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Venture Capital News: Everything But The House Raises $13M

2014-11-25
CINCINNATI, OH, Online estate sale company, announced today that it has raised a $13 million Series A round of funding from Spark Capital and Greycroft Partners.
After six years of rapid growth, and recent expansion across the Midwest, startup Everything But The House (EBTH), an online estate sale company, announced today that it has raised a $13 million Series A round of funding from Spark Capital and Greycroft Partners, with participation from individual investors. The funds will support an aggressive growth strategy to bring EBTH's comprehensive services to approximately 50 cities within the next two years.

In today's market, a traditional estate sale earns around $7,000 for a seller, while the average estate sale through EBTH earns $27,000, mostly due to the visibility of EBTH's nearly 350,000 unique web visitors from across the world each month.

The full-service company handles every part of the sale from cataloging and photographing each item for sale, to coordinating shipping, trash removal services, donations and more so that each home is left empty from wall-to-wall. Every online sale is active for seven days and all bids start at $1. EBTH handles estates of all sizes and has sold estates worth several million dollars.

'Estate sales are more than a transactional experience. They are often an unexpected and emotional event driven by things like downsizing, relocating or losing a loved one,' said EBTH President and CEO Andy Nielsen. 'Our full-service approach expedites the process, takes the pressure off the sellers' shoulders, and produces significant financial results. The funding and strategic direction from Spark and Greycroft will allow us to rapidly expand into major markets across the U.S.'

Spark Capital and Greycroft Partners are leaders in the e-commerce and second-hand goods industries, as illustrated by Spark Capital's investment in Wayfair and Greycroft Partners' investments in Trunk Club and The RealReal.

'With the increasing popularity of online marketplaces, the days of estate sales held in auction houses are dwindling,' said Spark Capital General Partner Alex Finkelstein. 'By taking care of the entire process from cataloging to cleaning out the house, EBTH offers a complete service not yet seen in the industry. We're confident that EBTH's model will be well received at a national level.'

Cincinnati-based EBTH sells all kinds of second-hand goods from furniture and collectibles to grand pianos and garden tools. Other notable items sold include a Ford Model T, a 17th Century Chinese Libation Cup, a highly collectible vintage BMW motorcycle and a World Series ring, which sold for $89,000.

With operations in Cincinnati, Columbus, Indianapolis, Louisville, Lexington and Nashville, EBTH has plans to expand into major market areas including Boston, Washington D.C., Atlanta, Denver, Dallas, Chicago, Los Angeles and the Gulf Coast of Florida throughout 2015.
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