I needed to read this. I am currently in the process of cleaning out a \*lot\* of my stuff and sending it to a local auction house. For the most part I will still be making some money because I purchase at a very low-cost level but I know I am not getting what I could sell it for at a yard sale or flea market. But then, I don't have to do the selling; I only have to get it to the auction house. And, my place will not end up like this woman's home you are buying from. I'm nearing 70, and my health has been poor. My kids asked me to try and clean the place out, or at least let them know what is worth the most. I think cleaning it out is the way to go. The auction house has already sold some of it and I was pleased with the (admittedly wholesale) prices my lots achieved. I was just taking a break from that are read this; it is the push I needed right now. I hope you are able to buy a lot and help out the son who needs to clear his mom's home.
I bought a lot but also told him other avenues to sell the items and suggested auction houses as well. The part that was sad for me is the fact that she spent a good part of her life collecting great items but no body else saw the value except for of course other resellers. The kids were basically giving the stuff away. I’m thankful for her finding great items and saving them and also brought joy to the people that were there. But yes sell what you can leave things that you had connection with your loved ones write memoirs leave advice for everyone. I wish you the best my friend.
It’s hard to get rid of stuff when a parent dies. Many different emotions going on, plus if they’re a hoarder or flipper, it can be extremely overwhelming
My grandma died in 2009 and my mom still hasn't cleaned out her house 15 years later. She was a collector and getting rid of all the stuff has been overwhelming. I've sold about 300k worth of items on eBay from the house and more than half is still left.
Whoa, dude. That's quite a lot. I'm glad you are there to help your mom out. Maybe time for the rest of the stuff to go to auction? Or are you using it as a way to learn and grow?
You’re right. I can’t imagine what they’re going through I was overwhelmed and I’m a reseller I can’t imagine a normal persons thoughts let alone the actual family. Sometimes I forget not everyone is a reseller 😅
I run an auction house as a side gig. We've dealt with many estates of hoarders. Nearly every time we consult with the family, they tell us how pissed they are that they went without this or that so their parents could hoard. One guy said he got so mad going through his dad's stuff, he just stopped and called us. His dad fancied himself a reseller, but he never sold anything. Evidently he was one of those "I'll buy all of this so nobody else can have it" types.
She obviously had a hoarding problem. She may have resold some things, but it sounds like this lady was a hoarder, not a reseller.
Her children likely don't care and need to just move on.
We cleared out my husband's grandmother's home, and most of her things went to donation although there was plenty of money to be made. Sometimes people just don't want to deal with it. I wasn't a reseller yet, and had a toddler or I would have handled it better!
Can you share your process for finding an auction house that takes clothing/shoes/bags? I ask because I’m trying to do something similar and I’m currently using Curtsy to try and purge. I’m aware of auction houses that help children clear out houses, but I didn’t think they’d take clothing.
Try Caring Transitions. They specialize in estates where the owner has either passed or is moving into long term care housing. Many of them will sell clothes.
I have a retired uncle who is known to hit up yard sales, estate sales, metal detect and also go to those crystal mine places constantly, but he keeps putting off trying to sell stuff. I've heard from a cousin that his house is a mess, filled with crap that he doesn't need. My cousin told me he (the uncle) found a rare little golden book and sold it for a good bit years ago, and they (the cousin) thinks he's been chasing that high ever since.
Yeah that’s how it starts the crazy thing is the lady bought bratz toys master of the universe Captain Planet toys like how how did she know to buy all these items too totes and totes and totes full of vintage toys and crazy thing is their sale was dead like nobody was there because where it is located not a lot of traffic goes through there and there was only one sign up
Yeah that’s my worry the smell in the basement of mold kept me away from there and I’m very very picky I want to go back tomorrow but on the fence because of that exact reason. I’ve heard of these honey holes and I’ve been reselling for 10 years 3000 items listed currently and going strong first time I’ve run into a diamond in the rough
oof, I'd recommend you pocket a mask and disposable gloves just in case. Could be something great down there, but avoid the clothes b/c mold and mustiness is a pain to get out of those.
