<p>We have cleaned out our house considerably, mainly by dropping stuff off at Goodwill. But now I’m getting down to the “good” stuff that I don’t want – e.g., some Limoges dishes that were my grandmother’s, some glassware that was my mother-in-law’s. This is worth money to someone, and I’d much prefer to have the money. </p>
<p>I don’t want to sell it on eBay, because each and every piece would need to be wrapped carefully. </p>
<p>Has anyone used a consignment store? An auction house? What has your experience been? What should I watch out for? How much of the sales price do these arrangements cost?</p>
<p>saw an estate sale specialist did an estate sale. they came to the house and marked every thing, they do an advertising locally so their customers will come to buy the stuff. its like garage sale, but on a larger scale by a professional. they charge you 50% of the intake.</p>
<p>Your kids don’t want the dishes/glassware? The easiest thing to do is to just give it to them since it’s been in the family a long time. It seems a shame to just get rid of it and I doubt the money you’d get would be significant.</p>
<p>If it’s especially collectible you could sell it on eBay - or sell it to a pawn shop.</p>
<p>Selling things is tricky. It takes a lot of work if you want to get full monetary value out of something, or very little work if you are willing to accept much less than the things are worth, or you can hire someone to do the work, but in the end you’re getting less than full market value.</p>
<p>After a relative passed away, my wife and I sold 50% of her estate on Craigslist and the remaining 50% during an estate sale that the family ran outselves. It took a lot of people and many hours of work, but we didn’t pay commission and we got to set the prices.</p>
<p>One caution with an estate service is they set the prices, and they set them to sell since they don’t get commission if the stuff doesn’t sell. So just because the fine china cost $2,000 doesn’t mean the estate service can’t put $150 on the item to make it sell.</p>
<p>yes, on a regular estate sale, you get 10c on a $1. I bought tools stuff that should cost $20 for $3. But if you want to get $10 used on a $20 new of an item, you have to do it yourself on craigslist and it will take you a LOT of time and efforts. Some items will not sell or you have to wait for a long time.</p>
<p>The Limoges is, IMHO, just not all that pretty nor all that rare. </p>
<p>And the glassware is, to me, very ugly – it’s amber in color, with some sort of gold edging around the rims. Since everything I have for a fancy table is silver (starting with my sterling), I’m just not interested in owning it.</p>
<p>And I can guarantee that my 22- and 27-year-old sons are not interested. </p>
<p>I discovered an auction house about an hour and a half from my home; they hold an auction every Thursday night. I’m thinking of going once to check it out and see what I can learn.</p>
<p>Edited to add: Also, I am really trying to become what I refer to as “a net exporter of goods.” Kind of like China. We are trying to sell our humongous house of 25 years and move into something much smaller. I only want to keep the things that I truly love.</p>
<p>I have been selling tennis racquets that I’ve used over the years and some that I just bought to try out. There are two tennis forums that I visit and they have active for sale forums and I sold my first batch that way. The medium of exchange is PayPal. There is a moderate amount of work in shipping stuff and you take the risk of loss in transit or customs. This is why I prefer to sell in the US even though you miss out on worldwide demand.</p>
<p>I have some stuff that I’d like to sell locally and was considering using Craigslist for that but worry a bit about the risks.</p>
<p>We do a lot of sales on Craigslist, but for items that the OP is selling I am skeptical that there’d be much interest. We sell electronics for a pretty penny… boyfriend is an idiot about it and meets up with these people at 10pm in an empty grocery store parking lot, but if he went during the day and brought some friends it wouldn’t be a big deal at all.</p>
<p>The last time I wanted to divest myself of something, I put a message on Facebook. It went ONLY to my friends and friends of friends. The item was out of my house in 20 minutes…no kidding. My son sold much of his “stuff” from his grad school apartment the same way. He took pictures, and posted them in an album on FB. He had prices on some things and “make an offer” on others. Again, sold very quickly…to either friends or friends of friends.</p>
<p>If you want to do prices, check ebay for the prices for similar things there.</p>
That’s not a big deal - just pack it up carefully and ship it. I recently shipped crystal, etc. across the country and it was fine (except for one glass that broke).</p>
<p>Knowing that some relatives are enjoying these family items might make you very happy.</p>
<p>We are going to have a lot of things for sale too. They are all in storage now. We will be moving into a 1500 sq ft apartment. We are trying to figure out what would be the best way to sell everything.</p>
<p>For fine china, silverware, and glassware, contact Replacements.com to see if they’re interested. They not only maintain inventory, they keep a list of “we want this”.</p>
<p>We are fortunate to have two very nice consignment shops nearby. I have sold a couple of things through the one shop and it has been painless. The owner is savvy about prices and she knows what to charge if you want an item to move. When the time comes for us to sell the contents of someone’s household, that is where I will look. I like simple. If she does not want an item (and she will only take items in great condition), then I will look to Goodwill, Water Street Rescue Mission, etc.</p>
<p>Wow talk about timing - we’re trying to unload the stuff in my parents’ house. It seems like a never ending task - my father didn’t throw out anything for nearly 60 years. We’ve spent every weekend for 2 months trying to get stuff out and barely made a dent.</p>
<p>We have a local “consignment” store that sells everything online. You might look for similar services in your area. This company will inventory your home, take photos, and place items up for bid. It is like Ebay, but they do all the work. Shipping is extra if the bidders are out of town. I am always surprised at the prices achieved. They must have a regular following, since many items sell for much more than I expect. They only charge 30%, which I believe is low for the industry. However, you must meet their minimum total value, which may work if you are selling an entire estate, but might not if you are only downsizing a limited number of items. It depends on the value of your items and the minimum of the particular company.</p>
<p>I love the idea of using Facebook with friends and family. Some the “cherished” items are only meaningful because of the person who gave them – not because of the item. I would feel so much better knowing the items once loved by a close family member found a new home with a friend.</p>