<p>They probably wouldn’t take it unless it is a flat screen either.</p>
<p>Well it was not a flat screen. But the guy didn’t mention that. Maybe the remote was just the excuse and it really was because it wasn’t a flat screen, lol.</p>
<p>S and I just looked at each other like “he’s joking, right?” He was not joking. So we left the perfectly good tv sans remote in the apartment for the next tenant. Landlord was fine with that. So for less than $10 someone could have the tv while just purchasing an inexpensive remote.</p>
<p>I’ve bought some great pieces at consignment- but in higher end neighborhoods. I’ve now got a bunch of good things to let go of- and no place locally that I think will have the clientele. Guess I’ll have to look further. Timely thread, for me.</p>
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If the charity can’t sell it they don’t want it and with an electronic item like this it might end up costing them money to dispose of it legally. I don’t think anyone wants a non flat screen TV now - even if it’s free. It doesn’t surprise me they refused this.</p>
<p>I work at a charity thrift store. We take NO televisions of any kind, and nothing related to computers at all.</p>
<p>Re: consigning furniture. Good friend relocated and bought new home. She actually hated her nice, but older dining room set so decided to consign it. Well…she found a great place…but SHE had to haul the set there (table, 8 chairs, side board and china cabinet). They set a reasonable price for lot…and reduced it FOUR times. At that point, they still were not getting any bites and they had exceeded the consignment store time limit on sales. So THEY had to pick the stinking thing up and take it back home. </p>
<p>At least with Craigslist you are not doing the hauling!</p>
<p>I think there is no “best” way to sell furniture. I think it’s just luck – if someone on Craigslist wants your item, then that’s the best way! If no one does, it stinks. </p>
<p>I haven’t been able to get our local consignment shop to pay attention to me, so I’m “stuck” with Craigslist. But it seems to be working. </p>
<p>So far I’ve sold three major items on it – my humongous sectional sofa, a very traditional (aka old-fashioned) breakfront, and S1’s trundle bed. I have more to go. For me, it’s a matter of listing it, and then remembering to relist it, and then relisting it again. Eventually, someone gets interested. In the meantime, the stuff is just taking up room in my garage.</p>
<p>If you do Craigslist, it helps to have some incentive in there. You could price it at $300 but say - you can have it for $275 if you pay cash and pick it up by Friday - and then be willing to go to $250 if you can. You won’t make a lot of money but you should get something acceptable and get it out of your house.</p>
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<p>So not true… I have sold thousands of dollars in items on Craigslist, including a significant number of things for an estate for which I am the personal representative. It is really the best way to get the most money for your items – better than auctions or consignment, IMHO. You don’t give a cut to anyone else.</p>
<p>And… someone almost always wants your item on CL. It is mostly an issue of pricing.</p>
<p>I only take cash. They have to pick up. And I don’t put my phone number in the ad, have them contact via email until I am sure they are truly interested and what to come see the item. And delete your ad after selling to avoid additional emails.</p>
<p>Craigslist is the first place my kids go when they need apartment furniture- especially dressers, tables and lamps. Soft furniture is harder to move. I don’t think I’d want to buy an upholstered piece from a stranger unless I planned to reupholster it.</p>
<p>My neighborhood has a permanent virtual yard sale group on Facebook. You post a photo, short description and price, and can conduct further business via private messages. </p>
<p>With furniture, i’ve found that most upholstered furniture isn’t worth the hassle of trying to sell. </p>
<p>I’ve gotten rid of good wood furniture via facebook, had some upholstered and cheap stuff hauled away by 1-800-gotjunk, and recently our county garbage department has begun hauling furniture and other junk if you call and schedule a pickup. There are a couple of charity organizations in our area that will take furniture… I believe Best Buy will take electronics.</p>
<p>It sounds like Oldfort has some very nice furniture she wants to sell. Not the type of stuff you would put on the curb or have hauled away as junk.</p>
<p>I have posted a couple of items to my wall on Facebook. Because of my settings, it only goes to my FB friends. I figure my friends should have first dibs on the things I no longer want. You never know…one of your best buddies might want that gorgeous dresser or living room set.</p>