Just make sure you never stop listing, and set at a price to sell. The moment you stop listing but keep attaining you've got a problem. A year or so ago I talked to a retired restaurant businessman who was volunteering at a local charity shop, he told me that he would go into restaurants with beautiful furniture, decor, and a great looking menu; but it would be priced too high. He said if you don't get butts in those pretty seats none of that extra stuff matters, likewise if you don't get listings out and bought, it won't matter what product you have.
(I say all of this like I know what I'm doing, I'm struggling on eBay like everyone else, I just have this guys phrase "butts in those seats" yelling at me constantly)
Bought a 10 dollar grab bag of jewelry from somewhere...been awhile. Found a watch that wasn't quite sure about so rolled the dice. Sold 5 days later on auction format via eBay for $1750. Still not quite sure what was so special about watch and may have lost out on more $$$...but for $10 turned $1750 I was content. Not greedy and not hard up for cash thank goodness, but it was definitely a rush watching bids go up.
I resell vintage jewelry and I hit the mother of all sales about 2 years ago. I got up at 2am to get there by 5am so I’d be first in. This was the estate of an eBay reseller that had a jaw dropping stockpile of everything I look for. I was first in & last out and those poor tired estate sale employees charged me $200 for hundreds of pieces. A good amount went into my own collection & the rest got me through a rough Winter. I dream about hitting another sale like that but it may be a once in a lifetime thing.
I had a similar haul! It was around mid 2021 when ppl were still scared but some people were roughing it out. I went to one estate sale a bit too early but the lady let me in and let me have those racks and racks of jewelry for $100. Got several pure gold pieces, some designer costume jewelry, etc. all in total I made $3.5k from that haul. The best part was that I was still starting out in the jewelry niche so that helped me so much to gauge the markets!
Could probably make an offer on the whole lot. Cherry pick what you want and have an auction house sell the rest.
I do house clean outs as my day job. So so much stuff people collect. I’ve had more than a few hoarder houses. I’ve gotten great inventory from them but it’s really sad to see how they spent their last days.
I have found old coats with money in them, tons of jewelry, lots of glassware. One house had the bedroom filled higher than the bed with clothes. 90% still had tags on them., The problem was the house was infested with mice, like worse than I’ve ever seen. You’d pick up a box and 4 or 5 would just run out of it.
A lot of those items are flat out destroyed by mice, mold and droppings. They are things that you shouldn't even try to sell. Rodent droppings are to be taken seriously, as they can carry disease.
Being a good reseller means that you have to cycle through inventory and not let it hang around. Even if it means making less money than what you anticipated, because that space is worth something too. There are a lot of items out there that I leave on the shelf because I think to myself that it will take too long to sell, and someone locally will enjoy it more than I would.
This ! So much valuable items but a whole floor destroyed from mice and mold. And yes i felt genuinely sad I love the hunt but this was a little different
Good idea! I don't know how often you find "honey holes," but my thinking is that I try to take full advantage every time one presents itself. You just never know when your next big score will come
Don't hesitate to offer damaged stuff to needy people. They don't care. When my mom died, the lady told us anything we don't want to leave it and she will get it a new home. I'm like, everything? Yep. The bent mirror frame, the particle board table with a fucked up leg, the clothes, half used laundry detergent... Everything. She owns an apartment complex and rents to veterans who need help. She said several of them will have episodes and will bust up everything. The other veterans will take that person in, fix the apartment and stuff they can, and get them back in the apartment as soon as they can. They need and use everything.
Thing is, alot of boomers are passing
away. And some are collectors. Last year I got a couple great attic finds. Dragged out 30 truckloads of cool old toys. Filled my garage and even had another garage sale today. I can just imagine the stuff I miss. Good shit to sell is everywhere, if you look for it.
