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March 2024 by Lena Etzkin
I have a jewelry business, and a family inheritance. There's absolutely no one I would trust besides Shelley and John, owners of Caplan's. This is a friendly and very ethical company. I've had numerous nightmare experiences consigning and selling my jewelry in the DC area through other auction houses and estate sale companies. I'm extremely grateful to have found Caplan's!
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February 2023 by diane white
i freaking LOVE this place!!! im addicted , every sunday if i can make it. New stuff every week, have got some great stuff for practically nothing. so much to see and learn from these auctions and the thrill of the sale and winning is awesome. My 90 year old mother goes as well as my 18 year old grandchild, we love it..
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May 2022 by TW
Caplan’s Auction and Appraisal Company services as well as their customer service is off the charts, including the owners John and Shelley Harris and members of their Team to include Ron, Chris and Sarge! We had a complex situation with the contents of 2 storage units and a 3rd floor condo with no stairs, and they handled removing everything and getting it up for sale. They were on time, did everything they said they would and more, exceeded expectations, and flawlessly took care of everything from valuable antiques to donations to throwing out trash.I highly recommend Caplan’s.I’m submitting this because I was so impressed by their performance, care and concern, professionalism, and going above and beyond at every turn. What they state on their website “The Caplan’s Difference” absolutely sets them apart. They are simply fantastic!
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January 2022 by Kerry Castorf
I consigned some items a few months ago and was VERY happy with my results!
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October 2021 by T Poletti
SELLER, BEWARE. If you're thinking of using Caplan's Auction to sell your things, think twice. The man who evaluates the contents of estates (John Harris) is a salesman, and as long as he sees ANY easy money in the estate, he’ll say anything to persuade you to give Caplan’s the job.When he evaluated the contents of our mother’s house after her death, he told us the following:* Caplan’s gets top dollar for Lladros (collectible porcelain figurines from Spain). They have a huge mailing list of Lladro collectors and hold special auctions for them. Our mother owned a Lladro that she bought in the 80s for over $8k. (We had an offer to sell it outright for $2,500 but held out because we were assured Caplan’s would get more for it.)* So little of our mother’s estate was unsellable that we did not even need to rent a dumpster.Based on John’s assurances, we hired Caplan’s to sell our mother's belongings (primary importance) and leave the house broom swept (secondary).We would have been better off selling the Lladro for $2,500, giving everything else away, and sweeping the house ourselves.The crew showed up with a truck on Friday—2 hours late. They were not Caplan’s employees but subcontractors. They worked for several hours loading the truck and told us that almost everything on that load would be going to Caplan’s to be sold. They did drop off a few obviously unsellable but still usable things at Salvation Army that day.The crew returned on Monday to finish the job—2 hours late again. They loaded the rest of our mother’s stuff onto the truck and swept her floors. The guy in charge told us that nearly everything in this load would go to the dump. They didn’t have time to sort it, and in his opinion, much of it was not sellable anyway. We told him we would pay them for 2 hours extra to sort the contents and at least take some to Goodwill--which he said they would do but didn't.As an aside, I have worked in eCommerce for more than 20 years and have sold tens of thousands of items on eBay and other marketplaces. Trust me when I say I know what’s sellable and what’s not. I’m also the owner of our local freecycle group (an online forum where people can give stuff away to people who can use it, thereby keeping it out of the landfill) and know it would have been simple to find people who would have been thrilled to have been gifted the items from our mother’s house.A couple months after Caplan’s crew cleaned out our mother’s house, we received an envelope from Caplan's containing a $1,400 check, a paper showing the fees Caplan had taken out of the auction proceeds, a small pile of undated slips of paper with sales prices and cryptic item descriptions scrawled on them, and two landfill receipts, EACH FOR MORE THAN 2 TONS of refuse.The Lladro ended up selling for a measly $2,000, and one of the $200 landfill receipts was time stamped 7:30am the Monday after Caplan’s crew picked up the Friday load that was supposedly 99% sellable.So, after assuring us we did not need to rent a dumpster because virtually everything was sellable, they ended up throwing away more than 4 TONS of our mother’s stuff.When I finally got through to Caplan’s office (I called a few times from the phone number I’d called them from before—no answer; tried calling from a friend’s a minute later, and they picked right up), I got gibberish as an explanation.The receptionist told me they do their best to get as much as they can for every item entrusted them—they try to sell things on 2, 3, sometimes even 4 different nights. She said they have auctions every Sunday and that they probably tried unsuccessfully to sell our mother’s stuff then—but she’d need to check with the crew and get back to me. It’s been several weeks, and I have yet to hear from anyone at Caplan’s.I think John told us what we wanted to hear, then once they gained possession of our mother's stuff, they cherry picked the easy sales and threw out the rest.I've read other reviews of this company, and this unfortunately is not an isolated case. Seller, beware.
