Ultimate Downsizing Part III
In the last of this three-part series on downsizing, let us consider some ways to make money on the stuff that you no longer want to keep. With each of these options, I will cover the upsides and the downsides to help you decide which options are best for your situation.
ESTATE AUCTION: This is generally the first item that is taken off the list but is a perfecty viable solution!
UPSIDE:
After you sign the contract everything is marketed by a professional,
setup, auction is done in as little as two weeks. Payment comes in as
less than 30 days. Every Auctioner is licensed and bonded.
DOWNSIDE: None, really. Your motivation will set what you expect to get. Auctioneers sell products, not the sentimental value.
YARD SALE / ESTATE SALE.
If you’ve never held a yard sale, let me tell you that it takes a LOT
of work to pull one off successfully. First, you have to gather all the
items together. That is no small task for most people. Then you will
need to clean and price everything (and for goodness sakes, don’t use
cheap labels that can only be removed by using Goof Off!), place
advertising, post signs in high-traffic areas, obtain tables for
displaying items, have potentially valuable antiques appraised, and
sweet-talk your friends and family into helping you.
UPSIDE: You get to keep all the money when your stuff sells.
DOWNSIDE:
All of the steps I listed above. But if you have enough high-value
items, you may make enough money for it to be worth all the trouble. Estate
Tag Companies are not licensed or bonded, so if you suffer a loss, you
have no one to contact to file a complaint except to go through an
expensive and lengthy court process.
ALTERNATIVE: Hire an estate sale company to do it for you, but know that they will keep a large percentage of the sales.
CRAIG’S LIST / EBAY AUCTION SITES:
There are lots of internet-based auction sites out there now, but the
most popular ones are Craig’s List and Ebay. Before you go this route, I
would encourage you to “shop” the auction sites to see how much similar
items are selling for. You may be surprised to find that people aren’t
paying much for old Star Trek books, National Geographic collections, or
record albums. If you decide to sell through Ebay, you’ll first need to
set up an account. Then take digital photos of each item, write a
detailed description of the item, and determine your minimum acceptable
winning bid. After you post the item on the auction site, be prepared to
answer any questions potential buyers may email to you. After the
auction is over, it will be your responsibility to mail the item to the
winner. In most cases, you set up the auction so that the buyer pays you
extra for postage. Ebay charges a listing fee regardless of whether the
item sells. It is currently free to sell on Craig’s List.
UPSIDE:
You could get lucky and get a couple of people who REALLY want the
item(s) you are selling. The competitive bidding mentality can really
jack up the price of an item.
DOWNSIDE: Timing is
everything with auction sites. If your timing is off and there’s no real
interest, the bids may come in pretty low. Also, it can be time
consuming to answer all the questions and then mail each item to its
winner. There are many buyers out there who have turned over to a
new form of getting the item, relisting it, and then filing a claim
against you for the item not being as described. Be prepared to take a
loss. Plus, many of these sites do not market your items unless you
are a high dollar seller.
ALTERNATIVE: If you
can find one in your area, you could take your stuff to an online
auction resaler who will keep a percentage of the selling price after
posting the item, answering questions, and shipping the items to the
winning bidder. Try your local phone book or Google to find an auction
resaler in your area.
CONSIGNMENT: One of my
favorite ways to make money on used household goods and nice clothing is
through consignment stores. All you have to do is set up an account
with the store and drop your items off. Check with these store for more
info on their policies and the percentage of the sales that they keep.
Normally, consignment stores keep between forty and fifty percent of the
sales price.
UPSIDE: It is easy and convenient to make some money off your castaways if you have a good consignment store nearby.
DOWNSIDE:
Most consignment stores can afford to be very particular about the
quality of their inventory, so do not be surprised if they turn down
some of your items. Also, you generally have no control over the price
of the item, and the price goes down if the item does not sell within a
set amount of time. Some inconspicuous stores will take the consignment, and conveniently “Lose the paperwork” and not pay you after. BEWARE.
ALTERNATIVE:
If you have a large quantity of high-quality antiques and collectibles,
it may be more cost-effective to rent your own space in one of the
antique consignment malls.
CLASSIFIED ADS: The
last alternative that I sometimes suggest to my organizing clients is
that they advertise in their local newspaper’s classified section.
UPSIDE: You control the price and you get to keep the full sales amount.
DOWNSIDE: Strangers will be coming to your home. I generally do not recommend this option to my elderly or single female clients.
In
this three-part series on Downsizing, I have given you some steps to
get you started on the purging process, some ideas about where to donate
the things you no longer need, and now some ways to make a few bucks
along the way. Just remember, the ultimate goal when downsizing it to
purge what you no longer love and what is no longer serving you. Let
these things go to make space for a calmer, less chaotic home.