Find what you didn’t know you wanted at EBTH

Long-time vintage traders Jacquie Denny and Brian Graves believed selling options available in the Cincinnati area were not quite meeting sellers’ needs. According to their story on ebth.com, Denny, in her experience with live auctions, saw entire households of items selling for bargain prices. This “left her feeling like the family inside often missed out on their full earning potential.”

To give sellers another option, in 2008 they founded the estate sale business Everything But The House (EBTH). When they believed they had a large enough audience, they tried auctioning an entire estate online. The results were much better than expected; bidding was enthusiastic, and it was clear EBTH had found its niche.

EBTH has grown from serving the local Cincinnati area to approximately 20 markets across the United States. The firm auctions more than 80,000 unique items each month. Thus, making it as easy as ever to find estate-fresh art, antiques, collectibles, and posh household goods. There are no minimum bids, no reserves, and all bids starting at just $1. This means buyers at all financial levels are able to jump in and participate.

Recently, Antique Trader had the chance to get insights directly from company co-founder Jacquie Denny to fill us in on some details of the benefits of the firm’s services.

Antique Trader (AT): Please walk us through the EBTH process for someone who wants to sell something.

Jacquie Denny (JD): To sell something with Everything But The House (EBTH), it starts with a phone call. Our Customer Service team will help you determine which of our liquidation processes will be your best solution. These processes include full estate sales, business inventories and consignment sales. We offer a free consultation to all potential sellers.

For the full start-to-finish EBTH service for those going through a life change, such as downsizing, relocating or taking care of the estate of a loved one, the company will sort through all of your items to determine what you should keep, sell, donate or trash. The company will then catalogue the items for you, take professional photos and write descriptions, take care of the removal of the items in your home and will market the items you’re selling to its audience of over 1.1 million unique visitors a month. With its expert staff, various team members with professional backgrounds in furniture, antiques, art, coins, stamps and more will be able to identify the hidden gems in the home that are worth more than you’d think.

In addition, EBTH will take care of the shipping of the products to the winning bidders. Because a seller’s items are reaching an international audience compared to a normal estate sale that only reaches its local community and neighborhood, our sellers typically see that their sales make 3–5 times more than a regular one. 

AT: What limitations are there on the items that can be sold? What items are not sold

EBTH.com?

JD: EBTH can sell any item that is not illegal and not restricted by state or national laws. We also choose to not sell items that are offensive in nature.

AT: What features make it appealing for buyers and sellers to use EBTH?

JD: EBTH is appealing to sellers due to its full service business model. We not only sell no longer needed and unwanted items during a life’s transition, but alleviate stress as we handle the whole process (the only time the seller needs to lift a finger is when depositing the check).

For the buyers, it’s the ease of use, convenience of shopping hours (24/7) and the consistency and dependability that items are as described (EBTH provides professional photos that show the item’s current condition, which includes any damages — small or big). The fact that all bids start at $1 is also appealing because it allows anyone with any budget to participate in EBTH’s bidding process.

Bidders can find literally “everything but the house” on EBTH.com. A few of the more unique items we’ve auctioned off include a cutter horse for a horse training farm, an upcycled shipping pod turned container home and a fire truck.

AT: Please explain the EBTH fee structure.

JD: There are no fees with EBTH. We only collect a commission based on the sale result for the items sold. For the full EBTH service, sellers receive 60% of the final sale. This includes all services associated with the process (sorting of items, cataloguing, professional photography, marketing on our site and its channels, packaging, shipping of items and removal of items from the home).

AT: How long does it take for consignors to be paid once an item is sold?

JD: Sellers are paid within 20 business days after the close of the auction.

AT: What are some of the outstanding item categories for which there seems to be an insatiable demand?

JD: The categories of items that are currently performing the strongest on our marketplace include coins, fine jewelry, furniture, decor, artwork, women’s couture and designer clothing, purses and accessories and men’s watches.

AT: What types of items seem to languish and not get much attention from bidders?

JD: While furniture as a whole is currently one of the most popular categories on our site, we’ve found that traditional furniture (ex: Queen Anne cherry dining room sets) don’t perform as well as other items. Keep in mind that even if a category of items is performing softly, there could still be strong results from time to time with said items.

With more than 450 sales each month, and shipping services available for each, participating – by browsing, bidding, and buying – at EBTH.com is truly enticing. The staff does all the work, so it’s easy for buyers to find what they never knew they wanted.

Everything But The House Business Locations
insidesales@ebth.com • 888-965-8672

Atlanta, Georgia; Baltimore, Maryland; Boston, Massachusetts; Charlotte, North Carolina; Chicago, Illinois; Cincinnati, Ohio; Columbus, Ohio; Dallas, Texas; Denver, Colorado; Detroit, Michigan; Indianapolis, Indiana; Lexington, Kentucky; Los Angeles, California; Louisville, Kentucky; Nashville, Tennessee; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; St. Louis, Missouri; Southwest Florida; and Washington D.C.