Moving stuff out a little at a time:



















Going to put up some more stuff...I realized I have three 1980s vintage Cuisinart food processors inherited from various family and friends...there might actually be a fourth but I think I gave that away a while ago ....at least one has to go..... The plastic bowls have scratches and the lids are a little fidgety, but these things are built like tanks and seem to run forever....

Also have a ton of MagnaWare; some was my mom's and some we rescued from an estate. Haven't used any of it in decades.

Met the nicest lady and her standard poodle Rosie last weekend when they came to look at the dog bath. Rosie hopped right up into it. Sold! The woman was thrilled she got a like new bath for less than half of what she would have paid for a new one. Win-win.

The stuff you are getting rid of is a lot more interesting than the stuff I'm getting rid of!

quote:

The stuff you are getting rid of is a lot more interesting than the stuff I'm getting rid of!

Also, the stuff WTG is getting rid of is probably more interesting than the stuff I'm not getting rid of!

You really spiff up your items - I'm sure that greatly enhances their marketability. Even those water containers look newer than new, comparing them to shelf items.

And what IS your marketplace?

EBay doesn't have any more professional sellers, at least nowhere near me. I have a LOT of valuable items that could be sold (checked eBay sold values), but I just can't see establishing an online store, if indeed I could without a track record of thousands of perfect sales ratings.

Example: I unearthed a batch of Sonic the Hedgehog comics saved by younger son - at least 30 in perfect condition. (shiny covers count for a lot - as do their being bagged in high quality plastic bags.)

Can't see selling them in a batch and just hoping I'm getting a fair consignment price (have checked online how it's done). One of the Sonics is selling for $75 and others of the dozens in excellent shape are going for high double digits.

But considering my life situation with all the other remedial tasks (my kids needs were imaginably demanding). I can't see answering all the buyers' emails - especially as a newbie without a well established reputation. (Before you ask, that son is not interested in cashing in himself. He's up for promotion - knock wood - at a salary that doesn't make it worth his while.)

Considering my life situation with all the other remedial tasks (my kids needs were imaginably demanding). I can't see answering all the buyers' emails - especially as a newbie without a well established reputation. (Before you ask, that son is not interested in cashing in himself. He's up for promotion - knock wood - at a salary that doesn't make it worth his while.)

And this is only a single example.
That son WAS salvaged - and against ALL odds - but what my depreciation? ) . Antique people don't increase in value!

FTR memorabilia of all sorts are zooming up in value. I say this having done a good deal of online research (and found some by accident. Heaven knows what else is out there!)

Would you believe somebody is selling (for tidy sums) "unopened box of like new Q-tips" ?!? "RARE". "VINTAGE".

https://www.ebay.com/p/7002553294#ProductDetails

THAT STUFF IS AWESOME; WHAT ARE YOU THINKING?!?!

I second RP! Those scales (both of them!!!)! That alabaster lamp!!!

If my house wasn't already teetering dangerously towards maximum capacity, I'd be paypaling you right now.

RP, Lisa - I should have posted my listings on WTF instead of Craigslist!

The lamps belonged to my Mom; my parents bought them in the late 60s. They were cool looking but didn't fit with our furniture, which is mostly Scandinavian teak. It took more than a year to sell them, but they found a good home with a woman who absolutely fell in love with them.

I schlepped that big cast metal scale from England back in 1984. I found it in a shop in London that sold all kinds of cooking utensils and supplies. It was new, not an antique, though I imagine they were probably still making them in the original factory using an original design. I actually stuffed it into my carry-on bag for the trip home; never occurred to me to have them ship it. Guy who bought it said his wife was giving it to a friend as a gift. The friend collects scales and wanted one of these in black; apparently white is the more common color.

The little white scale was rescued 25 years ago from an estate of a friend's aunt because it was cool and in perfect condition. It ended up getting packed neatly into a box and stored in our basement since then. A University of Chicago student doing his PhD in biochemistry bought it, along with the vintage egg beater in the picture of all the kitchen utensils. I grew up with that egg beater!

We *are* over maximum capacity, which is why this stuff is going. That and the thought that when we kick the bucket it would all end up in a 1-800-Got-Junk dumpster. We'd rather pass our precious pimentos on to someone who will enjoy and use them rather than having them ending up in a landfill.

We haven't yet gotten to the dozen or more boxes of Depression glass that are under the basement stairs....the value of that stuff tanked in the early 2000s but I'm reading that it's making a comeback...our procrastination may end up being a bit of good market timing....

Amanda, I sell on Craigslist. Years ago I used to sell a few collectibles on eBay but have moved away from that venue for a lot of reasons. I've been reading about a lot of buyer scams and eBay tends to side automatically with the buyer in disputes. Plus now if you sell more than a thousand bucks a year on eBay, they send you a 1099 and you have to report the sales as income. There's also the hassle of packing and shipping stuff. eBay takes a good chunk of the total sale, including shipping. Once you figure that all in, selling at a lower price on Craigslist is the way to go for me. But I'm selling some nice household items, not priceless antiques.

If you're on FB (I'm not), I've heard that Marketplace is a pretty good route. And I'm guessing Nextdoor is an option if there's a group active near you. And for your more valuable items, I'd look into auction houses.

And yes, we always make sure our items are in great shape. When we used to have garage sales people commented on how clean and well-organized our sales are. The effort pays off in terms of what you can ask for your items.

quote:

Originally posted by RealPlayer:
THAT STUFF IS AWESOME; WHAT ARE YOU THINKING?!?!

I'm working in our garage attic. I like to wait till a warm day as that makes it more fun.

What I'm finding on many marketplaces is that things that were $500-$1000 30 years ago are now $50-$150 now. Decorative stuff is of little interest to younger people. They must never watch HGTV.

quote:

Originally posted by wtg:
Amanda, I sell on Craigslist. Years ago I used to sell a few collectibles on eBay but have moved away from that venue for a lot of reasons. I've been reading about a lot of buyer scams and eBay tends to side automatically with the buyer in disputes. Plus now if you sell more than a thousand bucks a year on eBay, they send you a 1099 and you have to report the sales as income. There's also the hassle of packing and shipping stuff. eBay takes a good chunk of the total sale, including shipping. Once you figure that all in, selling at a lower price on Craigslist is the way to go for me. But I'm selling some nice household items, not priceless antiques.

If you're on FB (I'm not), I've heard that Marketplace is a pretty good route. And I'm guessing Nextdoor is an option if there's a group active near you. And for your more valuable items, I'd look into auction houses.

And yes, we always make sure our items are in great shape. When we used to have garage sales people commented on how clean and well-organized our sales are. The effort pays off in terms of what you can ask for your items.

Is that Craigslist local, or do you ship? I don’t think I could deal with having to ship stuff.

Local pickup only. I've gotten a few queries from out-of-state people who asked if I would ship something but I declined. Too much hassle and risk. That's why I gave up on EBay.

There are some other CL-like apps that friends have gotten good results with. I might try those at some point just to see if I can catch some new customers.

There's a startup here in Portland (it's called something like "Sello") that will act sort of like a consignment shop for ebay, craigslist, etc. You give them your stuff, they sell it and send you the $$. You don't have to deal with shipping, meeting the person, security, etc. It seemed like a great idea of folks like me who love the idea of decluttering but don't want the hassle of craigslist or ebay.

I'll see if I can find the article about it.

Found the link!

Thanks, Nina. Definitely bookmarking that site. I'm sure they'll be in Chicago soon.