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October 2021 by Beth Miller
My sisters and I were recently faced with the daunting task of having to sell the house and personal property of my elderly mother who passed away suddenly. We had to do this in a timely manner because the house needed to be on the real estate market before the school year started when families would want their children to be situated in school. Part of the challenge was to have my mother's antique and modern furniture, jewelry, china, crystal, silver, and other valuables appraised and consigned to an estate liquidator, and we had no idea where to start. Fortunately, based on a personal recommendation by the appraiser that our attorney assigned to our estate, I found my way to Caplan's Auction & Appraisal Co. The appraiser explained that he has been working closely with Caplan's for over 40 years and has had utmost respect for their honesty, professionalism, and their ability to sell merchandise through their vast network of buyers and get good returns. He had no financial interest in promoting Caplan's business and was speaking only from his experience.My husband and I met with owners, John and Shelley Harris, two times before having to sign a contract. They spent a considerable amount of time explaining to us their auction process and sales methods, the logistics of moving the items from my mother's home to their location, and inventorying and assigning an appraised value with great detail each of the valuables we wished to consign. We were so impressed with, not only their obvious professional expertise, but also with how easy they were to work with and their personal warmth and caring.John and Shelley explained to us what items had the most potential to sell (my mothers mid-Century furniture, some of her jewelry, etc.) and which items were going to bring in a lower return than we may have anticipated (such as grandma's china, silverware, and crystal that no one really wants any more). When the admirably long selling period ended, we received a report of what was sold and for what price. There were a few surprises--some sold for more than we anticipated, and some for less than we had hoped--but generally we were most pleased with the sales, especially realizing that it would take a tremendous amount of time and effort to consign these items ourselves.There's no doubt that Caplan's services were well worth the reasonable commission that they earn. I would not hesitate to hire Caplan's Auction & Appraisal Co. to manage any future estate sale we have, or just to sell specific items we wish to consign. We were very pleased with them and can honestly say that we would highly recommend them to others.
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September 2021 by Nora Hyde
I have gotten so many beautiful pieces of furniture from Caplan’s! The online auction is amazing and it makes it so easy to bid. I got the most beautiful chairs that had been freshly reupholstered and looked even nicer than in the pictures. I also got a solid oak roll top desk for a fraction of what I would have paid for a similar desk somewhere like Second Chance. I seriously couldn’t believe my luck, it was such a steal!Caplan’s always has fantastic quality things and I recommend the online auction whenever my friends need new furniture or cool finds for their apartments!
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July 2021 by Jim Hutzler
We had a situation where a large quantity of store stock needed to be sold quickly, and Shelley, John, Chelsea and all of Caplan's staff did a wonderful job of accommodating our needs. We will always be grateful....
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May 2021 by Barbara K. Lawson
Over several years I have used Caplan’s to help downsize my home and when I help others downsizing. I really enjoy working with John, who responds quickly. The staff have an extraordinary ability to inventory and keep track of so much stuff. The fellows who will pick-up items at your home, if necessary, are careful and very efficient. The account reconciliation is comprehensive and fair. I am grateful for this easy and effective way to “go smaller.”
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May 2021 by roz kleffman
Caplan's Action & Appraisal Co made the overwhelming task of cleaning out my friend's condo possible. Shelly Harris walked me through the process, offered solutions to my many questions, promptly got me scheduled for an appraisal with John, quickly got me on the books for the clean-out and provided a professional team of sorters and movers for an amazing price.John saved me $ 9000. with just the appraisal because I had way overestimated the value of the contents. The documentation paperwork is just what Probate Court wants and that made my life a lot easier.The sort/move team were professional, kind and efficient. They cleaned out the 1500 sq ft. place in a day AND took all the trash away too. The team left the place ready to show.The death of my friend was devastating to me but the team at Caplan's made this task possible. I will always remember their compassion, efficiency and professional service.Yes, I would highly recommend Caplan's for any estate appraisal and auction services. Save yourself lots of headaches and call them.
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May 2021 by Tom Kotoski
I sold on Ebay for years and decided it was getting to be too much for me. I used Caplan's to liquidate my inventory. Getting rid of my storage locker bills was the smartest thing I've ever done. I was very happy with how my items turned out. No more storage locker fees and got paid quick and easy from Caplan's.
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April 2021 by Ej Rogers
Absolutely love this place. Never know what I will find here. I'm here every chance I get. The employees are the greatest.
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January 2021 by Chelsea H.
Always a good experience with caplans. Whether it's buying or selling. Owners really care. Highly recommend.
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January 2021 by marie cox
Thank you for giving some good old furniture a new home. The moving crew was excellent!
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January 2021 by Veronica Hayes
After months of quarantining I realized I finally had the time to go through my dad's estate. My first call was to Caplans who I was referred to from a friend who also used their services. They walked me through the process of settling an estate. They did every step with me. From the appraisal to the final end result. I have to say I am very pleased with how everything turned out. It was a scary process that was I was dreading but ended up not so scary.