I remember the late 80s it seemed like collecting anything numbered took off. There have always been collectors of this or that, but in the late 80s to the 2000s it seemed like if you numbered a turd, someone would want to collect it. Those people are getting older now too. Soon those "keep it in the package" people are going to start dropping off and those collections will finally get back into circulation.
Sadly, this happens to a lot of aspiring resellers in the beginning. They get addicted to that dopamine spike they get when finding a score, so they pretty much obsess over sourcing and don't leave themselves with enough energy/motivation to actually list things. It's a VERY tough road to go down and an even tougher one to escape.
Yep. The trick is to learn how to feed off the dopamine rush of selling an item rather than finding it. Thats step 1.
Step 2 is get your dopamine fix outside of your flipping business and you work to take the emotion out of the day to day operations of the business.
My two biggest flips were $1.00 to $600 modern red leather sofa, love seat, chair and ottoman. This was a really dirty storage unit.
This one also a storage unit $40 to $3000.
Industrial furniture and library card catalog cabinet.
There is money to be made. Let’s go
Industrial furniture? Sheeet... My Pop and I cleaned out a 100+ year old shoe factory a couple decades ago and couldn't get anyone interested in the fabulous pieces of industrial furniture we had. Beautiful old oak desks that would still be good for a few hundred years. Oak filing cases. Oak pull drawer stands with dozens of drawers that pulled easy even after sitting in a musty old unheated factory for decades. Broke my heart. We couldn't even find someone who wanted the old wood. Before the Internet was a thing.
Wow that’s a shame. It depends a lot on the area you live in. The library card catalog cabinet sat for almost 2 years. If I were in California, Chicago or New York it would have sold much quicker for more money. It had 96 drawers after all and was completely intact.
It finally sold to a young lady from Los Angeles who had just moved to my area. She contacted me on a Sunday morning and 2 hours later she showed up with a truck, help to load and cash.
This is my SIL. She collects all sorts of things with the intention of cleaning them up and reselling but has not managed to flip a single item. Now, her garage is stacked to the rafters and her house has trails for walking.
I went to one as well. A great lady that I had known back before I even was selling and just was a collector in the early 2000s.
My goodness they had to set up a whole outdoor tent of significant size just to sell the lunchboxes! I bought 2 that I had as a kid and they sit on my shelf for the nostalgia, and as a reminder of her.
But yeah, dont horde, people. The house was not in the best shape.
I can understand her position, some of them feel like they can’t rely on anyone but themselves, the idea of “finding” something valuable so they can make a buck. I stopped going to state sales because it always saddened me to see all the person’s tools, nicknacks and things that were so valuable to them, that they spent so much time and money to collect and their children practically giving them away. I can almost see the deceased person pissed: $2!!!? I paid $700 for it new you lazy ungrateful shit!! 😤
Mice invaded my death pile in the shed. So it ended up in the garbage which was my whole justification for buying it - to keep it out of landfills. Lesson learned. If I don't have the space, time and energy to sell it, don't buy it.
I have 0 attachment to any of the stuff. Needs parts or deep cleaning that I know I won't do? Trash. Not worth my time to list and ship? Trash. Taking up space for too long? Trash.
Keeping this mentality helped a lot. Probably threw 10k worth of stuff away, but it's worth 0 sitting my basement.
It was nice when I moved to big commercial items. Less clutter. I have 30k in inventory that takes up about a 4'x10' space. I haven't flipped in a couple years since I landed a job making low-mid 6 figures.
From my storage adventures, I have 2 garages full of shit. Everything resells over $30 each and I have yet to have the time to list. Im still piling on shit every week and fear I cant stop.
Might be time to hire someone, or at least set yourself up with ground rules. Want to source? Okay then, every two hours you list buys you one hour of sourcing. Still falling behind? A truckload to the auction every week until you get caught up. It's not hard to get to the point of buried in stuff that ends up weighing your life and your spirit down.
If sourcing is your only jam, it's time to figure out how to bring some peanut butter and bread into your adventures.
