For a Life of Style + Substance
Downsizing or decluttering? Everything But The House takes the headache out of selling just about anything — except, of course, your house itself. They also offer a bidding platform for rare furniture and collectibles, designer fashion pieces, and more. Come dive into EBTH!
Everything But The House is on its way to becoming a household name. (You’ll see it shortened to EBTH worldwide and in this article.) This company has an infrastructure designed to help you sell all of the things you want to get rid of — and it’s also a treasure trove of furniture, art, jewelry, and curios for buyers and collectors to bid on. Think rare books, musical instruments, designer bags, funky decor, and more!
But, EBTH is different than many of its reseller peers. They do everything for the seller. They pack your items, pick them up, assess them, authenticate them, photograph them, list them, and ship them to their new homes. All you have to do is wait to get paid. “Life’s transition events create the need to shed possessions. Our concierge-style service eliminates the stress, and our 2.5 million users maximize results,” EBTH’s co-founder and Chief Development Officer, Jacquie Denny says.
Jacquie Denny leads EBTH with deep industry knowledge. “Life’s transition events create the need to shed possessions,” she says. “Our concierge-style service eliminates the stress.”
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We spoke with Lauren Patterson, a Business Development Manager for EBTH, to unearth more of this company’s incredible story and answer some of our burning questions.
Like many of us, Lauren grew up in a family of collectors. “I have these incredible memories of going to estate sales, garage sales, and antique stores growing up,” she says. “It’s my joy and peace when I walk into an antique store. I get a cup of coffee and go to a flea market on Saturday morning. That’s what I do for fun.” This natural new role for Lauren came after a stint in retail and another at a substantial luxury fashion resale company. As an Ohio native, EBTH had been on her radar — their main warehouse is in Cincinnati.
EBTH has offices throughout the United States, but the Wilmer Warehouse in Cincinnati stores almost all the treasures you can shop online.
“The resale industry is booming. It’s not going anywhere. It’s something like a $30 billion industry,” Lauren says. So when the opportunity at EBTH arose, Lauren took her deep knowledge of luxury fashion and jewelry and added to it. “Now I’m learning about art. I’m learning about baseball cards and all kinds of things that I never thought that I would learn about.”
Lauren had just bought a condo and refers to her old furniture as the “ghosts of roommates past,” so she was ready to start fresh. She designed her whole space around a fabulous Seller Hoosier cabinet that was her great-grandmother’s. “It was really important for me to have something old to balance with the new things you can get from big box stores. That’s the beauty of EBTH. We all want to add in those character-filled pieces that tell a story, that are well-made, and that deserve to have more than one life. There are so many unique items, and you never know what you will find. And you make it your own. You get to add to the story that it has,” Lauren adds.
EBTH is a “uniquely curated, carefully authenticated, and ever-changing assortment of uncommon art, jewelry, fashion accessories, collectibles, antiques, and more,” says the team.
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Lauren works with estate attorneys and businesses that want to move stagnant inventory through an additional revenue stream. However, her favorite part of the job is working with families who downright need help.
EBTH’s sweet spot is helping people during full to partial downsizes. And clearing out forgotten, pesky, or expensive storage units. And boy, are we seeing a lot of this decluttering right now. People are so overwhelmed with these moves, and they have full lives. “This is where we can really step in and help … this is where we shine,” Lauren says.
“We are currently working with a client who is moving from 10,000 square feet to four or five, and the house is a totally different design. They’re switching all the furniture and all the decor. So we come in, fill up the truck, and then sell it on the site. And it’s amazing,” Lauren says.
EBTH comes to you, appraises your unwanted items, and packs up what they approve to sell, so you don’t have to worry about anything.
EBTH can pick up and sell everything in your house, apartment, condo, yard, garage, closet, storage unit … you name it! But even if you have just one special handbag that is no longer serving you, they’ll send you a shipping label, and you can send it in and pack a little extra cash.
Once EBTH authenticates and catalogs your items, they go up online for an auction sale that can last from five to ten days. Users can bid, and when the highest bid at the end wins, their card on file is charged, and EBTH ships out their treasure. According to their consignment terms, sellers can earn up to 80% commission of the final selling price — one of the most competitive seller take-home rates on the secondary market.
“Every bid starts at $1. And that sounds very scary,” Lauren says. “But there’s actually a ton of data science behind no-reserve auctions. This allows everybody to have a piece of the fun and a hand in it. You can bid on a crazy piece of art, and you just never know. People are scared of that. But it really does drive the value up. It drives the prices up. So don’t be afraid of it!” she says.
There are going to be certain items that EBTH can’t take. “Not everything is of value. And that’s kind of a tough conversation to have sometimes,” Lauren says. “But even if we can’t take it, I’m going to provide you with super straightforward and simple resources to help you dispose of or donate your items.”
“A big one for me is jewelry. I love a jewelry store, but big name-brand jewelry box stores have such a high markup. I’m a sucker for estate jewelry, so I love EBTH for jewelry. It’s 40% of our business.”
Art is another realm Lauren highly suggests collectors and enthusiasts explore. There are so many rare pieces from both known and unknown artists. And the offerings are different every day.
“The first sale I did was what we call a single-seller sale,” Lauren tells me. “A couple had passed away, so I was working with the heirs who lived out of state on a tight seven-day timeline. I mean, it was super tight. I went in blind and learned so much.”
The EBTH team dove into everything from the jewelry vault to the kitchen drawers to the tool shed to the Halloween decorations. “We did it all in four days, and they had no idea we could do what we did.” Many families think they can come in for a weekend and clear a whole house out. But that can get very overwhelming very quickly. “We got them over six figures for the contents of the house. So you just never know. It was beautiful, and the money went to really, really good use. We were able to help and serve them, which is gratifying.”
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“This sounds harsh, but everybody thinks their items are worth more than what they actually are,” Lauren says. For those hesitant about selling something special to them in this seemingly uncontrollable way (what if the bid, for example, doesn’t get as high as the seller wants), Lauren asks them to consider what value they’re placing on this thing that isn’t monetary? Is there a strong emotional or sentimental attachment?
“I always say, in that case, hold on to it. Think about it. Some things are priceless. And in some cases — no matter what the auction garners — people just won’t be happy if a strong sentimental value is attached to it. So in that case, keep it until you’re ready.”
On the flip side, it can be beneficial to take inventory of what you don’t need, notice, or care about anymore and just SELL it! “Don’t put it off,” Lauren says. This minimizes headaches down the road and can allow you to splurge on something you want to replace it with.
If you’re interested in selling on EBTH, there are many resources on their site.
“I wish more people in the younger generations knew about EBTH,” Lauren says. “Older vintage pieces are made to last. They have stories. They have more lives to live.” It’s the character and patina of these vetted pieces that keep shoppers coming back to EBTH to bid.
Mixing old and new in your home and your wardrobe is fun. “An unattainably expensive runway look can become totally viable and fun to reach from when you’re shopping secondhand on EBTH. You get the style; you’re just not spending on the name brand.” Sustainability is a big part of it, too.
EBTH just launched its highly anticipated quarterly Landmark sale: a remarkable collection of their most rare and valuable items. If you are interested in selling with EBTH start here.
Thank you so much, Lauren, for chatting with me. All photos provided by Everything But The House.
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