A Brief History
Morgan Estate Sales is a second-generation family-owned company. Our reputation for excellence has been built over 45 years. We are known for our track record of conducting distinctive, full-service personal property estate sales in beautiful homes throughout Southern California, and for successfully directing high-worth items to auction.
Lifelong Los Angeles resident Glorea Robb Morgan founded Morgan Estate Sales in the late 1970s, and was joined several years later by son Robb Morgan. Our staff includes a group of dedicated, discreet professionals who excel at helping individuals, families, estate executors, trustees and occasionally business owners to navigate smoothly, efficiently, and profitably through transitions that are typically complex and sometimes challenging.
Lifelong Los Angeles resident Glorea Robb Morgan founded Morgan Estate Sales in the late 1970s, and was joined several years later by son Robb Morgan. Our staff includes a group of dedicated, discreet professionals who excel at helping individuals, families, estate executors, trustees and occasionally business owners to navigate smoothly, efficiently, and profitably through transitions that are typically complex and sometimes challenging.
Our Approach to Pricing
Four decades of conducting quality estate sales has equipped us with an excellent grasp of the fair market value of the many items typically found in a home. (U.S. tax law defines fair market value as “...the price at which the property would change hands between a willing buyer and a willing seller, neither being under any compulsion to buy or sell and both having reasonable knowledge of relevant facts.”)
For high-value items, our expertise is reinforced by online research of comparable items, and by consulting various printed resources. For extremely high-value or esoteric items or collections, we are fortunate to have developed long-standing relationships with excellent appraisers specializing in various disciplines, including fine art, furniture, silver, Asian arts, estate jewelry, etc.
It is always in our best interests to realize the best price possible for every item, as we work solely on commission. We want “for sale” items to become “sold” items, with buyers feeling that they’ve acquired new treasures at fair prices, and clients feeling confident that they’ve gotten the best return possible for their estate.
Our inventory system enables us to provide the client with a post-sale inventory detailing the income realized on all general categories (furniture, fine art, silver, etc.) and, if requested, on individual high-value items.
With the great majority of items, we price and sell them individually, resulting in higher gross income. We always recommend to potential clients that they not dispose of anything before we begin work on organizing the sale. While they often feel they are helping the process, many people overlook or don’t recognize items of significant value.
For placement and sale of items of rarity and higher value, we have developed personal relationships with specialists at numerous local, national and international auction houses. For a full list, please visit the “Auction Expertise” page.
Our Strategy for Marketing
Over the years, we have built an extensive e-mail list of both enthusiastic “end users” and dealers–a list that continues to grow with each sale. We also advertise on such highly visited online sites as estatesales.net.
Over the years, we have built an extensive e-mail list of both enthusiastic “end users” and dealers–a list that continues to grow with each sale. We also advertise on such highly visited online sites as estatesales.net.
At the Sale
- To ensure that all customers have an equal opportunity to acquire the items listed in the invitation and shown in the photographs, we never allow any buyers into a sale home prior to the posted days and hours of the sale. We do not quote prices on items prior to the sale.
- A security guard is posted at the front door during sale hours to check boxes, bags, and items going out against customers’ sales slips, minimizing the possibility of loss.
- A staff member is available in each main room to write up customers’ purchases, thereby speeding up the checkout process.
- We collect applicable California sales tax from all customers except those who have a current, valid California resale license on file.
- We accept cash and major credit cards.
- As posted at our sales, all items are presented “as is”, with no warranties.
- We encourage customers to inspect their purchases carefully before checkout, as all sales are final. We do not accept returns or make exchanges.
- We provide packing paper, and suggest that customers bring their own boxes if needed.
- We can usually recommend a local mover for removal and delivery of large or heavy items of furniture, artwork, etc. We are not equipped to do such moving ourselves.
After the Sale
For lesser items that remain, if the client favors a particular charity, we are happy to work with that organization, arranging for pickup of the items and securing the necessary charitable-donations forms for the client’s tax purposes. If no charity is specified, we are pleased to contact charities with whom we have dealt in the past, making pickup arrangements and securing the donation forms. We can also recommend a local for-hire clean-out crew, leaving the home “broom-clean” for staging, sale, or rental.
For lesser items that remain, if the client favors a particular charity, we are happy to work with that organization, arranging for pickup of the items and securing the necessary charitable-donations forms for the client’s tax purposes. If no charity is specified, we are pleased to contact charities with whom we have dealt in the past, making pickup arrangements and securing the donation forms. We can also recommend a local for-hire clean-out crew, leaving the home “broom-clean” for staging, sale, or rental.