Direct Buy FAQ

How quickly can I have a Direct Buy completed?

Most times of the year it can be completed from start to finish in a week. Sometimes as short as a couple of days. It depends on the number of items, the current moving schedule and good communication.

What is a typical Direct Buy visit like?

A typical visit is set up via phone or email and occurs when the home visit fee is paid. At the visit, staff will take a look at everything you are hoping to sell that is out and displayed (they will not go through boxes, storage units or closests/cupboards). Staff will take photos of everything available while asking questions about brand/history/original price. After they have taken all the photos and notes, they will leave to draft an offer. Once the offer is completed, they will email it to you for review and decision. There is no pressure to sell to us. If you decide you do not want to accept the offer, everyone goes their own way. If you decide you want to accept the offer, the pick up and payment details will be worked out via email. Our staffed movers will arrive on an agreed upon time and remove the items accepted from the quote. If there are items you decide you want to keep between the time the offer is accepted and picked up, that is also fine however it may change the pick up date and could potentially change whether we will accept the remaining items. Either way, a final list needs to be agreed upon before our movers are scheduled to pick up. Payment is typically made at pick up. 

Do my items need to be clean and in good shape for you to buy them?

We offer more money on items that are clean and in good working condition. 

Do you offer Direct Buy for only a few pieces or only small items?

You can always ask but typically no. It is labor intensive and expensive to send our movers for only a few pieces, often negating the value of purchasing the items. If you only have a few items, please consider our Consignment option. 

What happens to my items after you buy them?

After the items are purchased by TCH, they are ours to sell. We may choose to sell them at one of our locations or we may choose to put them in our warehouse for sale at a later date. It is also possible that purchased items may be put into our Staging inventory for use by our Staging Department.

Why do you charge for the Direct Buy visit?

Yes, for local visits we charge $40. This covers the time it takes to drive to the visit, review all the items and draft an offer which, after all is said and done, ends up being about three hours total. The prices we give on our quotes are based off of local mid-market pricing that we have gathered over the last 13 years. What we offer is not proprietary but it does take time and we have cumulative experience that would take a person a while to source.

Do you ever just take everything?

No. We only purchase items that we know we can sell. We have resources for other business that provide those services.

I am also considering having an Estate/Garage sale. Can I have an estate/garage sale and still work with you?

Typically, it makes the most sense to do one or the other but not both. The volume of items that we buy would most likely eliminate the need for both. Estate sale companies often require a minimum volume to conduct a sale so having us out beforehand will not leave enough left to have a sale. If you do decide to have an estate sale and there is a lot left over, you can certainly still reach out and see if there is enough there to warrant a Direct Buy.