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Post by butterflygirl on Jul 15, 2010 9:39:01 GMT -5
I'm digging out my "nest." It's a very large nest, encompassing five buildings and spilling over even into my mother's house (I have filled one of her rooms).
Thousands of totes and boxes and misc and furniture to sell.
All treasures, good buys I could't pass up.
I can fairly easily throw away true junk: rotten books and clothes. I say fairly easily, because if I can salvage it and sell it, I will!!
I hope this is the appropriate forum for this thread.
I'm thinking there are many others out there like me: if we can sell our stuff - we need the money - we can part with it.
I am finding as time passes, there are darn few, if any, former treasures that for the right price, I wouldn't sell right now - because I need the money so badly.
I was hoping others could share their tips and tricks on selling?
Please share:
Where do you sell items and how has it worked for you?
How do you clean up certain disasters/stains/mold etc. in your items you want to sell?
How do you package/market the items?
Are you selling your excess now and is it working well with the current economy?
How do you decide and encourage yourself to part with something?
I used to look at a trinket I loved and think: "Well, I wouldn't sell that for less than $250.00! But eventually I might look at it and think: "Well, if someone gave me five dollars." And if the item had approached a real and reasonable price, I would then actually sell it.
I guess I'm finally realizing I have literally piled up my treasures on earth. I am counting on "unrealized potential" in my totes and buildings to fund my new life.
This is my last summer to make it work. Sell everything and NEVER buy excess again!
They will always have shampoo at the dollar store! I don't need to buy all the apple cinnamon scented candles on the shelf! ARGH!
I can't start my exciting new life, I never will start it - if I don't unload. And retrain this old brain to not look at "potential" in everything... or at least, buy ONE potential and follow it through to completion!
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Post by messymimi on Jul 15, 2010 9:57:30 GMT -5
Dear ButterflyGirl,
There are online sites that have tips and tricks for garage sales. YOu might want to check some of those.
If you have a yard sale, advertise, and put a sign at every corner with arrows pointing your way.
If you decide to have a two day sale, know that you will probably make most of the money the first day.
Remember, the point is to make the stuff go away, so price it to sell and sell fast. You want to make your money on the number of items you sell, not how high a price you can command for each item.
Example, one of my friends made over $1,000 with an average family yard sale by pricing everything to be gone, no matter what. She let people talk her down in price. She occasionally tossed in a free toy to a kid wandering around. Most of the stuff was gone by the time the sale was over.
Another friend had just as much stuff, but priced everything at what she thought it was "worth." She made a bit less than $500 and had lots left over, enough for another sale in fact. She was very disappointed.
People will be coming looking for a bargain, so give it to them. You will make more by selling a couple of thousand items for a dollar each than by selling only a couple of hundred for two dollars or more.
You can also consider the fact that you will no longer be paying the price of housing this stuff on your property or having it weigh on your mind as part of what you are earning here. What you might have made in cash you will be getting back even more in peace in your home and heart.
I will pray you will have a great and blessed sale that will bring you just what you need most.
messymimi
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Jul 15, 2010 11:20:14 GMT -5
I tried and tried, using Craig's list and ads in the papers, marking stuff down to the extreme (large bookcases for $5, almost new leather couches with no stains for $10), I tried garage sales too, but NOTHING sold. People would say they'd show up so I'd arrange my day around them, and they never came. Then came the problem of how to get rid of the stuff....garbage companies wanted to charge me a fortune to remove it.
I exhausted myself for months trying to eek out a bit of money from my mostly beautiful possessions, and it just broke my heart that it didn't happen. I wasted so much time and energy trying to sell it, and price it, and organize it, and take pictures of the stuff for my ads.
In the end, I put all the stuff on the curb...I did one Craig's list posting as a "curb alert" (in the FREE section) stating what was out there, and bingo! It was all gone in less than an hour. If I knew then what I know now, I would have just put it at the curb to begin with and saved myself a great deal of work and agony.
My advice to you...your stuff is likely not worth much even if it's in pristine condition. Call the Junk Be Gone people to remove it for you, get a dumpster, or use a curb alert on craig's list for the vast majority of it. For the really nice stuff call the salvation army and they come with a truck and take what they want. The time and effort you'll spend on this may kill you if you don't....and summer is blinking by.
Sorry I don't have better news. Good luck to you...
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Post by Rory on Jul 15, 2010 12:56:09 GMT -5
I've sold a little stuff, a Victorian watercolour and some antique furniture and that was it. Everything else I have given away or thrown out. For me the effort in trying to sell stuff just was not worth it in terms of time and emotional energy.
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Post by Script on Jul 15, 2010 16:34:27 GMT -5
I organized a book sale to raise money for a music group.
We rented a church hall on a very busy main street downtown
We had one person outside giving out flyers.
We had a one-night set up with sale the next day.
There were a LOT of books [donations from all sources].
We had at least half-a-dozen volunteers.
We also had a bake sale concurrently.
We made about $1500 net.
I would NOT do this again, for any amount of money, as it was so tiring, you cannot imagine: just carrying the books hither and thither.
good luck with whatever you decide.
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Post by ponygirl on Jul 15, 2010 16:54:19 GMT -5
What Rory and HurrJ said...  (and Script...missed the post as I was writing!) I've had only one sale in my life and it liked to have killed me with the prep, sale, and followup donations. (And I was following the advice Mimi gave to you about pricing to sell, which is the only way to go if you do have a sale.) For me, I would never do it again. Never. Even if I was guaranteed to pull in 4+ figures in profit. My mental sanity and my TIME is invaluable. Good luck with whatever you decide. |
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Post by 7sweetbabiesgranny on Jul 15, 2010 17:09:29 GMT -5
Estate sale companies might handle it,
hopefully it would be a free estimate from them.
