M J's Estate Sales

We just had our estate sale in Frontenac, Missouri the first weekend in June 2020. It was a different time having this during COVID 19. It had to be postponed once because of the quarantine. And so much work went into the preparation of the sale. We were very happy with their professionalism and dedication to making this a successful event. It was. And what they didn't sell, they arranged to have the balance donated to charity. M.J. also provided a list and value of those items for tax purposes. We were very pleased!!!

MJ's handled the sale of furniture and decorative pieces at Bellerive Country Club. The "rules" for purchasing items were not made clear until after the sale had begun- a clarifying email was sent at 9:05, and the items I wanted had been sold before 9:04. Poor communication.

After looking over all of the ads for estate sales in St. Louis this weekend, we decided to go to MJ's sale because my husband was interested in the large number of books advertised. We had another commitment about 11:30, so didn't have time or plan on staying very long. The sale was scheduled to open at 9 AM and we arrived about 9:20. There were about 40 people still waiting to get into the sale....it took us over 45 minutes of waiting in line to get into the house (a few would come out and a few could go in). This is a HUGE house, so there was plenty of room for everyone and still not be crowded, but apparently, they only want a few people in line to check out at one time. My husband was happy that the books seemed reasonably priced: $4 for hardbacks (unless otherwise priced). Yet another company that loves "fine print"! He picked up about a dozen books and not one of them was less than $8!!!!! This house has thousands of books and, at these prices, at the end of the sale, they will still have thousands. We did find a few items that interested us, so checked out and prepared to write a check...only to be told that we had to be on the designated "pre-approved" list in order to write a check. Send an email and we'll be approved. What sense does that make? Anybody can send an email!! We regularly shop estate sales in St Louis as well as antique shows and flea markets throughout Missouri and Illinois. We have NEVER EVER had a check denied...or had a problem with a check. At this point, I was ready to let them keep their overpriced, 2nd hand merchandise, but my husband was already pulling out the cash. I'm aware that this is an estate sale and not a garage sale and that the company should be working for the family, BUT, to price items higher than retail is ridiculous (I looked at a hanky that they had priced $24!!!!, yep, one lady's handkerchief!!). We are just plain folks and I guess not snooty enough for this company! Asked if we wanted to be put on the email list, "yes, please"...to myself, so I know where NOT to go!!