Guild of Oregon Woodworkers - Estate Assistance

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Estate Assistance

Guild Estate Assistance

The Family

If you choose to work with the Guild, please contact the Estates coordinator to start the process or click HERE.

What am I dealing with?

Woodworking estates typically contain power tools, hand tools, lumber and various small items that can puzzle the casual observer. They usually include varying degrees of clutter. What is it? What is it realistically worth? Should I try to sell these items myself, or hire someone? Is it a good idea to donate items and receive a tax benefit?

Woodworking tools and materials are specialized and complex. Most people do not have the knowledge to set an appropriate value on these items. A small hand tool may look like a $20 item but may be worth $200, while a big old power tool may look like it’s worth $1,000 but in reality only be worth $150.

The Guild has put together an experienced team of woodworkers to help families with woodworking shops deal with these complexities during this stressful time.

Decide on approach

Sell it Yourself

Dispose of possessions yourself
Garage sales, Craigslist (Tips for doing it yourself).
Hire a company to dispose in the form of an auction or an open-house estate sale

Donate to the Guild

The Guild is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization.

If you donate this estate to the Guild, we will remove all the items and leave the shop orderly. Donated tools may be used in our own shop or sold to Guild members. Unsold tools are donated to other charitable organizations or sold publicly. You will receive a tax-deductible receipt.

Hire the Guild to Run an Estate Sale

A typical sale entails between 100 and 300 man-hours of work. The Guild charges a small fee (~25%) of total sales, after deducting necessary expenses such as truck rentals, lunch, disposal fees, etc.

When we are contacted we send someone knowledgeable to evaluate the site and determine if it is of interest. Many are not because of the low value or age of the items or other reasons.
If interesting we either send a bigger team to estimate the value or go directly to Step 3.
We offer the family different options including doing an on-site sale. We will then develop a simple contract or MOU (Memorandum of Understanding) to avoid any misunderstandings.
We plan one day to sort and price the items and one day for the sale. Sorting and pricing is usually done on Thursday by a team that may be there all day. The sale is on Saturday where the team arrives by 8 AM and starts the sale at 10:00 AM. We are normally done by 1:00 PM with the majority of activity the first hour.

In Time of Need - The Guild is Here

The Guild's Estate Sale program has been a very successful community service program, financially beneficial to the families, the Guild and to our members.

When called upon, the Guild will do a brief survey and coach the Estate's executor on the value of equipment, tools and materials. If a choice is made to work with the Guild for a sale, details are below.

Remembering the Guild

If you would like to remember the Guild of Oregon Woodworkers in your Will, here is suggested wording: A Last Will wording suggestion. We suggest that you consult your legal adviser if you would like more details.

The Buyers

Estate Sale Rules

We strive to make estate sales fair for all: families, our volunteers and outside buyers. Each sale has some “big draw” items that sell fast. It’s not fair for us to advertise these items and then let the volunteers buy them before the sale even opens. On the other hand, volunteers should get some benefit for working. To avoid this issue we use a “tagging” system.

Usually estate sales are first-come, first served. The “tag” approach lets all interested parties who arrive in the first hour bid on items priced at $100 and up. In addition to giving all a chance, it maximizes the return to the family and it also helps ease the “Christmas Rush” open door problem.

An hour after the sale opens, the "tagged" items are auctioned off. Items left are available to all.

End of Day items - at the end of the day, the items left are offered to anyone interested at a lower price. All offers are considered but the Estate Captain makes the final decision, sometimes in conjunction with the family for large items.

What is left is donated to local non-profit organizations and a tax deduction letter is provided.

Note: “Tagged” items are only applicable for items that are priced at $100 or above. Items less than $100 can be purchased when the sale starts.

The Volunteer Team

A typical sale entails between 100 and 300 man hours of work. We recruit members with all levels of experience and skills. We cover any expenses incurred when helping with a sale and provide lunch and snacks during the workday.

Staging Volunteers – A team of 6-8 is ideal for getting a site ready. This entails sorting items into logical groups, grouping accessories with appropriate tools, cleaning things a bit, and pricing the items. We need people of all skills. There is a lot of work that is just manual labor while other tasks need a fair knowledge of the tools and their value.
Sales Day Volunteers – For the sales day, we need people with a fair knowledge of the tools. We assign people to specific areas or set of tables and they act like a sales person, explaining the items, answering questions and the price.
Post Sale Volunteers – This is all manual labor, cleaning up the site, moving items to recycling, to other non-profit organizations, or back to the Guild Annex. If you volunteer the use of your truck or trailer we will compensate your expenses.

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