They did my mother in laws house and it was great.
Even if they charged for their estimate time, it might be worth just knowing.
4 babies grannie
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Post by success19 on Jul 15, 2010 17:27:20 GMT -5
Define treasure - real antiques, coins, silver, gold, jewels, something rare?
My books were treasures to me = but worthless to others.
Most stuff is worthless - real treasures - are they in totes in a barn?
Even the few silver pieces I have = I look on ebay and they aren't worth that much.
Gold and valuables - yes sell them to someone in a gold store or even pawn shop.
What stuff is in those totes?
I had 1 tote of silver stuff = prob will be lucky to get a couple hundred for that stuff.
Couple of rings - maybe a thousand?
All the books, clothes and other stuff - mostly in the trash.
My treasures will be some photos, some things from childhood, some things made by my dd.
Valuable to me - not to anyone else.
Sunk costs - the cost of totes, barns, storage and the stress for you dear Butterfly - I hope you can recoup some of the money spent.
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Post by amberwind on Jul 15, 2010 18:06:37 GMT -5
Butterfly, you may want to try selling the totes on Craigslist as a grab bag deal - $5 for a tote, mystery contents worth at least $20, come get 'em while they last!
It saves you the trouble of going through each bag and trying to determine value, plus I've noticed that people go nuts for those kinds of things. I posted an ad once that said "Trash bag full of women's clothes, mixed casual and business, sizes XL, 12-18. $20 takes all." and got 18 calls before someone finally came and got it.
The main point is, if people think they're getting a deal, they'll snatch stuff up.
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Post by Deleted on Jul 15, 2010 18:12:20 GMT -5
I have been reading your other threads butterflygirl, catching up on what's going on in your life. What I am most proud of you for is that you want a new beginning....leaving life's hurts behind and making a new start with a new love and trying to make a good future for yourself. Bravo for you, and I say that with sincerity.
What I have to say in this next paragraph may be hard for you to hear...I want you to know I say this with love. Hun, I do not think you can clear FIVE buildings worth of stuff by the end of the summer by selling it bit by bit, at various places. Even separating things into totes and selling it by the tote-load would take a team of people and a herculean effort. In the end this is your life and your choice to make, but I don't think even superwoman could do all that work in the time you've allotted.
Which means you need a plan B in place in case this doesn't turn out the way you want. Options I can see: 1) you may have to go for speed now by dumping huge amounts of stuff quickly to reach your end-of-summer deadline...very painful for a hoarder but it CAN be done, or 2) you may have to extend your deadline.
I'm only putting in my 2 cents because I don't want you to fail dear butterfly. I wish you all the best....and a future of hope and happiness and peace. May all that is good be yours....
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Post by littleengine on Jul 15, 2010 21:33:06 GMT -5
Chiming in here to say that I volunteered at a yard sale done by my kids' school last month, and most of the stuff (it was decent stuff, too) did not sell. People are not buying like they used to.
For the last hour of the sale, we ran a special offer: we gave people a plastic grocery bag and let them fill it as full as they could for $5 per bag. That worked pretty well. Personally if I were coming to your garage sale, I would not want to buy a tote full of unknown stuff. Could you let people fill their own bags, or would that be too chaotic? It would probably leave you with a horrible mess afterward, I dunno....
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Post by success19 on Jul 15, 2010 21:42:58 GMT -5
I have been declutter for about a year now and still working on it - but a 2 bedroom apartment - I cannot imagine declutter the amount of totes you have - I bet it is a semi truck full.
Also it sound like you live in the country or such - will people travel to buy this stuff? Gas prices are so so high.
How many totes have you sorted through so far? How many a day can you do through the end of summer or early fall?
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Post by Chris on Jul 16, 2010 9:04:47 GMT -5
My take on selling + getting rid of things:
The hardest part is deciding to do it. The only decision though with each item in the beginning is KEEP or LET GO.
Then once I've decided I have these choices:
KEEP=
*what category? (I've worked these out for all my stuff)
*where will it be stored (how much space I have is a consideration)
*put it there= ACTION
LET GO=
*Decide shall I sell, or donate, or throw? - keeping in mind the time it will take and weighing my option carefully - asking if the item is even worth salvaging....
SELL= (options)
*Take to where they sell that thing = gold, coins, books, etc.
*List on Craigslist (I personally don't e-bay)
(NOTE: I don't believe in garage sales - my time/effort has only been rewarded if I had tons of large furniture type items otherwise with little things forget it)
DONATE=
*Take to Salvation Army
*Take to Goodwill
*Take to thrift store
*Take to women's shelter
*Give to a friend or relative (if I've asked and they want it - don't just dump it on them)
TRASH=
*throw in trash
*put at curb if it has any potential people will pick it up usually
*truck to the dump (most expensive option)
This is just my thought process with stuff. It's all time consuming. Decisions will always depend on how much time you have and how much money. I'm not working many hours right now so I have the time it takes to sell books and list things on Craigslist. Also, we've trimmed our hoard down to where we're dealing more with disorganization and clutter levels than where we were at the beginning where it was much more severe. We are both desensitized to selling and throwing stuff and we have worked a lot of reducing our acquiring.
The book Buried in Treasures saved us both!
I know this outline of mine is sort of oversimplified because I know that each choice is a lot of thinking -- like do I need this? do I love it? will I use it? But it gets easier with practice. And I've learned if it's in a box or bag and has been for years that my only chore is deciding how to get rid of it. It doesn't make sense that I'd really need it if it's boxed up. But that's just where I'm at now mentally I don't want much excess. I'm not done yet getting rid of things but it's so much easier these days.
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