My mom has collected items for most of her life, most not worth more than $2-$10 when she paid far more than that decades ago. Now that we are selling her house, I need to turn her stuff into cash to pay for her care home. As POA I have a few questions.1. How long do you try to sell something before you give up and just donate it? I have no room to store anything long term.2. What avenues have you found to be best for selling low value "collectables?" 3. How do you break the news to your loved one that their most valuable collections are not worth the hundreds if not thousands they expect to get out of them? As an example my mom has a collectors plate that was mass produced, and is worth about $2-$10 on a good day. She paid probably $30-$60 for it in 1990. 4. How do you sell quilts and afghans made by your LO? 5. How do you price them? We let all the family pick their favorites, but we still have tons and they smell musty in some cases.
I have about twenty large boxes of "collectibles" that she expects me to turn into cash. A yard sale is not an option. She is running out of cash quickly, which is why we are trying to get her home and excess stuff sold ASAP.
Good luck.
After my parents had passed, I found there was very little interest in the above items. So I gather everything I had, along with my Mom's items and donated them to a hospital rummage sale, proceeds go for nursing scholarships. I even went to the rummage sale later in the day, and there were the items I donated, no takers :(
She wasn't living in the house at the time so there was no security issues with people coming in to look at things since anything of actual value was removed. We put up a large sign that said all the sale proceeds would go to fund her in AL and that everything must go. We had brown paper grocery bags that people could fill up with items and then they named their own price to pay, so nothing was pre-priced. We didn't even think about pricing. We also said no coins, so everything had to be $1 and up.
People IMO overpaid for what they purchased in most cases. We cleared out a lot of stuff and made $5K for dozens of things like worthless ceramic lighthouses and 60 vacation sweatshirts. We even sold her appliances: fridge, stove, dishwasher, light fixtures and even water heater. As long as the buyers made all the effort and took it away themselves, that day, that was the goal.
Since MIL's quadhome was being foreclosed, we just left everything else in there, closed the door and delivered the key to the bankers.
Then later we had to sell her husband's stuff, which was more interesting, vintage stuff but required too much time to price out and sell. I grouped all of it so I could take 1 or 2 pictures. I named some of the more valuable items and posted it on craigslist.org (because you get a wider audience). I listed it as "must take all items" and listed a lump sum amount or BO (best offer). No items were to be sold separately because I didn't want to deal with that. Someone did come and buy all of it.
The rest we advertised as FREE and had people (aka hoarders) come get it so we didn't have deal with moving it.
Make it easy to sell it, make a minimal effort to sell. After that, make it easy to get rid of it. People demonize craigslist.org but it worked great for us. Nextdoor.com can work, too but depending on where you live they might not be the audience for the collectible you have to sell.
We did not allow her to attend the sale or visit the house anymore. We told her whatever made her feel good about it (therapeutic fib). SFIL had Parkinsons and had a legal guardian so the sale of his goods went to my MIL since he barely supported her during their marriage.
I know it seems overwhelming, especially if you're the only one doing the work. My advice is that if you're going to donate it, have people come get it themselves. Don't pack it up or drive it anywhere. Call a charitable organization with a truck to come get it all.
You can go to Estatesales.net and find a company in your area that buys estates outright. That might be your best bet, although they may not be willing to offer you much, if anything. There HAS to be a profit in it for them.
Some hand made quilts and Afghans may be of interest to buyers. Air them out outside for a few days to get rid of the musty smell. If that doesnt work,hang them up in a zip up garment bag with unused coffee grinds (a whole can) for 2 weeks or until the smell is gone. This method works beautifully with furs too, for any odors including perfumes or cigarette smoke.
You can list quilts on eBay at auction for $9.99 opening bid if you don't know the value. The community determines the true value. The buyer pays the shipping which you determine beforehand according to the chart you are provided as a seller. Facebook Marketplace is another good place to sell them with less hassle. I have found that my items either sell right away on Marketplace, or not at all. 2 weeks is long enough to list them in a user friendly listing format. EBay not so much. You must set up your banking with them in order to be paid by eBay as they now manage your sales and your payouts. The hassle is real.
The true value lies in crazy quilts and antique patchwork quilts. Check sold listings for items on eBay for pricing guidelines. Especially if you don't want to use the auction feature.
Google Lens is another good feature to use to find asking and sometimes selling prices on things.
If mom understands anything, maybe explain that the price is low because so many of the same items are available, then tell her it's for sale and you'll let her know when it sells, then forget about it unless she brings it up, then it's still for sale mom.
I see a lot of this very situation and it is so sad that people bought stuff with the idea it would substantially contribute to their finances at some point. Things have changed way to much.
I’ve got the same situation with my MIL and when the time comes, I’m renting a dumpster and throwing it all away.
They are emotionally attached to it, but it’s simply junk.
No one wants the tchotchkes that she has collected over the years.
BUT if there is a chance that any are of real value then do a bit of research.
You have the internet and Google at your fingertips. That is a good way to start.
If you find anything that might be of value search "collectors" in your area and see what they say or may offer.
You could contact an Estate Sale company and let them value and price "objet d'art" Do know that they will take a hefty % for organizing, advertising and running the sale. But it is one last thing that you have to deal with.
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