Picks and Treasures — Local services in Novato

45% commission: Dina and her team handled our mother's estate sale. While we liked the initial sound of their online auction approach, be aware that they took a hefty 45% of all proceeds. Their approach also seems to be quick turnaround sales - so they did not effectively use the documentation we provided for antiques or collectible items such as our parents' collection of Hummel figurines. They ended up going for 75-80% below what their book value was worth.

Dina was often quite hard to reach, with multiple unreturned phone calls or emails, and I found her customer service skills to be terse and below average. It wasn't a pleasant experience.

Further, I do not recommend against using their services for clearing out a property - they charged $60/hour per person, which is much higher than we were quoted elsewhere. We chose them because of the tight deadline because of the impending sale of the property, but you can save 50% on clearing out costs by going elsewhere.

Bottom line? Choose them if you're under a tight deadline and do not place a big emphasis on the amount the sale will generate or the associated costs for the clear out, commission, etc.

UPDATED:

(Downgraded from 2 stars to 1 star.)

Well, this was 'interesting'. You can see from the grumpy reply that this company has proved my point about their approach.

Let's tackle their responses in order:

'Know your customer' - I was in fact the executor, not my brother. I also called/emailed during normal business hours for Novato - time zones were not a factor. Terms - I merely provided clarity for people interested in their services, to help people evaluate if they wanted to proceed with this option. Bidding - again, 'know your customer'. After a change of plans with one of us buying a larger house, we ended up bidding (and winning) many of the items to keep them in the family - and paid the 45% commission on the resulting higher prices to Picks and Treasures without complaint. That wasn't ghost bidding to drive up prices, we were active participants in the process - and Picks and Treasures was okay with that, merely suggesting that we just change our email address to be less obvious.

Judge for yourselves - personally, I'd steer clear of a firm with this sort of customer...

Revised review - one star to two stars -

Auction closed Friday at 7 pm. Address was not provided for pickup - I still have no idea where they expected me to pick up the item. You apparently have to schedule an appointment to pick an item up, and the only time provided for this auction was that Sunday from 9 am to 1 pm on MOTHER'S DAY, 1.5 hours away. Unfortunately, this business, which also owns the Bay Area Online Auction website, sends out massive numbers of spam emails, so I didn't see the email notifying me that I needed to pick up the item in less than 48 hours or else.

I learned for less than $15 that this is not a business I want to patronize, and the owner’s emotional and angry reactions to valid criticism tell me that this isn’t a...

I highly recommend doing business with Picks and Treasures at any capacity. Dina, the owner, deeply respects the processes families go through during estate reconciliation/liquidation while honoring the memory of those who have passed. She’s a special person that way. You’re not going to find this with just any business you may come across. If you are looking for help with your own personal estate matters, she’s a business savvy woman who knows values, resale markets and can implement strategies most never think of. Did I say she is an executive level accountant in a prior life? What more can one ask for? I cannot say enough good things about Dina and the services she offers through Picks and Treasures. We are lucky to have her in...