from family or
friends? We do and we’re not strangers to the
dilemma of how to keep extra “stuff” while already immersed in our own
full house! Large magnificent pieces or fine matching sets
can frustrate the most. Complexity grows with sentimental significance
as items may have been collected over a lifetime or
passed through generations. We don’t recommend anyone sell their most
prized or antiquated family heirlooms. You might
find ways to fit them in or swap out and sell modern items in favor of
keeping your older or cherished pieces closer to the heart.
Living with antiques is much more fun anyway!
Our services introduce us to interesting people with diverse and sensitive emotions. We can’t know exactly how you’re feeling
but we do our best to understand your needs and try to handle every concern with kit gloves. Those who have come
before us deserve honor and dignity, respectfully we treat their effects with high regard. We take great pride in carefully handling
all of your property and protecting your home, as we would want if the tables were turned. We keep in contact during the whole
process and let you know about any surprises or discoveries of forgotten, valuable or personal items. We work diligently to
inspect, investigate and ensure that your goods bring their appropriate value (our commission depends on it).
Most of us, at some point in our lives, are faced
with having to “let go” of things. Sadly, in our modern society, most
pre-owned items hold Fair Market & Liquidation Values which rarely
approach Retail or Sentimental Values. Many people have difficulty
dealing with this and we understand. If you must sell things you’d
rather keep, you may not want to see them go. We provide
a complete service and handle everything. You can be involved as little or as much as you like. Simply tell us your need and
we’ll do our best to make it happen, B-Keen Estate Sales, per your wishes.
-SAVE-
We work hard to promote 1st Class Estate Sales and only seek “a fair day’s pay for a fair day’s work”. Noble and
honest, We keep costs down and pass those savings on to clients
and customers. We do it by employing many cost-saving techniques
and exclusively enlist the help of family and trusted long-time friends.
We provide lower rates to clients when possible and cut
prices for customers when justified. Good Rates Plus Quality Service = B-Keen Estate Sales. Client needs are our #1 priority,
and most often complete liquidation is the main goal, we use Fair Pricing to effectively satisfy all.
Note also that since we’re paid only by percentage, under contract, We are absolutely motivated to fetch the highest price
possible in selling your Estate items. We’re experienced and Certified in Appraising
everything from common household goods to
precious jewelry, fine antiques and ancient artifacts. While no one
knows it all, we admit when something is beyond our expertise and
routinely seek help from targeted research, experienced collectors,
history enthusiasts and accredited professionals. Discovery IS fun!
Please “Contact Us” for a free visit, We CAN Help. Don’t worry about
cleaning up before we come, we’ve already “seen it all, Really!”
If you must, please discard only: generic packing materials, used modern underwear, soiled or badly damaged modern (1970′s +)
clothing & furniture, leaking batteries, spoiled foods, prescription medications, dirt & debris. Don’t Throw Away Anything
else without first
consulting a professional in the business of Estate Liquidation,
Antiques and/or Collectibles. Even items which are broken or in poor
condition can
have appeal and value if they fall into certain categories. Collectors,
Crafters, Decorators, Dealers and Do-it-Yourself-ers often purchase
things
which appear to be completely un-sellable.
Our continued success depends on the seamless satisfaction of YOU (clients and customers too) !
Please contact us anytime or visit our website for even more information… www.b-keen.com/SALES
Regards, B-KEEN