If you are considering working with this business after the death of a loved one, please carefully…read moreconsider other options. I had a very difficult time with this business on a number of levels. I would never entrust them with anything again. Consider the amount of time you have to deal with your family home and the level of emotions you attach to family belongings. Don't make a quick decision if there is no need. Remember that businesses set up around death leverage your sentimentality. If a vendor is going to take ~half of what your possessions yield, you might be better off giving your items to family, donating to non-profits, or consigning. Do not believe anyone who pretends to be doing you a big favor; you're handing over valued possessions for far less than what they are worth; he wouldn't be doing the work if it didn't yield large profit. Look at the online history of different auctions the vendor has held. Really check out the details. Don't assume an estate sale person has a big reach amongst collectors; I actually ended up meeting a few people who purchased items from our estate sale and I was told that the people they routinely see at Gates sales are people who purchase for quick resale, including those who buy jewelry and sell it by the gram to "melters"; not collectors. They also told me that the home of a widowed woman who kept a nice home is a "dream" scenario for this business. We'd hope most things would go to people who would love them, and we definitely did not think that items would be removed from our home and sold without our permission. Toward the end of the auction timeline when not much had happened in the way of marketing or outreach from what I could tell, nor were the bids very high, I contacted Gates and he told me that only the last three hours of the online auction matter, so remember that. Protect yourself contractually, do not put up with a nebulous contract. Ask for exact start and end dates. Do not let the vendor know you are running out of time and would really like him to handle the job. Beyond the insulting percentage he will take from the proceeds, he might also add a staging fee late in the conversation. Have attorney review the contract prior to signing (obviously). Our sale dragged on and the owner and his employees had 3+ months access to our home. I was in on the West Coast and the neighbors and cameras kept me posted, Gates did not. I do not feel that the owner adhered to agreed upon start dates, and then we were stuck in the SIP situation. I did notice he got another gig during that time, so he prioritized that, but he should have let me know. Between the start of the agreement and the end date of the sale more than 3.5 months elapsed. I also feel that there was some disorganization on the part of the vendor; he listed the incorrect county for the online estate sale; probably causing some people not to bid. When Gates finally posted the items online he did not tell me; I found it via search. He had a number of items listed that I specifically asked him to exclude from the sale. My real estate agent and I also had several emails and texts go unanswered over the course of this time. When responding Gates was snide and rude, including sad attempts at condescending. He unnecessarily told me that one of the purchasers had thrown away some of my Mom's things when he brought the items home. When you've lost a parent you don't need that pettiness. Some items were inaccurately described; e.g, inaccurate artist name, some items were not added to the online auction. Crystal glasses were broken and he said "they were that way in the cabinet" which is highly unlikely given that everything was photographed for insurance purposes on the last day we were in the house and there were no broken glasses in our china cabinet. Other negatives: they allowed our verizon equipment to be taken by the person who purchased the tv. Gates brought in a number of broken down furniture items into our home without telling me first and put them in the auction (he used those items as leading items in the auction, and then listed a second time on the last page of items; in our opinion, working harder for the consignor's items than our own). When I asked the vendor about this he said that the consignor of those items was an attorney, which, I suppose was a clumsy attempt at intimidation. I was going to just try to forget this awful experience, but then I discovered that a woman who worked for Gates was selling some of our belongings on her social media (without my permission) prior to our estate sale and at 100% profit for herself. This is the worst vendor experience I have ever had; and definitely the worst business aspect of dealing with my Mother's estate. The level of disrespect was stunning to me. I have no doubt Gates will attempt to vilify me as he has with others who left poor reviews. Have at it. My documentation is solid.

Completely unorganized, unprofessional, and rude. I will never do business with this company again…read more I had a terrible experience with Gates Estates. I purchased a sofa from an estate sale that they ran, and hired the movers they recommended to move the sofa from Woodlake to my home in Henrico. When the movers dropped off the sofa we discovered that one of the cushions didn't fit the sofa and actually belonged to a matching chair (that I did not purchase). The movers said that an employee of Gates Estates had confirmed with them all the items that were loaded onto their truck. Since this was no fault of the movers, I had to drive from my home in Henrico to Woodlake in order to exchange the cushions (1 hour round trip). Upon arrival at the estate sale I received no apology (or thank you for returning the cushion). I asked for a refund of the bid premium (which was $29.06) in order to partially cover for their mistake which resulted in an hour missed from work and the cost of gas. Mr. Gates refused to admit his employee had made a mistake. He condescendingly offered $15 "out of his own pocket" to make things right. I think the full $29.06 refund was not unreasonable as he had still made over $200 on this sale. The money isn't even what I'm angry about--it is the principle of the matter. Mr. Gates should be able to own up to his mistakes and treat his customers with respect.