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Here's what people are saying about us: Milly L., Customer & Client "I've been going to estate sales run by Tobacco Road Downsizing for a while now. And I have always found them consistently excellent. Last month, I found myself on the other side of the equation, when I became a client, needing to downsize, plan a move, and clear my house from all the many items collected over a lifetime. I was happy to put the responsibility into the hands of Mariah, and she did not disappoint!!! Tobacco Road Downsizing is the BEST, no question. Polite, professional, knowledgeable, responsive, honest.....I recommend them, 5 stars all the way." George W., Client "Mariah helped us from start to finish with the estate sale after we found a buyer for our home. She came to our home and explained the entire process, then prepared the house for the sale, then even arranged to clear out everything in the house. All this with a friendly attitude." Akin K., Customer "Loved the process. Prices are posted and you get to buy without waiting in and dealing with mobs of people. Definitely the way to run an estate sale." Larry R., Customer "I would highly endorse this wonderful company for downsizing sales. They know how to treat their shoppers...always with a caring attitude. They present their sales with dignity and respect and they are always there to assist in answering questions and helping in any way possible to make the sale a positive memorable experience." Let's Work Together Want to feel this way too? Give us a call today.

Meet the Owner Hi, I'm Mariah Cope, the owner of Tobacco Road Downsizing. I've run highly successful estate and downsizing sales across Durham, Orange, Wake, Alamance and Chatham counties in North Carolina for the past nine years and would love to help your family next! I love exploring other people's treasures that they're ready to re-home and matching them with a new family that will cherish them for years to come. ​ As a business owner, I pride myself on the personal touch that I provide to my clients. I tailor my services to your sales needs, with most of my clients falling within the following three categories: estate sales downsizing sales specialty sales, such as jewelry ​ I know that making the decision to liquidate your home, estate or business, can be stressful. As part of my commitment to my clients, I strive to ensure that you're happy with our services. I personally take time to review our sales process with you and work with you every step of the way - from the time we meet until you've got a check in your hand. ​ Originally from Western New York, I've lived in the Triangle for 17 years and have made Hillsborough my home. My husband and I have four beautiful children who have grown up "in the business." (They've learned to move furniture and great customer service from a very young age!) ​

TOBACCOROAD DOWNSIZING LET US HELP YOU SIMPLIFY YOUR LIFE About Are our services right for you? Is it time for the next great adventure and need someone to step in and handle the stuff that won't fit in your new home? Do you feel stressed and overwhelmed dealing with your loved one's treasures that brought them joy, but you have no space in your own home for them? Have your kiddos left the coop and you're ready to downsize and let go of the items that aren't being used? ​ Look no further! Tobacco Road Downsizing can handle your transition to "rightsizing" your possessions, emptying your loved one's homes, or just getting rid of the items that are no longer being used. ​ We've helped hundreds of families across the Triangle including Chapel Hill, Hillsborough, Durham, Raleigh, Wake Forest, Cary, Apex, Mebane, Burlington, Pittsboro & Greensboro. Let us help you too. If you'd like to learn more about the process of working with us to run your downsizing or estate sale, please click here . How can I find a sale you're hosting? Find A Sale The best way to be notified of our sales is to sign up for our email list! Given the way that we run our sales and that items can be purchased as soon as our sales are published, you'll want to find out when they're happening as soon as we announce it! Sign up for our mailing list here: Email First Name Subscribe Last Name Just hit enter to be added. Thanks for submitting!