<p>I had my first visit today for my dining room table set. The couple seem very nice, but the table was too big for them. They told me they’ve been looking for a dining room table all day off the Craigslist and ours was the best. They said we could get at least 200 more for it. I said I just wanted to get the set out of our place.</p>
<p>I have wondered about consignment because I have some old antique furniture , silver,etc. handed down that I know I will have to get rid of some day. My kids may want some of it but it is mostly heavy hand me down stuff that most kids don’t want these days. My kids have already taken some smaller wooden tables and they like them but the bigger stuff may be a different story. I also have a 20’s chandelier from an old house I want to sell. What is a usual fair consignment percentage?</p>
<p>The thing I most want to get rid of though are old cemetery plots in Pittsburgh. Over a dozen left to us that we have no use for(bought way back when families were into buying big family plots on the cheap). I know, an odd subject, but I am open to suggestions on how to get rid of them. The cemeteries don’t seem to want to buy them back and there may be rules about that anyway.</p>
<p>oldfort, just keep listing it every week or so. Eventually the right person will come along.</p>
<p>sevmom: Perhaps you can build a new house on the plots. :rolleyes:</p>
<p>sounds like Craigslist will work for you oldfort-</p>
<p>sevmom: cemetery plots, oh yes, I, too, have these. It was a shocking revelation to me a few years back to realize my children and their SOs probably weren’t going to bury each other in the family cemetery. And so, there’s really no reason for me to be there either. These were gifted plots and I doubt there is a mechanism for selling them back. The money that bought them went into a fund for upkeep, which I am happy to contribute to, since my parents, grandparents, greats and so on are there. Eventually, when space gets tight, I assume some cousins are going to ask if they can spread out a bit from nearby.</p>
<p>The consignment stores I’ve dealt with do a 50/50 or 60/40 split. I get 60. For what you are describing, I would contact a small local auction house first. The fees there vary widely in my experience. I would only use an auction that had an on-line sales component. So your items are essentially on ebay at the same time they are being sold from the floor… lots more competition.</p>
<p>In my experience, silver flatware normally sells for the value of the metal… unless it is something highly collected, like George Jensen. If you think anyone in your family will ever buy silver flatware, it makes sense to keep it imho. If you have your mother or grandmother’s silver it is probably much heavier and better quality than new pieces in the same pattern. Probably I’m not telling you something you don’t already know.</p>
<p>I’m keeping the silver. Of all the things my girls don’t want, I told them they get the silver, no matter what. The value of the metal is complicated by the fact that silver and gold are amalgams. </p>
<p>My understanding is auction is roughly half the resale value. ? You can also sell silver to Replacements. Again, not much return.</p>
<p>My understanding is auction is roughly half the resale value. ?</p>
<p>^^Good rule of thumb. imho In my opinion: dealers bidding at auction probably won’t pay half. They have to make a profit. It may depend how large/bulky the item is. Knowledgeable private collectors probably won’t bid/pay more than half resale value. They may have to outbid the dealers, but they won’t pay retail at auction. Sometimes you run into an auction situation where people are bidding and buying for entertainment and don’t care what they spend. Then there are no rules. That is a good reason to have your stuff at an auction with on-line access for bidders.</p>
<p>ETA: of course, if you sell at auction and the item goes for half retail, you are only getting a percentage of the hammer price</p>
<p>Sometimes I would rather give to a friend than sell for a fraction of the “value”</p>
<p>I’m really sad that a lot of “precious” things are only worth their weight in scrap. Even if it’s not my style or something I’d personally want, I still think there’s a lot of value in the beauty of the design and workmanship, especially things like silverware and jewelry. </p>
<p>I am selling a lot of things that I don’t want anymore, but I’m keeping the small things like jewelry and one “extra” set of silverware. They don’t take up a whole lot of room in storage, and with so much being sold as scrap, maybe my few things will become rare and valuable someday. Or…my great great grandchildren will sell them as scrap.</p>
<p>Ok, I think I have a taker for the dining set at full asking. Someone is emailing me about the dresser now. I guess Craigslist is working. Of course, I am selling them for a fraction of what we paid for them.</p>
<p>Fingers crossed, oldfort!</p>