Meares Properties

What Meares Properties does

Meares Properties (legal entity: Meares Company, Inc.) is a privately held, family-owned auction and real estate services firm headquartered at 315 Eastview Road, Pelzer, South Carolina. Founded in 1975 by Larry J. Meares, who holds the 9th auctioneer's license issued by the State of South Carolina, the company provides real estate auctions, live and online personal property auctions, estate liquidations, downsizing assistance, and appraisal services. It serves individual sellers, executors handling estates, downsizing households, collectors of coins, trains, toys, and knives, and property owners seeking expedited real estate dispositions across South Carolina, North Carolina, and Georgia.

The company's core offerings are delivered through traditional auction mechanics: live in-person events for real estate (with a 10% buyer's premium and $5,000 day-of-auction deposit) and online auctions hosted on the third-party Proxibid platform for personal property and collectibles. Operations rely on a small team of 5-6 named professionals with elite industry credentials (CAI, CAS, GPPA), including a Hall of Fame inductee and multiple-time SC Bid Calling Champion. An affiliated education arm, the Southeastern School of Auctioneering (founded 1983, now in its 43rd year), trains new auctioneers with classes capped at 30 students and offers continuing education seminars.

The business model is primarily transaction-fee based — commissions and buyer's premiums on completed auctions — supplemented by tuition and seminar revenue from the training division. Customer acquisition is conducted through a Squarespace-hosted website, email newsletter, Facebook page, and direct phone/email contact; no digital advertising, paid acquisition, or salesforce-driven outbound motion is documented. The company carries no external investors, has not pursued funding, and has no parent holding company.

Name

Meares Properties

Legal name

Meares Company, Inc.

Website

https://mearesproperties.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1975

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Meares Properties is a family-owned auction and real estate services firm based in Pelzer, South Carolina, conducting real estate auctions, estate liquidations, online personal property auctions, and auctioneer training across South Carolina, North Carolina, and Georgia.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Auction and Real Estate Services

NAICS

Offices of Real Estate Agents and Brokers (53121), Other Activities Related to Real Estate (531390)

SIC

Real Estate Agents & Managers (For Others) (6531)

akta.pro primary industry

Residential Real Estate Auctions (BPAJAEAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

Bankruptcy, Probate & Estate Property Auctions (BPAJAEAG), Consignment & Estate Sale Home Goods Retail (Curated/Managed Sales) (CRAIANAM)

Keywords

• Real estate auctions
• Estate liquidations
• Personal property auctions
• Online auction services
• Auctioneer training

Headquarters

HQ city

Pelzer

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Auction Commissions - Personal Property: Commissions earned from selling personal property (coins, collectibles, toys, furniture, vehicles, etc.) through live and online auctions.
2. Real Estate Auctions: Real estate auction services with a 10% Buyer's Premium added to final bid. Seller pays liens, prorated taxes, and infestation letter. Buyer pays $5,000 day of auction with balance due within 30 days, plus closing costs.
3. Auctioneer Training: Southeastern School of Auctioneering provides auctioneer training courses. Classes limited to 30 students. Next class September 10-19, 2026. Also offers CE seminars for licensed auctioneers.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Meares Properties conducts real estate auctions and personal property (coins, collectibles, trains, antiques, vehicles) auctions through live in-person events and online auctions hosted on Proxibid. It also provides estate sale and downsizing services, plus the Southeastern School of Auctioneering and continuing education seminars for industry professionals.

Product overview

Meares Properties is a traditional auction and real estate services company offering a portfolio of interconnected services centered on estate liquidation and auction-based sales. The core offerings include Real Estate Auctions, Online Auctions (through Proxibid platform), Live Auctions, and Estate Sales services. Supporting these core auction services are the Southeastern School of Auctioneering (professional training) and Continuing Education Seminars for license renewal. The company also provides downsizing assistance to help clients manage transitions. All services are focused on the physical auction and real estate business rather than a software product platform.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Real Estate Auctions
• Online Personal Property Auctions

Named customers3 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Southeastern School of AuctioneeringcoreOthersOwned and operated by Larry Meares, this training division provides auctioneer education. In its 43rd year, it trains individuals for the auction profession with classes limited to 30 students. Faye Meares serves as Director and teaches Banking and Ethics courses.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Auction.com (Ten-X): The largest online residential real estate auction marketplace in the U.S., aggregating buyers nationally and competing for the same seller consignments Meares targets, but at far larger scale with proprietary technology.
• Skinner Auctioneers: A New England-based full-service auction house covering Americana, fine art, and estate contents. Comparable to Meares in handling estate-driven consignments across personal property categories, though at a larger regional scale.
• Heritage Auctions: The largest U.S. auction house for coins, currency, and collectibles — directly overlapping with Meares' estate coins and collectibles auction categories via online timed auctions on its proprietary platform.

Others

• LiveAuctioneers: A leading online auction aggregation platform competing with Proxibid as an alternative hosting venue for personal property auctions. Relevant as an infrastructure alternative and competitive constraint on the channel Meares currently uses.
• EstateSales.NET: The largest U.S. online directory and marketplace for estate sales, frequently used by consumers searching for downsizing and estate liquidations. Competes for the same client intent as Meares' estate sale services but routes through a self-serve listings model.

Direct peers

• Concierge Auctions: A leading online auction house for luxury and high-value residential properties, operating on a similar buyer-premium transaction model to Meares' real estate auctions. Direct competitor in the auction-method residential real estate category.
• Tranzon: A national network of independent real estate auction companies conducting accelerated residential and land auctions across multiple states. Operates in the same 'auction method of marketing' niche that Meares occupies, with similar buyer-premium economics.
• Williams & Williams (Xome): Williams & Williams (acquired by Xome) runs a national online real estate auction platform with live and timed auctions for residential properties — directly analogous to Meares' real estate auction service line in distribution model, though at much larger scale.
• Nashville School of Auctioneering: Long-running auctioneer training school where Meares founder Larry Meares received his own training. Direct competitor to the Southeastern School of Auctioneering for entry-level auctioneer candidates, with similar course structure and continuing education offerings.
• Hudson & Marshall Auctioneers: Regional real estate auction company conducting accelerated sales of residential, land, and commercial properties, including estate-driven sales. Closely comparable business model to Meares' real estate auction practice.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/MearesProperties
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/meares-properties

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles5 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Meares Properties