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Whether you’re an art aficionado, a fan of designer vintage fashion or simply longing for a peek into an intriguing home, chances are there’s a local estate sale for you.
Estate sales, unlike smaller and more casual yard or garage sales, typically involve the liquidation of a substantial amount of material goods from a property. Common reasons people hold estate sales include life changes such as the death of an elderly family member, a major downsizing, or a move out of state or abroad. Often, given the value and sheer quantity of stuff involved, those looking to liquidate their estates do so with the assistance of professionals.
Inside Peninsula estate sales: a liquidator’s perspective
Alan Bologlu started his business, the Mountain View-based Bolo’s Estate Liquidations, in 2020 after a multi-decade career in the tech industry, having always enjoyed visiting estate sales. His business manages liquidations at luxury properties all over the Peninsula. As SFGATE wrote in a 2025 profile, “When Google, Apple and OpenAI execs gut their estates, they call one man.” (“When Google, Apple and OpenAI execs gut their estates, they call one man.”
His company handles everything from fine art to high-end fashion to furniture and all sorts of other items.
“This is my retirement gig,” he said, noting that his background in imaging technology is a good fit for his current business, in which having useful images to work with is key. “I’m pretty simple and minimalistic myself, but it’s really cool to walk into these places.”
Memorable items abound. A recent sale in Atherton included a Lalique table – a first for Bologlu. “That one’s going to stick in my head. It’s a $120,000 table,” he said.
In his experience, “the bigger the item, the harder and slower it is to move,” he said (both literally and figuratively), especially heavy, ornate furniture that may not be currently in vogue. “The little items, they tend to go a little bit quicker. Artwork, depending on what it is, will go really fast.”
In terms of how proceeds are shared between his company and the client, Bologlu said it’s “completely dependent on what’s going on at the property.” In some cases there is an upfront fee while sometimes he works on commission-only projects.
“It’s case by case based on labor and fees that are going to be involved,” he said.
WHERE TO FIND ESTATE SALES
- Estatesales.org
- Estatesales.net
- Local estate liquidation company email lists
- Social media accounts that announce sales
- Sign up for Bolo’s invitation list
When there are items involved that require specific expertise, such as a recent Peninsula estate with a collection of Chinese art, Bologlu will work with experts in the field to evaluate the pieces. At the time of this interview, he was looking forward to working on estate sales in Palo Alto (which he said would feature some fine Native American and Mexican artwork), Hillsborough and Los Altos Hills.
The details into how an estate is liquidated also depends on each property and client’s situation and timeframes. It makes sense to take the time to try to sell high-value items, whereas in some cases “it’s better just to get everything into donation and into the community, as opposed to wasting time trying to monetize a mug for $2,” he said.
Bologlu noted that he is generally contractually prevented from removing or purchasing items for his own personal use from sales he’s managing. He does have some favorite finds he’s made at other sales in the past, including a large cast-iron device that turned out to be an antique apple peeler, which he bought out of curiosity for $20. That same curiosity is why he was inspired to start his business in the first place.
“It’s a full-on treasure hunt,” he said. “The research phase, I really like a lot.”
As opposed to sales that are open to the public in general, sales managed by Bolo’s are appointment-only, which allows for a more intimate experience. Because it’s appointment-based, those sales are often attended by folks seeking particular pieces or types of items rather than casually browsing.
“This isn’t a situation where we’re just opening the doors and people are walking through. It’s a select group of people coming through the house. They know what they’re looking for,” he said.
Someone recently fell in love with and purchased two rose marble outdoor plant urns at the sale in Atherton, for example, so when Bologlu noticed that a property in Hillsborough where he’d be managing a liquidation happened to have a rose marble fountain that matched perfectly, he was sure to let that buyer know.
“She’s coming up to take a look. The people that come up and have access are coming for a purpose,” he said.
Those interested in getting on Bologlu’s invitation list can sign up via the company’s website, Bolo’s Estate Liquidations. He also recently launched Bolo’s Marketplace, which uses AI to identify, authenticate and price items.
Inside Peninsula estate sales: A treasure hunter’s view
That kind of curated experience is one side of the estate-sale world, but plenty of sales are open to the general public as well. Alison Carpenter is a San Jose resident who’s spent many years living and working on the Midpeninsula. She’s always had a fondness for antiques and has experience working in retail, including currently as a volunteer at a charity thrift shop. She also works as a home organizer, helping clients who are looking to downsize as well as families dealing with houses full of furniture, clothes and other items after parents or grandparents pass away
“For people that have a lot of stuff, it can be really overwhelming,” she said. She sees estate sales, thrift stores and nonprofits as ways to give those belongings a second life. “What you’re really trying to avoid is having people throw stuff in the landfill that is still so viable.”
Recently, she visited an estate sale at an eye-catching property in Atherton, built in 1902 as a summer home for a San Francisco-based family – a house she’d often passed while going down Middlefield Road and that had long intrigued her.
WHAT TO KNOW BEFORE YOU GO
- Bring cash/card? (depending on sale)
- Sales are often final
- Bring measurements for furniture
- Bring bags or packing materials
- Be prepared for crowds
- Don’t assume everything is negotiable (especially valuable items)
- Ask about pickup/delivery for large items
“I would drive by for years and wonder, ‘What does that estate look like inside?'” she said.
Carpenter follows some accounts on social media that post about estate sales, as well as checking Craigslist for listings, although there are also dedicated websites, such as estatesales.org and estatesales.net, that list many upcoming events.
She had originally seen notice of the Atherton estate sale posted on instagram months earlier but happened upon it again when she was driving home from an organizing job in San Mateo and noticed cars lining up on Middlefield to attend the sale. She couldn’t resist taking a peek.
Despite it being the final day of the final sale of several held at the home over the past few months, and despite her chagrin at some of the items having been left out during a spring rainstorm, Carpenter said the sale was full of interesting goods.
Though she combed through all sorts of things she ended up making just one purchase: pieces of an antique baker’s rack, with which she planned to rework into something for her backyard.
The Atherton estate where the sale was held, known as the “Gateway House,” has a history of its own. According to a listing for the estate sale, it was the first site of the children’s circus performances that raised money for charity and eventually inspired the founding of the Menlo Circus Club.
“You just never know what you’re going to see. It’s just the history of it that really attracts me. It meant something to somebody else, that’s the piece of it that I think is the intrinsic attraction,” she said of her interest in antiques and local historical properties. “You can kind of step back in time a little bit.”
