Have you moved recently? Have you had the responsibility of dispersing the estate of a close relative? How
about just cleaning out to make more room and simplify your life? If you have faced any of these events you
have also faced another problem - what to do with all the "stuff." Some of it you probably want to keep for
sentimental attachment, moral obligations or other intangible reasons but for most of the rest of it you just
wish it would disappear - for a price of course. Other than just passing an asset along to another relative or
even a friend, most forms of dispersal have some sort of an economic benefit. Which one you choose depends on
your priorities. Considerations include timing, convenience, economic expectations and family feelings and
pressure.
The easiest thing to do of course is to load it all up and take it a local charity outlet store. It's quick,
easy and painless. In some cases, if you itemize the load and get a receipt you can even use it as a tax
deduction. Many charitable organizations will even pick up your load, including automobiles.
But what if you want to produce a more direct financial benefit? Then you have to pick a method to sell the
inventory and that gets tricky because you almost have too many choices. Your options include selling to a
private buyer, selling to a dealer, selling to an auctioneer, consigning to an auctioneer, consigning to a
dealer or selling online.
SELLING OUTRIGHT
Before you start to sell you need to determine exactly what you have to sell because where you sell
important items can be a crucial factor in the final payment you receive. If you have mostly late 20th century
small items, a garage sale is fairly quick but you know how prices go at garage sales. If you have larger items
like a bedroom set or a piano you may need to get some professional help from an appraiser, dealer or
auctioneer to help you identify, date and place a value on the big stuff.
Then make an effort to find out where such things are regularly sold. You don't want to sell a high quality
set of furniture, even if it is 20th century, at a smalls auction, a jewelry auction or in a local mini-mall
that specializes in Depression glass. Take a look at a good furniture auction or consider putting it in a local
estate sale run by an estate sale specialist. The estate sale may be the best way to take care of an entire
household at one time. Another idea for a big inventory sale is to sell it outright to an auctioneer. Some
auctioneers will buy the entire household, right down to the pots and pans. He will pay you a flat negotiated
price and you are done. The auctioneer then takes the risk of what things sell for at auction. Of course you
will probably receive a lot less than the proceeds of the auction this way but it is quick and you get paid
immediately.
Of course you may just want to place an advertisement in the local paper and wait for buyers to knock down
your door - if you write a good ad, adequately describe the article and price it reasonably. This will bring
you the best price but may take the longest and is the most risky because you may have to let strangers walk
through your house. Or you can wholesale it to a dealer who will pay you about fifty percent of the estimated
retail value but then again - you are done.
