Price a 1,000-item estate in hours, not days
Estate sale companies already use eBay sold comps as their primary pricing method. SoldComps makes it programmable — pull 240 real sale prices for any item via API instead of searching eBay manually for each piece.
Get your API key — freeA typical estate has 1,000+ items. Manual lookup doesn't work.
Every estate sale pricing guide says the same thing: check eBay sold listings. It's the industry standard because eBay has the widest category coverage and the most transparent transaction data of any marketplace. The problem isn't the method — it's the math.
A typical home has 1,000 to 2,000 items. Manual lookup takes 2 to 5 minutes per item when done thoroughly. That means pricing a single estate takes 2 to 4 full days of research before you can even begin setting up.
Estate sale companies running 2–3 sales per month spend more time pricing than selling. Cut corners and you underprice high-value items and overprice commodity goods. Both cost money.
The estate sale pricing workflow
Walk the house, photograph everything
Standard estate sale walkthrough. Identify items that need pricing research — anything not commodity. Furniture, kitchenware, vintage items, collectibles, art, tools, electronics all need comps.
Search each item via API
Pass the item description to SoldComps. Get back up to 240 completed eBay sales with price, condition, date, and seller data. For items where condition matters — electronics, collectibles — filter by matching condition.
Set prices from sold data
Take the median sold price from eBay comps. Apply estate sale discount (industry standard: 30% below eBay sold prices for in-person, cash-and-carry format). Price commodity items in bulk by category.
Generate pricing sheets
Export data to spreadsheets or feed into estate sale management software. Tag each item with source comps so you can justify pricing to the estate executor if needed.
Why eBay sold data is the estate sale standard
eBay is the default reference because it covers virtually every category of secondhand goods. Sold listings represent actual completed transactions — not asking prices, not estimates. Asking prices tell you what sellers hope for; sold prices tell you what the market actually pays.
For estate tax purposes, the IRS defines Fair Market Value as “the price that property would sell for on the open market.” eBay sold listings are the largest dataset of open-market transactions for secondhand goods. Many appraisers and estate attorneys accept eBay sold comps as supporting evidence for FMV determinations.
Building estate sale software? Use our API.
If you're building pricing tools, inventory management, or estate sale platforms — SoldComps provides the data layer. Your users get automatic eBay comp lookups without leaving your application. Current estate sale software (PROSALE, EstateFlow, EstateSail) handles inventory and POS but requires manual pricing research. Integrating sold data gives your platform automatic pricing suggestions backed by real transaction data.
The same API powers reseller pricing tools and market research platforms. One endpoint, structured JSON, up to 240 sold items per request.
View API documentation →Common questions
How do I adjust eBay sold prices for estate sale pricing?
Industry standard is 30% below median eBay sold price. eBay buyers pay a premium for shipping, returns, and buyer protection that estate sale shoppers don’t get. The discount accounts for the in-person, cash-and-carry format where buyers inspect items themselves.
Can I use this for estate appraisals and tax purposes?
eBay sold data is widely accepted as Fair Market Value evidence. SoldComps provides raw transaction data — actual prices, dates, and conditions from completed sales. You or your appraiser document the methodology for any formal appraisal. Many estate attorneys and CPAs accept eBay sold comps as supporting evidence for FMV determinations.
What about items I can't find on eBay?
Either extremely rare (try broader search terms or the manufacturer name) or extremely common (price as commodity at $1–5 for an estate sale). Absence of eBay data is itself informative — if nobody is buying or selling it online, in-person estate sale pricing is the primary market.
Price your next estate faster
100 free requests per month. No credit card required. Most estate sale companies find the Growth plan ($29/mo for 10,000 requests) covers 3–5 estates per month.