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  #1  
Old 10-20-2020, 10:05 AM
Photojeep Photojeep is offline
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Default Auctions and moving

Hey,
I'm considering a move next year and we won't be bringing most of our furniture and things with us (our destination house is fully furnished) and we're wondering about how to "get rid" of things in this house.

My sister in law mentioned the possibility of having an auction to sell the furniture and whatever else we don't want. I had never heard of doing this so I'm wondering if anyone here has any experience doing this.

Our plan would be to donate to charity whatever doesn't sell but I'm wondering how these types of auctions work. Is there a cost against commission?

Any insights would be most appreciated.

Best,
PJ
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Old 10-20-2020, 10:53 AM
MikeBmusic MikeBmusic is offline
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Obviously the auction house gets a nice %. These are usually estate sales from a death and the remaining family isn't interested in doing anything except cashing in.
IF if anything is of real value, you should use Facebook marketplace or craigslist first to try to sell.
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Old 10-20-2020, 11:25 AM
DCCougar DCCougar is offline
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Well, there's always the yard sale (or garage sale), but that will tie you up for a day or two....
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Old 10-20-2020, 12:07 PM
buddyhu buddyhu is offline
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There has not been much demand for used furniture for a long time, and I imagine COVID19 has aggravated the situation. Unless you want to devote a lot of time to selling stuff, you need to price stuff very low if you plan to use Craig’s list or similar online options.

When we moved cross country (almost 6 years ago), we were able to sell some stuff that was utilitarian (dining room table and chairs, gas grill, chest of drawers), but we got a lot less than the original purchase price (1/3 at most). We gave away lots of stuff to friends, and donated a lot of stuff that didn’t sell. And a surprising amount of stuff just gets tossed: nobody wants it, even as a gift or donation.

A garage sale is also a time intensive option, with same general result: some good proceeds from a few items, lots of stuff sells very cheap, and lot of stuff gets donated or tossed.

When my Mom died in 2008, my sister and I both lived several hundred miles away, and we needed to move my Dad into an assisted living facility near me, so after sorting through their stuff for several weekends, we turned everything that didn’t have sentimental value over to an estate sale operation. I think they took 30% of the proceeds. We netted a bit more than $3000 for a 3 bedroom house and garage full of pretty nice furniture, a few antiques, and all the dishes And kitchen stuff and vacuums and electronics (two newer TV’s, stereo, etc) and old record albums and....well, just a LOT of stuff. Not much hassle though.

I’d recommend that you adjust to the fact that your used stuff doesn’t have much value. Sell the high value, quick sale stuff yourself. Give most of the rest of it to friends, acquaintances, younger families that you know. Donate what you can to charities.
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Old 10-20-2020, 12:30 PM
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rllink rllink is offline
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We sold a condo a few years back and we were going back and forth over the price. After a couple times we were close and I said I wouldn't go down any more but I would leave the furniture, tv, appliances and household goods. She bought it. We took our personal possessions, our art, and left the rest. I guess that's if you are selling. If you rent, I guess garage sale is an option.
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Old 10-20-2020, 05:45 PM
MrDB MrDB is offline
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Used furniture and household goods are worth very little. As others have said try to sell some of the nicer newer stuff at a yard sale/moving sale. Don't ask too much, remember the goal is to get it sold. Donate the rest of it to Goodwill, Salvation Army, etc.
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Old 10-20-2020, 07:02 PM
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pukematrix pukematrix is offline
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The woman from whom we purchased our current home was downsizing and had a local auction house come in to manage the sale of the items she no longer wanted or needed. The sale was hosted at the home, after our offer was accepted but before it closed. She actually had a few items that we were interested in, so we were able to bid on those and the auction operator simply tucked them away in a room for us, which made it super convenient. The sale covered everything from furniture, to books, to electronics, tools, etc. There was quite a bit to start and not much that went unclaimed, surprisingly. What didn't sell was donated, from what I understand.

Given your location, though, you could just take the lot to the Pawn Star guys. I'm sure they'll pay you top dollar.

Best of luck on the move.

Austin
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Old 10-21-2020, 08:01 PM
The Bard Rocks The Bard Rocks is offline
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I was once a partner in an auction firm. At the end of the day everything gets sold and busily hauled away and the client got a check. Some things you wonder why anyone bought it at that price and other times you felt fleeced, but it averages out. You want to be in an area where auctions are not uncommon and find an auctioneer with a following.

Antiques are not in high demand today, a shame.

There are two basic ways to run auctions, with a reserve price (it's not sold unless it brings at least a pre-determined price), or absolute (whatever it brings is what you get. The reserve gives you an out and prevents losing too much money on any one item, but absolute brings the best crowd.
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Old 10-22-2020, 02:35 PM
Photojeep Photojeep is offline
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Thank you everyone!

I figured that furniture and the like will probably not bring in very much but the point is to simply get it sold.

I appreciate knowing about "absolute" vs. "reserve"

I also hadn't thought about "Pawn Stars" though! I'm sure I'm sitting on a mint!!

Thanks again,
PJ
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Old 10-22-2020, 06:18 PM
Earl49 Earl49 is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Photojeep View Post
I'm sure I'm sitting on a mint!!
And they will offer you a quarter of a mint for it. It is automatic that as soon as any number is mentioned, they go straight to maybe 25% of that. I get that they run a business and they have to make a profit, but the dance is so predictable that I never bother to watch anymore.

What was disturbing to me is how little interest there is in grandma's good china and silver. There was a time when a new bride was happy to get that stuff, but these days you cannot give it away. We learned this when a friend's wife passed away a few years ago, and it was reinforced last year when his 98 year old mother died too. He took a few items and some furniture, did the auction thing for the rest, and left the rest behind when the property was sold. Fortunately the buyer was OK with that, saving him a lot of dump runs.
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