An estate sale is the sale of personal property-furniture, china, antiques, books, pictures and any other household items.  The traditional estate sale company conducts onsite liquidations where customers can walk through a house and buy items. Auction houses bring entire estates (or specific pieces from an estate) to an off-site location to auction them off. Some houses specialize in high-end liquidations, featuring things like multi-million-dollar pieces of art. Mid-range liquidations frequently include cars, guns, and furniture as their big-ticket items; or the auction house can bring a client’s entire estate to a building and sell everything off through the auction format, including the “smalls”—low-value items that might bring only a $1 or so at a tag sale. Estate auctions liquidate estates on location. They are similar to the traditional estate sale in their offerings, but the merchandise is auctioned off, rather than priced by the company. Hybrid estate sale companies conduct both auctions and estate sales depending on the type of estate and the client’s needs. Estate sale companies with an auction house connection conduct traditional estate sale but use an auction house for certain items. This usually occurs when there is a big-ticket item within the estate, like a priceless piece of art. These items are usually separated and sold at auction by a company specializing in the high-end pieces.