Upcoming Estate, Garage, & Tag Sales
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About Us

Larkellen Krehbiel – Owner and Founder of Estate Sale Managers
Larkellen Krehbiel resides in Columbia, MO with her dear husband and devoted dog. She enjoys hosting her friends, family, and three adult children in her home where she’s crown hostess. When she’s not hosting dinner and drinks, you’ll find her welcoming customers into estate sales for fun and frugal finds.
How it all Began
We started over 20 years ago helping churches and other local groups organize their fundraising sales. Then in 2000 we made our estate sale company debut helping Kiwanis Club manage their tag sale. The calls came rolling in and they haven’t stopped even 22 years later. We now manage up to two sales per week with a professional crew of 20+ of the best folks Columbia has to offer. We love seeing our customers each weekend, especially those we’ve come to know from decades of loyal estate sale shopping!
Trying to figure out the perfect gift for someone who loves to go to Estate, Tag and Garage Sales?
Or trying to encourage someone to have their own?
We now have gift certificates!
Gift Certificates:
- Can be purchased in any denomination or a combination of several denominations
- Can be redeemed for merchandise at any of our sales or used toward the commission due when hosting a garage or estate sale
- Do not expire
- Can be purchased at any of our sales or requested by mail
In addition, the person receiving the gift certificate will automatically be added to our email list. They will receive updates prior to our sales which will help them in knowing how to best use their gift certificates.
Interested? Send us an email...
FAQs
Hiring Us:
Why choose Estate Sale Managers?
- With over 20 years of experience in the business, we are prepared to manage your sale with professionalism, efficiency, and ease for all parties involved.
- We are proud of our flexible reputation and work tirelessly to meet your needs from start to finish.
- Estate Sale Managers maintains a thriving online presence necessary to modern sale success. Our over 8,000 Facebook followers and over 3000 email list subscribers connect us to the local and national community. These are just a couple of the ways we advertise your fine items to the general public.
- We are located in Columbia, Missouri, however for the right sale we can travel outside of city limits for you!
Do I need to be present at the sale you manage for me?
It’s often difficult for home owners to part with their memories even if they fully intend to do so. Many clients leave town during the sale for this reason. We don’t ask that you leave town, however, we do ask you to be absent from the sale as your presence can disrupt the flow of customer traffic. While the sale is being set up, we are happy to see you occasionally, but ask that you keep visits to a minimum to ensure efficiency and a speedy set up.
Where do I start?
To book a sale or learn more about the process, call Larkellen Krehbiel at 573-489-9633, or email us here.
The Cost:
What is the cost of hiring ESM?
- We work on commission:
- 50% commission on all items $99 and below
- 25% commission on all items $100 and over
- $35/hour consulting fee
- We provide all tables when we run your sale. However, if you’d like to rent our card tables to set up your own sale or event, they are $3/day per table. We also rent out double sized tables for $5/day per table. $31 for table delivery, and $31 for table pick up.
- Clothing racks can also be rented for $10/day.
- Sometimes items for sale and the homes they are displayed in need to be cleaned for best sale practice. We expect to provide normal cleaning and clean up for sales, but if the need goes beyond our usual, then a $29/hour cleaning fee will be charged.
- Advertising in the local paper is also provided. The cost of advertising is deducted from the final sale profit.
Do you offer discounts to non-profit organizations?
We are willing to negotiate commissions on very large sales or for churches, charities, or other non-profit organizations in which members will provide help.
Who pays for the cost of advertising?
- The cost of advertising is deducted from the total sale profit at the end of the sale. In Columbia, advertisements in the local paper run about $100 for a display ad, and about $50-$70 per 2 day ad run in the classified section.
- All costs are deducted at the end of the sale, there are no upfront costs.
Will you consult with me if I’d like to run my own sale?
We offer consultation services for $35/hour. We will also rent you our tables and clothing racks for a rental fee.
What size sales do you run?
We are fully equipped to handle any size sale. We have handled up to $60,000 and we can of course go beyond that. No item is too small or too large for us to sell. We have sold everything from knick-knacks to cars and farm equipment. Our minimum requirement to take on your sale is $3,500 for Columbia sales, and $5,000 for out of town sales.
How will I be charged?
- We work on commission in order to get the highest sale possible for you! We can price select items at your desired price. However, we have years of experience and expertise in pricing resale heirlooms, furniture, and more.
- All commissions and other expenses acquired from set up (advertising, cleaning, etc) are charged at the end of the sale and deducted from the total profit.
Miscellaneous:
How long does it take to set up a sale?
We generally begin set up between 10 days to 2 or 3 weeks before the sale. During our initial visit we will determine how long set up will take and plan accordingly.
It is late summer now and I will not be ready to have a sale before late Fall. Do I have to wait until Spring to have a sale?
We do sales every month of the year. Spring and Fall are our busiest times, so book early for those dates. We have great turnouts for Winter sales, too. Winter sales are held indoors, and many customers are still eager to get their Estate sale fix that time of year!
What is an “Estate Sale”?
Estate Sales are generally held after a person has passed and their personal items – not including their house – need to be sold. We also do “Living Estate Sales” for those who are simply downsizing or moving. Estate sales are held in-house and can include anything from fine jewelry to cars to kitchen tools.
How will my sale be marketed?
- Our online presence is ever growing – currently we have over 8,000 Facebook followers and an email list of over 3,000 subscribers. Please sign up to be a part of our email list!
- We advertise on multiple selling platforms including Instagram, Craigslist, Facebook Marketplace, and many more.
- Our advertisements are also listed in the local paper. When sales are held out of town, we will place ads in that town’s paper.
- Before the sale begins, we put up signs throughout town directing customers to the Estate.
I have moved across the country now, but need to have an estate sale for my former residence in Columbia. Can you help?
We are able to assist via phone and email if you are out of town. We can provide all of our regular services to you in this manner.
My neighbor just passed away and has no family nearby. I want to assist the family, but the task of getting the house ready for a realtor seems like a big undertaking. Can you help?
When a loved one dies and there is no local family to clean out the house for a realtor, we can help! We will separate trash from treasure, set up and run the sale, and remove leftover items. ESM can communicate with family via phone and email, and send pictures of personal items we may come across that need to be saved. We will also leave the house clean and “realtor ready”. The cleaning fee is the same; $29/hr which can be deducted from the sale proceeds.
My neighbors and I want to have a garage sale together and use your services. How can we do that?
We have frequently done multiple sales in a neighborhood over the same weekend. We can also combine items into one large sale and differentiate the items accordingly.
What People Are Saying…
Thank you for providing this information. Janet and I are very pleased with the sale and the proceeds. Marta told us about the crowds…that is amazing. If we can serve as a reference for future sales please let us know.
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