ESTATE of VALUE Numbers Policy

What’s this thing about NUMBERS & GETTING INTO THE SALE?

Q: Your advertising tells the date and hours of the sale - but it also says, “Numbers at 8:30 am (example time)?” What does this mean? Why do you do this?

A: We want our customers to have a fair chance to buy the great things in our sales, but we can't just open the doors and let the whole crowd in at once. Estate of Value (EOV) has the responsibility to guard against breakage, theft and injury, not to mention we can’t staff enough people to help everyone at once. Instead, we give customers a number based on first come first served, just like waiting in line at the DMV.

Q: Do I have to stand outside and wait in line just to get a number at 8:30 am?

A: If you want to be among the first people inside the sale, you must be among the first people waiting to get a number. BUT who wants to wait outside at 5:00 am (or earlier!) in lousy weather? We want to avoid situations where people are waiting in rain or snow or milling around the yard.

Consequently, a local custom has developed. EOV did not create this process. It’s a bit convoluted, but it is also the most democratic way we know of to give people a fair chance to shop the sale, to stay out of the weather and to allow us to control the crowd protect the premises.

It’s called PRE-NUMBERS and it goes like this:

“Early Bird Earl” shows up at some crazy early hour because he wants to be first in the sale. He brings a pad of Posty Notes, and he numbers them, giving himself the number one. He watches for other people and gives out subsequent numbers as they arrive. It is a BIG RESPONSIBILITY, but that’s the deal since he wants to be the first person in the sale. NOTE! As far as EOV is concerned, once you get a pre-number from Early Bird Earl you don’t have to stand around outside in line – not until EOV gives out our official numbers.

NOTE: A pre-number is a place holder. It does not get you in the door. What it does is it saves you a place in line to get an official EOV number at the official time advertised.

NOTE: If you are going to be “Early Bird Earl” you have the responsibility to actively watch for customers arriving & to give them a pre-number until EOV begins giving numbers. You might be very busy for a couple of hours, or maybe just a half hour. It all depends on how popular the sale is and how many people show up early.

In the case of “numbers at 8:30 am” you’ll notice that around 8:15 am people who got their prenumbers DO start lining up on the porch and in the yard in anticipation of EOV giving out the official numbers at 8:30 am. Early Bird Earl’s responsibility for giving our prenumbers stops at that time. We come outside at 8:30 am and begin calling out numbers "One, two, three" etc. The corresponding customer with a prenumber steps up, hands over their pre-number and gets our official EOV number. NOTE! If we call for number four and no one steps up, we give EOV #4 to the next person. Pre-number 4 has lost his place in line. He cannot show up later and say, "Here's my number 4, let me in.” This is a big deal. You must be present to exchange numbers. We have honored this process for over ten years. We believe it to be fair, particularly since everyone else made the effort, arrived early and stuck around to get the official admittance number.

Q: How many numbers do you give out and do you give them out all day long?

A: We give out numbers for as long as there are customers wanting to enter but cannot immediately get in because the house is overcrowded. Distributing numbers is the only way we can democratically control the sale. Sometimes we put a pad of numbers in a bucket with a sign outside on the porch -- anyone who arrives while there are still customers waiting can self-serve a number. Eventually the sale is running smoothly and the need for numbers is gone.

Q: Do I need a number on both Saturday and Sunday?

A: Sometimes, but not often. Generally, numbers are required on the first day of the sale only. However, if the sale is a big one, we may require them on subsequent days. We will always note this in our advertising.

Q: How many people do you let in?

A: For a home with a basement, a main floor consisting of kitchen, dining room and living room, and an upstairs with two or three bedrooms we will typically admit between 25 and 35 numbered customers. One number per human in the house. As customers disperse throughout the sale or as they check out and exit, we admit more people. We check back with waiting customers approximately every 10 to 15 minutes.

Q: Why do you open the garage early, and do I need a number to get in there, too?

A: We open the garage one half hour our early because we don’t want customers to bring garage items into the home. This gives customers a reasonable amount of time to shop, purchase, and put away their things before the sale opens in the house. When we open the garage doors it is first come, first served and we are very busy there at least 30 minutes. But, since the main sale doesn’t open for another 30 minutes, we also have enough staff to help out in the garage or outdoors. If we determine it is necessary to require numbers to gain entrance to the garage we will always state this information in our pre-sale advertising.