What happens after you hire us? The 6 steps we'll cover to empty that house and put a check in your hand! As a client, your priority is removing the items that you've indicated you'd like to keep from the home and making sure all personal items (taxes, photographs, etc. have been removed). Once you've done this, at a predetermined date, we'll come in and begin working! Step 1: Staging We begin by "staging" the home. This means we pull out all of the items that were left in cabinets and drawers and tucked away and display them throughout the house (in their natural habitat!) so that they're aesthetically pleasing to our shoppers. We bring in our own tables and display racks, but we also use spaces in your house as they allow! This part typically takes 1 - 3 days. Step 2: Photographing and advertising Once we can see everything we're working with and selling, we'll begin photographing your items to post online to our multiple sales channels. We advertise on estatesales.net, local online marketplaces, and offer items for sale online through our own website. Step 3: Pricing and descriptions Once we can see what we're working with we start pricing items using a combination of our previous experience, browsing what similar items have recently sold for on global and local marketplace websites, and researching rare or unusual items through paid subscription websites. We also write out descriptions of items that will be used on our multiple sales platforms that include measurements, origin, what the items are made of, and any other information we think potential buyers might be interested in! This part typically takes 1 to 5 days, depending on the volume and value of items. Step 4: Let's start selling! After we've staged, photographed, researched, priced all of your items, and uploaded all of those online, it's go time! Depending on the type of sale we've decided is best to sell the most, we open the doors to your house for appointments or a general public sale as well as opening our online "store-front" on our selling website, so that customers can shop from home and pick up items later (we'll handle this part too!). We handle the customers, appointments, and online orders during the entire duration of the sale. This part typically takes 3-7 days. Sometimes sales sell out faster and sometimes it takes a bit longer to clear out high-volume homes and estates. Step 5: Sale completion Whew! That was a busy few days... But now the house is mostly empty. Clients have the option to keep any remaining items and handle them on their own, we can assist with the donation of remaining items or a complete clean-out. This part is up to the client! It is hard to predict what will be left, sometimes clients decide to wait until the completion of the sale to walk through and decide whether they want to handle it themselves or use our resources to help them out. Step 6: An empty house with a check and report in hand. Within 7 business days of the completion of your sale (or cleanout if our team is handling this), you'll receive a full report of the items that sold during your sale as well as a check for your portion of the sale proceeds. Thank you for entrusting your collection to our careful hands.

Contact Us Ready to start the process with a free in-home consultation? Give us a call or fill out the short form below and we'll reach out to you! We can't wait to meet you! mariah@tobaccoroaddownsizing.com 919-717-9850 First Name Last Name Email Tell us about your situation: Send Thanks for submitting! Interested in shopping with us? Once our sales are live to the general public, we send out an email so you know to check it out! Since we release prices on larger items, items can be bought within minutes of the sale being advertised! Sign up for our email list today so you get the inside scoop first! Sign up for our mailing list here: Email First Name Subscribe Last Name

Sales Calendar April, 202 4 Pittsboro, Part 2. Making Deals & Taking Offers. Thursday, April 25, - Saturday, April 27 2024. https://www.estatesales.net/NC/Pittsboro/27312/4046043 May, 2024 Cary, NC 27511 June, 2024 Hillsborough, 27278 Early June Sale Cary, 27511 Late June Sale July, 2024 North Raleigh, 27612 Native American Art, Primitive Antiques, Decor, Civil War Era Collectibles Mid/Late July - Stay tuned for details! August 202 4

