Security Guards for Estate Sales and Auctions
Strangers in a house full of things worth taking: the door counted, the jewelry table watched and the cash box covered from the first number to the last car.
Request a proposalThe situation
What an estate sale deals with
The line at seven in the morning
Dealers and regulars line up before dawn for numbers, and the first minutes after the door opens are a rush into a house never built for a crowd. Tempers, pushing and a rule about who goes in first are the estate sale company's problem before the sale even starts.
Small, valuable and pocketable
Jewelry, coins, watches, silver, firearms and collectibles are the reason people come and the things that leave in pockets. A house has a dozen rooms and the staff are at the tables.
The cash
Estate sales run on cash and cards at a folding table by the door, all day, with the staff counting and bagging in view of everyone. The last hour and the walk to the car are the exposure.
The house between days
A three-day sale leaves a house full of tagged goods and a neighborhood that has seen the crowd, with nobody in it overnight. The break-in happens Friday night.
A house is not a store
An estate sale puts a crowd of strangers into a house built for a family, with a jewelry table in the dining room and a cash box by the door. Price Protection’s officer treats it as the event it is: the line managed before the door opens, the count held at the capacity the company sets, the high-value rooms watched during the rush, the checkout covered in the busy hours and the staff walked to their cars with the cash. The post orders restate the company’s rules on numbers, bags, holds and staff-only rooms.
The line and the door
The first minutes decide the day. The officer explains the number order to the line, opens the door at the company’s time and counts people in against the capacity, letting the next in as shoppers leave. Bags and large purses are handled by the company’s posted policy at the door; officers do not search people. Disputes in the line are settled by the company’s rule and logged.
Small things in pockets
Jewelry, coins, watches, silver and collectibles are what people come for and what leaves in pockets. The officer stands where the company’s manager wants during the rush, usually the doorway of the room with the table, and a shopper seen taking an item is spoken to quietly at the door and asked to return it, with the police called only for someone who refuses or becomes aggressive. Firearms are shown on request from a locked case under the company’s rules.
Cash and the nights between
The checkout is covered in the busy hours and at close, and the staff are walked to their cars with the bag. Between sale days the house holds a fortune in tagged goods and a neighborhood that has seen the crowd; a patrol checks it on a schedule and an officer is posted overnight where the goods warrant it. Auctions are covered the same way through preview, sale and pickup days.
Booking
Dispatch needs the address, the sale days and hours, the goods of concern, the company’s capacity and bag policy, whether overnight coverage is wanted and the manager’s number. An officer is booked for the days and the patrol for the nights; weekends fill, so book when the dates are set.
How we cover it
Every service, applied to this post.
- Unarmed security guards
An unarmed officer at the door from before the numbers are handed out, managing the line, counting people in to the capacity the company sets, watching the rooms with the high-value goods, standing near the checkout at the busy hours and staying until the staff have left with the cash.
- Access control
The company's number system and capacity applied at the door, bags and large purses handled by the company's posted policy, staff-only rooms kept closed and the house's other doors and windows checked before opening and after closing.
- Camera monitoring
Where the company sets up temporary cameras on the jewelry table and the checkout, the officer watches them between contacts and the clips are kept for the company.
- Vehicle patrol
Between sale days and the night before, a patrol checks the house on a schedule with every door and window tested, and an officer can be posted overnight where the goods warrant it.
- Incident reporting
A report to the company or the executor after each sale day: the line and the door count, contacts and thefts observed, items recovered, the checkout and the cash escort, the house's condition at close and the overnight checks.
A typical post
What a shift looks like here.
The officer arrives at six as the line forms and walks the house with the company's manager: the jewelry and coins on a table in the dining room, the firearms in a locked case shown on request, the checkout by the front door, the back door that stays locked, the capacity of forty. Numbers are handed out and the officer explains the order to the line, which settles.
At the opening the officer counts people in, holds the line at forty and lets the next in as shoppers leave. Through the morning the officer stands in the dining room doorway during the rush, sees a man put a watch in his jacket, speaks to him quietly at the door where the company's manager asks for it back, and gets it. The police are not needed; it is logged.
By afternoon the crowd thins and the officer walks the rooms and the yard, watches the checkout as the cash is counted, walks the staff to their cars with the bag and locks up with the manager. A patrol checks the house twice overnight before the second day. The report goes to the company that evening.
Reporting
What the daily report covers here
Every client receives a written report each day, and officer performance is reviewed and documented daily. This is what the report records on this kind of post.
- Line management and door counts, with the capacity held
- Thefts observed, items recovered and the outcome
- High-value rooms watched and any concerns
- Checkout coverage and the cash escort at close
- Disputes in the line or the house and how they resolved
- House condition at open and close: doors, windows, staff-only rooms
- Overnight patrol checks between sale days
Can the officer search shoppers?
No. The company sets a bag policy and posts it, and the officer applies it at the door as a condition of entry. A shopper seen taking an item is spoken to at the door and asked to return it; the police are called for anyone who refuses or becomes aggressive. Officers do not search people.
How many officers for an estate sale?
One at the door for most house sales, with a second in the high-value rooms for a large estate or an auction with many lots. The company and the supervisor settle it from the goods and the expected crowd.
Can you cover the house overnight?
Yes. A patrol checks the house on a schedule between sale days, and an officer is posted overnight where the goods warrant it. Many companies book the patrol for the night before the sale, when the tagged goods are all in place and the ads have run.
Do you cover auctions?
Yes. Preview days, the auction and the pickup days are covered the same way: the door, the lots, the clerk's table and the loading, with the auctioneer's rules restated in the post orders.
How much notice do you need?
A few days is enough for most sales. Weekends fill, so book when the dates are set. Dispatch takes the details and the supervisor confirms the plan with the company by phone.
Related pages
Industries we serve
Service areas
Insights
Glossary
Request a proposal
Request a proposal for estate sales and auctions.
Two short steps. Dispatch reviews every request and calls you back about coverage. For urgent unarmed coverage we can typically staff most sites within hours.
24-hour dispatch
(281) 326-9189