I probably shouldn't tell you this, but I used to run professional estate sales. I was a personal property appraiser and hired to sell the contents of homes. At first it was very strange, but to be honest I grew to love the process. As I sorted, cleaned and rearranged everything in the house, I felt partly like a detective trying to figure out who this person was and what they had loved in life.
I really felt a need to respect their property and treat it with dignity. So for me cleaning and displaying it nicely was important...and it sold better.
The early shoppers are the ones that have little respect for the person...they are usually the dealers and they are on a mission to find the best stuff for the least amount of money they can. Those who come later are usually very nice folks. There are sometimes people who come in and ask a lot of questions about the family and who they were and look through everything as if they want to get to know them.
Every sale was a different experience...from finding a big container of silver from a dentist homes to rats in a hoarders place.