Frequently Asked Questions What do I do first? Timing can be very flexible with an estate sale or downsizing sale. We'd recommend you call us when you have a rough idea of what you're keeping and what you'd like to sell. Our schedule is ever changing so availability is on a first come, first serve basis. It's better to contact us too early rather than when you're house closes in 2 weeks (but we've pulled off some amazing sales on very short notice...). Given that each home needing a sale is unique with its own treasures, every client has different needs. Give us a call and we can walk you through what will likely work best for your individual needs! What services does Tobacco Road offer? We're a full-service estate sale and downsizing company. This means we walk in when you walk out and can handle the rest! ​ We'll handle the staging, unpacking of closets and boxes long forgotten, pricing, advertising and sale of any items you're ready to part with. ​ Following the sale, clients are welcome to keep the remaining items or we can handle the donation and cleanout of the items that people have opted not to add to their own collections (this will potentially have a fee involved, but we will discuss this during our consultation and prior to any paperwork being signed so that expectations are clear on our end and yours!). What can't be sold? Basically all general household items can be included. We do not however sell anything illegal, personal information, items that are broken beyond repair, liquor, and a small menagerie or other items... But we'll let you know when we walk through if it needs to be disposed of before we start our work! How do I know what will be sold? It's hard to predict what will and won't sell, but we try our hardest to conclude the sale with as close to an empty house as we possibly can! ​ People buy everything from unused office supplies and kitchen utensils to the Waterford crystal and car in the driveway. ​ That said, there are always some leftover items. They tend to be basic kitchen items, books, office supplies and older and more out of style furniture- so we price those accordingly. ​ We've done this so many times, we have a good idea of what needs to be bundled together to just get it out the door and what items are stand apart and will draw the most attention and sell at a premium price. What are the fees for this service? We are entirely commission-based and our fees fall into the industry standard for this area, generally varying from 35-45% with no built-in minimums. We're working hard so that we both profit! ​ We will discuss what the commission will be once we've had the opportunity to walk through the home with you and establish how much labor will be involved to prepare the sale. ​ Our commission will be clearly outlined in the contract we'll sign with you. ​ Additional fees do occasionally occur if you opt for a donation or complete cleanout service following the sale, but we'll discuss this with you before we sign any paperwork. What sells best? While you're not going to run out to the store to buy all the best things to just throw in your sale (that would be silly!), there are some items that attract buyers more than others. Buyers flock to higher-end jewelry, stylish furniture (think Crate and Barrel, Pottery Barn, Henkel Harris etc.), unique vintage or antique items, rare books, beautiful art and coin collections... Consider adding some of these so that your sale stands apart from other local ongoing sales. ​ These will be the premium items that we'll advertise first! Are you insured and bonded? Yes and yes. Can I live in the home while you're running a sale? This is very situation dependant. ​ The most efficient way to run a sale is to have the homeowners or clients completely out of the home before we begin working. ​ After running hundreds of sales, we've found that clients have a much better return on their sale proceeds if they remove the items they wish to keep from the home and we're given unrestricted access to the home until the sale has been completed. In some situations, this is possible, but this process can be emotionally, physically, and mentally taxing, so most of the time we recommend that we come in when you're no longer occupying the home. How do you advertise? In the Triangle area, most buyers find which estate sales they want to attend by going to estatesales.net. ​ Some companies only advertise their items on this platform, but we like to go a step further. So in addition to advertising there, we also create individual listings on other heavily trafficked online marketplaces that offer local listings for items. This extra step allows for local buyers to find us when they aren't regular estate sale shoppers, which accounts for a huge number of sales! ​ We also have an email list that is sent out to our regular customers so that they're notified about our sales and they're able to purchase those larger, higher ticket items right away. Why should I select you? We have over 9 years of experience helping local families in the Chapel Hill and Durham area liquidate their homes, estates, or businesses. We prioritize our clients and customers and help both with the highest level of customer service, integrity, and a passion for connecting these two. We don't just do this as a job... We do it because we love it and it shows. Our clients leave feeling like their possessions were handed with care and our customers leave with their hands full of items they get to enjoy for years to come. From the time we meet to the time you've got a check in your hand, our goal is to provide you with the highest level of service.

First Time Attending a Tobacco Road Downsizing Sale? Welcome! We're glad you've found us! ​ We don't run"typical" estate or downsizing sales. We believe in prioritizing our customer's and clients' time. ​ First - make sure you're signed up for our email list! We always send an email when our sales go live so that our subscribers are notified as soon as buying is open. ​ We believe in transparent pricing and providing all the details. When our sales go live, all items will have descriptions, measurements (when possible), and prices, so that customers know whether they are interested in the item or not. We want you to be able to walk in, browse the house without crowds and pay for your items without waiting in lines. ​ If you'd like an item or an appointment, simply call or text (919) 717 - 9850. This number goes directly to Mariah and is answered in the order that it is received. You can claim the item you're interested in and we'll set it aside for you until you can make it to the sale. ​ Appointments can be made to browse the entire house during the allotted times. ​ We take cash, card, and Venmo. Sales tax will be added to the purchase price (the percentage varies depending on which county the sale takes place in!). ​ Our prices are firm at the beginning of the sale, but we typically are willing to negotiate reasonable offers as time goes by. Our ultimate goal is to make the most money for our clients while matching fairly priced items with new owners. That said - we want to empty the house. From the time that the sale opens, all items are priced at fair market value. ​ Want sneak peeks at upcoming sales? Make sure you're following us on Facebook or Instagram ! ​

