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Karen Khonsari uses a scanner and pre attached barcode labels to check out bowls at an estate sale hosted by Fecit Antiques and Estates on Saturday, November 9, 2024 in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. STAFF PHOTO BY MICHAEL JOHNSON Bar code stickers are attached to items as used by Fecit Antiques and Estates sales on Saturday, November 9, 2024 in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. STAFF PHOTO BY MICHAEL JOHNSON Bar code stickers are attached to items as used by Fecit Antiques and Estates sales on Saturday, November 9, 2024 in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.
STAFF PHOTO BY MICHAEL JOHNSON Fecit Antiques and Estates owner Karen Khonsari stands amongst a table of items at an estate sale on Saturday, November 9, 2024 in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. STAFF PHOTO BY MICHAEL JOHNSON Fecit Antiques and Estates owner Karen Khonsari stands amongst a table of items at an estate sale on Saturday, November 9, 2024 in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. STAFF PHOTO BY MICHAEL JOHNSON Bar code stickers are attached to items as used by Fecit Antiques and Estates sales on Saturday, November 9, 2024 in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.
STAFF PHOTO BY MICHAEL JOHNSON Bar code stickers are attached to items as used by Fecit Antiques and Estates sales on Saturday, November 9, 2024 in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. STAFF PHOTO BY MICHAEL JOHNSON Karen Khonsari shares her estate sales knowledge at the Leaving a Legacy Community "Give Back" Workshop at Scotlandville Library. PROVIDED PHOTO Facebook Twitter WhatsApp SMS Email Print Copy article link Save The challenge of liquidating an estate can be daunting.
Most estate sale companies handle all aspects of the sale like pricing, planning, marketing and cleaning out a house — which can be helpful when survivors are divesting of property. In Baton Rouge, Fecit Estate Sales founder and owner Karen Khonsari says she has spent the last five years streamlining the process of making clients' experiences less stressful and more effective. She uses a barcode system that makes the inventory and sales simple to organize.
Karen Khonsari uses a scanner and pre attached barcode labels to check out silverware at an estate sale hosted by Fecit Antiques and Estates on Saturday, November 9, 2024 in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. When it comes to the larger pieces, Pam Rabb, owner of Southern Charms in St. Francisville, said pre-sales are effective.
Hidden generational wealth Khonsari said that people are not often aware of the worth inside their family's homes. This realization came from a phone call from a woman in Chicago who could not find an estate sale company for her mother's house in north Baton Rouge. Khonsari went to the property and saw large value in the items, and Fecit Estate Sales took the opportunity.
"I realized many families had generational wealth in their family's houses and didn't know it," Khonsari said. Khonsari reached out to Tara Wicker, former city council member and now founder of W Consulting Group, which specializes in community investment and engagement, for assistance in north Baton Rouge. Khonsari (fourth from left) and Wicker (third from left) hold a check representing Khonsari's donation from that estate sale to the Leaving a Legacy Project.
Khonsari wanted to commit a portion of the proceeds to support the area. "We didn't want to go in and do something that was a neighborhood clean up which would be smaller impact," Wicker said. "So, we tied it into what (Khonsari) was already doing.
She's an expert in antiques and estate sales, and so we hosted an event at the Scotlandville library called Hidden Treasures." At this event, Khonsari gave a presentation on how to identify antiques in homes — things that may have gotten passed down. "It was literally standing room only, and people were very excited," Wicker said.
Karen Khonsari shares her estate sales knowledge at the Leaving a Legacy Community "Give Back" Workshop at Scotlandville Library. Khonsari and Wicker have done this presentation twice, titled "Leaving a Legacy." Wicker says the program is an educational campaign that they'll grow to reach more people.
After working in community development for many years and being a part of the city council, Wicker hopes these presentations can help families with planning. "I lost my mom two years ago," said Wicker. "It's difficult when you're trying to deal with all the legal aspects of property exchange and cleaning out a home while you're in the middle of the emotions of losing a loved one.
" Hidden value A shopper looks around many items lined up in the dining room at an estate sale hosted by Fecit Antiques and Estates on Saturday, November 9, 2024 in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. When preparing for an estate sale, both Khonsari and Rabb advise not to underestimate what is in the house — or what people in the community will want to buy. The estate sale company uses a variety of resources to decide the value of items.
"I tell my clients, 'Get what you want out and just walk away,'" Rabb said. "Clients don't realize that the old adage, 'One man's junk is another man's treasure' is true." Julie Blanchard holds a painting that she bought at an estate sale hosted by Fecit Antiques and Estates on Saturday, November 9, 2024 in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.
Khonsari agrees and said families rarely know what value is in their homes. She has even experienced items being used to decorate a film or television show set. Tim Cohn, a New Orleans-based set decorator, frequents estate sales when he's working on a project.
He says that estate sales offer the best selection when he's looking for period items to give a set a certain time frame or look. The affordability of estate sales also fits within his tight decorating budget. When working on the Zac Efron film, "The Iron Claw," Cohn found Fecit Estate Sales online and spotted a home full of 1989 furniture and decor, which was what he needed to outfit one of the character's apartments for the film.
Before the presale, Khonsari opened the doors to the home by an appointment. His production designer looked at the house with him, and they bought the home's entire inventory before the estate sale ever opened. Kev and Pam's apartment, decorated from a Fecit estate sale, from the Iron Claw set.
"I have to spend money wisely and creatively," Cohn said. "I need to make sets look like a million bucks for about $50 and a ham sandwich, which is why I keep coming back to estate sales. It's tough for families to liquidate assets.
I went through that with my mom, but there's value there." Khonsari says that clients never know who is going to be walking through the doors of a house. A shopper looks around many items lined up in a room at an estate sale hosted by Fecit Antiques and Estates on Saturday, November 9, 2024 in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.
Khonsari and Rabb share two tips when preparing for an estate sale: Don't throw anything away. Old clothes are money. "You almost have to appeal to everybody because all walks of life attend estate sales.
Someone may have $10 or $1,000 to spend on a weekend. Estate sales are not just furniture," Khonsari said. "People need kitchen items, towels, lawn care, tools and books.
Younger people are looking for history and a piece of somebody's life that shows the past.".
