[queasy27]

The standard joke here is that when we sell the CT home, we will sell it for $380K furnished and $400K unfurnished.

Love that!

I will second the caution against auction houses. Their fees add up quickly -- they may charge to add items to their catalog, photograph them, transport them, etc. -- and odds are you won't get as much as you would on eBay because the buyer population there is so much bigger. Also, if items don't sell at auction, you're either stuck with them again or have to pay the auction house to store them until their next auction. Ugh, never again.

Big pieces can't easily go on eBay, but I had good luck with selling furniture via Craigs List. The downside is scheduling all the individual buyer vists and whatnot, then helping them haul it away. (Nobody brings the appropriate size truck!) If I was doing it again, I'd go the estate sale route.

[senior citizen]

..........

[ilovetv]

Call a furniture consignment or home-furnishings consignment store to come and pick it up. The "home furnishing" consignment stores like to sell smaller items that are antiques, collectibles, etc., as well as major furniture. Resale businesses are popping up all over, and they are interesting. Many have a decorator's touch in displaying the merchandise....key to making your wares look attractive.

[CFrance]

Originally Posted by Portia

Call a reputable estate sale company.. we did and sold everything..down to the bare walls..

But you must do this last and be prepared to leave, because they sell all, don!t they? You're left with bare walls.

My suggestion about consignment shops--use one up north, not down in TV, because everyone down here is downsizing too and is trying to get rid of the same stuff you are.

[NotGolfer]

I would imagine it depends "where" in the country you now live. Where we came from folks were no longer interested in collectibles and antiques as they once were. Found what used to be "valuable" weren't considered such anymore.

We had two huge garage sales, plus gave to our kids, plus gave away, plus donated--still brought way too much with us so called Goodwill to haul away. We didn't mess with consignment shops but maybe should have.

It's a huge job for sure to get rid of items and down-size BUT we found that we didn't "need" as much anymore.

[jblum315]

Yes, by all means do your unloading up North. Don't pay movers to bring it all down here and then try to get rid of it

[jebartle]

When the house was FULL, we piled it up in the driveway and had someone haul it away....No kidding.....I still have nightmares about this!!!!

[Dr Winston O Boogie jr]

I sold nine of my twelve guitars, P.A, system, five amplifiers a drum set and most of my other stuff in eBay.
I am now down to three guitars, (soon to be four) one drum set, a ukulele and a small acoustic guitar amp that also serves as a smallPA system.

[MSG@TV]

We're going through the process right now. I made up my mind that if I rarely used my wedding gifts because I didn't feel like polishing, I was certainly not going to polish silver when I entertained in TV. As much as it kills me, we are donating our sterling silver for the most part. My husband researched on-line and found that unless it was truly sterling and had a certain symbol (?), it was not worth the hassle for what we would get.

[MSG@TV]

Originally Posted by Dr Winston O Boogie jr

I sold nine of my twelve guitars, P.A, system, five amplifiers a drum set and most of my other stuff in eBay.
I am now down to three guitars, (soon to be four) one drum set, a ukulele and a small acoustic guitar amp that also serves as a smallPA system.

Doc-one of the few things that went fast in our yard sell was a bass guitar. It was bought before we even officially opened by what I think was a dealer. He knew a good deal when he saw it.

[rubicon]

Downsizing was very painful for my wife. She is a saver and she really gets attached to things. (Lucky for me). It was an eye opener to see that what you paid top dollar for no one else wanted to buy. We gave away some top quality stuff.

I do not have faith in any internet auction site. I think what you buy is overpriced in most cases. We have given most of our stuff to charity or neighbors.

[Bavarian]

Before trying to sell anything on EBAY check for similar items. If any are listed, are they getting any bids and for how much. Then you know if it is worth selling or donating.

My problem is trying to bring myself to get rid of old letters, postcards, etc from my parents. Souveniers from previous trips, books, magazines with good articles, etc. Old tools, power and manual, screws, nails. Gave a lot a way to friends, but many of them are looking to downsize also.

[patfla06]

For me this has been the most painful part of the moving process.

Our hard part is our Son lives in N.Y.C. and we still have ALL of his
stuff moving with us. He has NO room in a 1 bedroom apartment.

I cannot wait until he gets a home - he'll be shocked how much room his "STUFF" takes up!

[manaboutown]

If you have a lot of time and depending upon where you live and your personality, eBay and Craig's List can work. An over 60 friend of mine remarried and she and her new husband have been taking their time downsizing. She has sold expensive fur coats, fine crystal, sterling silverware, St. John knits, paintings, fine furniture and more on both. She meets people in hotel lobbies, and parking lots at shopping centers, etc., with her husband and gets cash. To get rid of her old not-worth-much furniture and other items she posted on the "curb" part of Craig's List, put the old whatever out on the curb and it was always gone within a couple of hours.

When my aunt passed away I had to clean out her apartment fast. I found a local charity which sold used clothing and took a Ryder truckful there. I was told it sold within a few days. The Salvation Army, Goodwill and other charities will take the decent stuff.

Having moved many times once we did not want to move much furniture so we called a Catholic Church in a nearby town. Sure enough, some family's mobile home burned down and they got it all, beds, TV, etc. straightaway.

I have moved all over the country and have found, for example, what I had back east does not work out west or in the southwest. It has been fun buying locally appropriate furniture and redecorating wherever I went.

[Patty55]

Originally Posted by Bavarian

Before trying to sell anything on EBAY check for similar items. If any are listed, are they getting any bids and for how much. Then you know if it is worth selling or donating.

My problem is trying to bring myself to get rid of old letters, postcards, etc from my parents. Souveniers from previous trips, books, magazines with good articles, etc. Old tools, power and manual, screws, nails. Gave a lot a way to friends, but many of them are looking to downsize also.

Old tools can be worth serious money.

On ebay go into the completed listings, you can see the starting bid and what it actually sold for. I've found with ebay it's all about condition and researching the piece. I've sold china, but found it's better to break down the set, sometimes people need to replace just one piece, not the whole set, packing and shipping an entire set is a killer and the heavier it is the more likely it will break. Ebay shoppers need to know the manufacturer and pattern name. replacements.com can help research. Ebayers love a good story.

The neighbor across the street from me owned one of those "We buy/sell silver, coins and gold" places. I sold him sterling pieces that had dings.

I had never ending yard sales, sent stuff to a country auction type place (this was in upstate NY). IIRC the auction place only charged me 15%.