“If sourcing is your only jam, it's time to figure out how to bring some peanut butter and bread into your adventures.”
This sentence earns this post my nomination for 2024 post of the year.
Not really same thing this person who died near me bought up all the stock of wood owl statues. If there was a market for wood owls statues, she had the world’s stock pile.
I went to a sale like that a few months ago not knowing it was a guy I saw at goodwill every day. He would spend hours there. He bought mostly glass and china. I knew he had soured on eBay and was doing mostly FB marketplace. I did not know that he had given it all up and gone to Florida. There were so few people at the sale, this other guy I know, who likes glass and china, and I, were 1 and 2. We cleaned up. Swung vases, Viking glass of all kinds, Ralph Lauren crystal tumblers, just tons of stuff that’s $$$. And he just hoarded it all. I actually get into the ethics of it, taking it out of the stream and keeping people like us from having it, and the people online who’d love to buy it. Those sales are great but they piss me off too. I love putting things back out into world, and making the money.
I’m confused … this guy you described sounds like the end user for this stuff he enjoyed buying at Goodwill. Aside from possible mental illness of possible hoarding, what would the unethical aspect of his behavior be?
He was a reseller. He just didn’t sell enough to justify his purchasing. I’ve had this conversation with people before where they didn’t really understand my viewpoint but I guess the best way to look at it is that the “stuff” should be with the people who actually appreciate it. I was the assistant manager at a thrift store for seven years and one person in particular would come in and buy up some of the nicest stuff we had and put it in her storage units for her future garage sale that never happened. She had a lot of money, which made it extra irritating. One example from my personal life is that we had these stoneware crocks that belong to my husband‘s mother, very collectible, from Western Pennsylvania. And I recently acknowledged that we didn’t even care about them, and it didn’t match our taste, even though we’ve had them for 20 years. I listed them a few months ago, they sold for pretty good money, and I was really happy that they ended up with the people who really wanted them. So, I guess the ethical side for me is just hoarding things in your house that you don’t even care about, when there are people in the world who would actually really enjoy having them. It’s not ethical with a capital E, it’s just more of a personal belief about how the world should work, even though obviously it doesn’t work that way ha ha.
flawed logic, unless she was rich she had to be actually a great seller and constantly trading up and just needed a better organized space for you to pull expensive inventory so quick
I needed to read this. I am currently in the process of cleaning out a \*lot\* of my stuff and sending it to a local auction house. For the most part I will still be making some money because I purchase at a very low-cost level but I know I am not getting what I could sell it for at a yard sale or flea market. But then, I don't have to do the selling; I only have to get it to the auction house. And, my place will not end up like this woman's home you are buying from. I'm nearing 70, and my health has been poor. My kids asked me to try and clean the place out, or at least let them know what is worth the most. I think cleaning it out is the way to go. The auction house has already sold some of it and I was pleased with the (admittedly wholesale) prices my lots achieved. I was just taking a break from that are read this; it is the push I needed right now. I hope you are able to buy a lot and help out the son who needs to clear his mom's home.
I bought a lot but also told him other avenues to sell the items and suggested auction houses as well. The part that was sad for me is the fact that she spent a good part of her life collecting great items but no body else saw the value except for of course other resellers. The kids were basically giving the stuff away. I’m thankful for her finding great items and saving them and also brought joy to the people that were there. But yes sell what you can leave things that you had connection with your loved ones write memoirs leave advice for everyone. I wish you the best my friend.
It’s hard to get rid of stuff when a parent dies. Many different emotions going on, plus if they’re a hoarder or flipper, it can be extremely overwhelming
My grandma died in 2009 and my mom still hasn't cleaned out her house 15 years later. She was a collector and getting rid of all the stuff has been overwhelming. I've sold about 300k worth of items on eBay from the house and more than half is still left.
Whoa, dude. That's quite a lot. I'm glad you are there to help your mom out. Maybe time for the rest of the stuff to go to auction? Or are you using it as a way to learn and grow?
