House of Bid
How to list an estate sale
Post your estate first, then build awareness until enough people are watching. Launch the sale, add inventory in the rooms while you prepare for the date, and only then set the auction clock and preview. Photograph in place. Event is $199. Repeating houses apply at Join — not this family path.
How do I post my estate and build awareness?
List the house on Sell so people can follow it. Share until enough watchers are paying attention, then launch. Do not clock an empty catalog. Live photos and current sales sit on Our estates and the estate catalogs map.
What do I photograph?
The room as found. One story for the whole sale — dad was a woodworker, mom kept German kitchenware — so odd lots can be named and searched. Optional: paste what Google Lens showed you. We never log into Google for you.
How do we sort the house first?
Walk one room at a time. Yellow Post-it means sell. Pink keep, green donate, blue trash. Sell pieces get a QR sticker from the kit — print the sheet, order our pack, or buy that pack on Amazon when the listing is live. Photograph in place, then bind the code to the lot.
When do we add inventory and set the auction date?
As you prepare for the big sale date, photograph lots in place and add them. Once inventory is finished, set the auction date and the preview window. Default week: preview mid-week, bidding closes Thursday, pickup Friday and Saturday — or make arrangements.
How should we run previews?
House of Bid recommends letting people in one at a time for security, or keeping jewelry and other valuables in one closed room while you preview the rest of the house. That is a recommendation, not a law and not legal advice.
How do we run pickup after the clock?
Leave lots in the rooms where they were photographed. Only staff walk the house. Buyers wait at a front staging place with a pass. Staff fetch, scan, and match the invoice. Before pickup starts, the seller walks the paid lots, says we are good, signs the lot-complete card, and leaves.
What does $199 include?
One timed sale, 500 unique verified bidders included, then $20 per 1,000 extra uniques (hosting cap $100). Two hundred fifty lots, about 30 days live, Lot Identify lookups, bound to one address. The Event fee is due even if the sale underperforms — not a percentage of hammer. Same catalog and bidding stack as a housed seller — not a stripped demo.
Questions
Can I set a minimum on a valuable lot?
- Yes, on mixed or protect plans. The floor must sit below typical sold low. Unsold lots can leftover-buy-now, list later, or donate. Answer the questionnaire on Sell.
I run auctions every month. Is that Event?
- No. Apply at /join. Event is help for a family, not a house retainer loophole.