If I could give zero stars I would. I deeply regret hiring Peerless Estate Sales to sell our parents belongings and clean out their home. Project manager Kim Russell was extremely rude, demanding, and knowing that my brother and I were dealing with the untimely loss of a family member, completely lacking in compassion or sensitivity. After waiting weeks until we could get on their schedule, after a day and a half of working in the home to stage the sale, Kim simply walked off the job, a complete prima donna, yelling at my brother on the phone "NO ONE IS TO BE IN THE HOME," all because piano movers had entered the home for all of ten minutes to move a piano. Kim was advised of the appointment well in advance via two emails. It wasn't until later, after going through the untold bags of garbage in the garage, that I realized why she was so upset about anyone coming into the home while she and her employees were working. They claim they sell clothing. All of my father's clothing had been meticulously cared for and pressed. He had many nice suits, shirts, pants, all in excellent condition. They wadded up all of his clothing, all of it, and threw it in trash bags. They didn't even try and donate it. There were many things that were brand new and in the original packaging, also thrown in the garbage. Although they claim they will donate items, I don't believe it. I have heard from reliable sources that they overprice items so that they won't sell, as whatever doesn't sell they can take to do with as they please, selling it at another estate sale or by other means. At the initial appointment all seemed to be fine. When staging the sale, however, she repeatedly told us there would be low sales, that "not one person would come to our sale to buy a single piece of our furniture." I believe the intent is not to gross sales so that their commission is higher. And funny, she sure didn't say that at the initial appointment. Not only was she insulting - frankly she didn't even know the type of furniture, called it oak, it was not, and other estate sale company owners had a much different viewpoint, especially as we had some valuable Asian antiques (she didn't know what a Japanese Hibachi table was either, saying I must be wrong in referring to it as such as a Hibachi is a grill, sheesh... but once we discovered its value and history and that it was a family heirloom that we may care to keep in the family, well then all of a sudden - after she researched it I'm sure - she told us that she would have to cancel the sale were we to remove the item as the sale wouldn't generate enough revenue otherwise to have a sale, that one item... despite the fact that the home and garage were packed to the rafters with nice things that had been well cared for and 3 other estate sale companies that later viewed the property and submitted bids all agreed that there was sufficient merchandise to hold an estate sale and all 3 estimated sales at over double what she then claimed it would make).
When we had a pending offer on the home, I informed Kim and that the Buyers in their proposed Purchase Agreement had requested certain personal property items, amounting to a couple of pond statues. I thought it funny at the time, that the Buyers would include this request as part of their offer, as the value of the items was relatively low. Kim, however, was incensed that we were giving the items to the Buyers, claiming that she couldn't advertise the sale properly and that without the statues there wouldn't be as big a draw to the sale. She would have us negotiate with the Buyers and jeopardize a home sale over a pond statue, unbelievable. I ended up going to Home Depot and buying replacement garden statues, which still didn't placate her. Other estate sale company owners that came in afterward would state that the garden items would have made absolutely no difference to the sale.
She also knew full well that we had sold the home and had a fast-approaching closing date by which the home had to be vacated. She didn't care. She had no legal basis whatsoever to terminate the sale and was in breach of contract. She didn't care. We could have easily suffered damages in the loss of income from an estate sale and in having to hire a company for clean out, were we unable to find another estate sale company in time, especially as they generally schedule months out. She didn't care. It's absolutely egregious that she thinks she can treat people this way. The company is very fortunate that we are so overwhelmed with settling our parents' estate. I can only surmise that sooner or later there will be legal consequences. I don't believe we are the first clients this has happened to, nor will we be the last. read more