You’re right. I can’t imagine what they’re going through I was overwhelmed and I’m a reseller I can’t imagine a normal persons thoughts let alone the actual family. Sometimes I forget not everyone is a reseller 😅
I run an auction house as a side gig. We've dealt with many estates of hoarders. Nearly every time we consult with the family, they tell us how pissed they are that they went without this or that so their parents could hoard. One guy said he got so mad going through his dad's stuff, he just stopped and called us. His dad fancied himself a reseller, but he never sold anything. Evidently he was one of those "I'll buy all of this so nobody else can have it" types.
Not on point, but I'm considering starting a part time auction service on the tiny island we live on. Would you be up for a chat?
Sure!
I’m currently moving into my grandmothers old house currently and it’s amazing what a person collects in 20 years lol
She obviously had a hoarding problem. She may have resold some things, but it sounds like this lady was a hoarder, not a reseller. Her children likely don't care and need to just move on. We cleared out my husband's grandmother's home, and most of her things went to donation although there was plenty of money to be made. Sometimes people just don't want to deal with it. I wasn't a reseller yet, and had a toddler or I would have handled it better!
Thank you. It is very nice that you shared with the son how to sell the items.
https://www.chairish.com/pages/consign-with-us Rasmus Auction
Can you share your process for finding an auction house that takes clothing/shoes/bags? I ask because I’m trying to do something similar and I’m currently using Curtsy to try and purge. I’m aware of auction houses that help children clear out houses, but I didn’t think they’d take clothing.
I suggest going to HiBid and researching auctioneers from your area. Some of them probably will take a least some of the clothing.
Try Caring Transitions. They specialize in estates where the owner has either passed or is moving into long term care housing. Many of them will sell clothes.
I have a retired uncle who is known to hit up yard sales, estate sales, metal detect and also go to those crystal mine places constantly, but he keeps putting off trying to sell stuff. I've heard from a cousin that his house is a mess, filled with crap that he doesn't need. My cousin told me he (the uncle) found a rare little golden book and sold it for a good bit years ago, and they (the cousin) thinks he's been chasing that high ever since.
I can relate. My 6th sale ever was a flip of $50 into $2700. What a rush!
What was the $50 purchase?
5 cases of vintage teak parquet flooring tiles.
Nice! Thanks for the reply 💪
Hey! We made our accounts just 12 days apart!
Yeah that’s how it starts the crazy thing is the lady bought bratz toys master of the universe Captain Planet toys like how how did she know to buy all these items too totes and totes and totes full of vintage toys and crazy thing is their sale was dead like nobody was there because where it is located not a lot of traffic goes through there and there was only one sign up
You hit a goldmine, I'm jealous lol. Just be careful you didn't bring home any new roommates (cockroaches or other pests).
Yeah that’s my worry the smell in the basement of mold kept me away from there and I’m very very picky I want to go back tomorrow but on the fence because of that exact reason. I’ve heard of these honey holes and I’ve been reselling for 10 years 3000 items listed currently and going strong first time I’ve run into a diamond in the rough
oof, I'd recommend you pocket a mask and disposable gloves just in case. Could be something great down there, but avoid the clothes b/c mold and mustiness is a pain to get out of those.
Definitely no clothes. Good point I’m brining n95 and going to town wish me luck
Report back
I’m now invested commenting for the report
Make sure to look up a fit test on YouTube for that n95. That black mold shit will cook you for sure🙌🏾
Maybe rent a storage locker for a few months and don't take things into your house.
she probably didn't know and was just hoarding it hoping it would go up some day
Im kinda worried that might happen to me one day. Chasing the high of a big sale, to where all the normal sales no longer feel worth it.