How does the process work? Estate sales, tag sales, and downsizing sales have historically been run so that there is a waiting period before customers are able to buy the items and then a two-day sale where hundreds of people walk in and out of the home on a mad dash to gather the items they've been drooling over all week. Our attitude is why make them wait? Time is valuable for our clients and our customers. ​ Our ultimate goal is to earn our clients the most money possible and put the items into the customer's hands that know their value and can't wait to give them new life. Our shopping process is different because we advertise larger and more valuable items earlier in the setup time so that we can find the buyer that's ready to purchase and take them home sooner at the full asking price rather than selling them on the second day at half-price - which is what other companies do. We're not auctioneers, so we set the price at the fair market price, determined by our years of experience and what the market trends are and then we advertise it through multiple platforms. ​ How does the process work? Estate sales, tag sales, and downsizing sales have historically been run so that there is a waiting period before customers are able to buy the items and then a two-day sale where hundreds of people walk in and out of the home on a mad dash to gather the items they've been drooling over all week. Our attitude is why make them wait? Time is valuable for our clients and our customers. ​ Our ultimate goal is to earn our clients the most money possible and put the items into the customer's hands that know their value and can't wait to give them new life all while emptying your house for the next owner. Our shopping process is different because we advertise larger and more valuable items earlier in the setup time so that we can find the buyer that's ready to purchase and take them home sooner at the full asking price rather than selling them on the second day at half-price - which is what other companies do. We're not auctioneers, so we set the price at the fair market price, determined by our years of experience and what the market trends are and then we advertise it through multiple platforms. ​ How does the process work? Where do I even begin? We know this process seems daunting. Dealing with a lifetime of items isn't an easy task when you're not armed with the right resources and team to help you. The good news is you're making the right moves already just by reading our website. ​ The next step is to just take a brief walk through your house and identify the pieces you know you want to keep in your next move. Reach out to family members that might want to keep some items as well. Children or grandchildren may want to keep items that remind them of their childhood, special memories, or pieces they've always loved. Then give us a call. We'll ask you some questions: how big the house is, how long you've lived there, what kinds of items you're looking to sell, and what your time frame is. We'll answer any questions you might have about the process. ​ If you're feeling ready, we can set up a time to walk through the house with you for our initial consultation. We can sometimes be there as soon as the day you call us or we can set up a time within the upcoming weeks that works for your schedule. ​ Prior to our visit, you can make further decisions on what you'll want to keep so that we have a clear picture as we walk through as to which things you're moving with you and which items you want us to sell on your behalf. ​ How does the process work? What should I expect during the consultation? First things first, this costs you nothing. We'll come at a time that's convenient for you. Generally, our consultations take about thirty minutes to an hour. ​ During that time, we'll walk through the house with you, get to know each other, and look at the items you're interested in selling. It can sometimes be helpful, both for you and for us, to mark items you plan to keep with Post-It notes (not necessary, but it's worked for lots of other previous clients!). ​ We're not there to judge how tidy you are or how much "stuff" you have. We're there to see if we can help you, so don't stress about any boxes that you're already packed that are stowed in a corner... Moving is hard work, and sometimes it's messy! ​ While we walk through, we are checking a few things out for ourselves. We're making sure we're a good fit to work together, the items that you're selling are "sell-able" (some things just aren't for one reason or another), and we're estimating the amount of time it will take to go through all of your items to be sold and what type of sale we think would best match the items you're interested in parting with. ​ Once we've walked through the house, we can sit down with you and answer any specific questions you might have and if you're feeling ready and we think your sale would be a success, we can go over a contract. ​ We're low-pressure! If you're not ready or need some time to think about it, we aren't going to push you in one direction or another. This is an important decision and isn't right for everyone. ​ ​ What Our Customers and Clients Say Larry R., Customer "I would highly endorse this wonderful company for downsizing sales. They know how to treat their shoppers...always with a caring attitude. They present their sales with dignity and respect and they are always there to assist in answering questions and helping in any way possible to make the sale a positive memorable experience."