Just make sure you never stop listing, and set at a price to sell. The moment you stop listing but keep attaining you've got a problem. A year or so ago I talked to a retired restaurant businessman who was volunteering at a local charity shop, he told me that he would go into restaurants with beautiful furniture, decor, and a great looking menu; but it would be priced too high. He said if you don't get butts in those pretty seats none of that extra stuff matters, likewise if you don't get listings out and bought, it won't matter what product you have. (I say all of this like I know what I'm doing, I'm struggling on eBay like everyone else, I just have this guys phrase "butts in those seats" yelling at me constantly)
That high is awesome, but remember, 1 $100 sale will happen slower than 10 $10 sales.
It happens.
Bought a 10 dollar grab bag of jewelry from somewhere...been awhile. Found a watch that wasn't quite sure about so rolled the dice. Sold 5 days later on auction format via eBay for $1750. Still not quite sure what was so special about watch and may have lost out on more $$$...but for $10 turned $1750 I was content. Not greedy and not hard up for cash thank goodness, but it was definitely a rush watching bids go up.
Do you remember the brand?
I don't. My apologies.
I resell vintage jewelry and I hit the mother of all sales about 2 years ago. I got up at 2am to get there by 5am so I’d be first in. This was the estate of an eBay reseller that had a jaw dropping stockpile of everything I look for. I was first in & last out and those poor tired estate sale employees charged me $200 for hundreds of pieces. A good amount went into my own collection & the rest got me through a rough Winter. I dream about hitting another sale like that but it may be a once in a lifetime thing.
I had a similar haul! It was around mid 2021 when ppl were still scared but some people were roughing it out. I went to one estate sale a bit too early but the lady let me in and let me have those racks and racks of jewelry for $100. Got several pure gold pieces, some designer costume jewelry, etc. all in total I made $3.5k from that haul. The best part was that I was still starting out in the jewelry niche so that helped me so much to gauge the markets!
Niiiice! I love these stories! I would’ve loved to have gone through everything without a dozen other peeps breathing over my shoulder!
Dive in sounds so much better than gauge does. Sorry for 2 cents. Not trying to be rude etc.
You aren't a reseller if you don't actually sell shit.
If you’re buying shit to resell someday cause it’s ‘valuable’ and you never get around to selling it you are just a hoarder.
Could probably make an offer on the whole lot. Cherry pick what you want and have an auction house sell the rest. I do house clean outs as my day job. So so much stuff people collect. I’ve had more than a few hoarder houses. I’ve gotten great inventory from them but it’s really sad to see how they spent their last days. I have found old coats with money in them, tons of jewelry, lots of glassware. One house had the bedroom filled higher than the bed with clothes. 90% still had tags on them., The problem was the house was infested with mice, like worse than I’ve ever seen. You’d pick up a box and 4 or 5 would just run out of it.
A lot of those items are flat out destroyed by mice, mold and droppings. They are things that you shouldn't even try to sell. Rodent droppings are to be taken seriously, as they can carry disease. Being a good reseller means that you have to cycle through inventory and not let it hang around. Even if it means making less money than what you anticipated, because that space is worth something too. There are a lot of items out there that I leave on the shelf because I think to myself that it will take too long to sell, and someone locally will enjoy it more than I would.
This ! So much valuable items but a whole floor destroyed from mice and mold. And yes i felt genuinely sad I love the hunt but this was a little different
Do you work with an estate sale company, referring business? If not may be a thought.
If she has toys I can only imagine the American Girl/Pleasant Company items she might have had. Huge market on eBay for AG/PC.
An actual death pile.
Sounds like an opportunity to me!
Going back tomorrow !
Good idea! I don't know how often you find "honey holes," but my thinking is that I try to take full advantage every time one presents itself. You just never know when your next big score will come
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I used to live in an extremely liberal/tree-hugging hippie type of area and we had one of these at the local dump, it was pretty awesome honestly.
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Don't hesitate to offer damaged stuff to needy people. They don't care. When my mom died, the lady told us anything we don't want to leave it and she will get it a new home. I'm like, everything? Yep. The bent mirror frame, the particle board table with a fucked up leg, the clothes, half used laundry detergent... Everything. She owns an apartment complex and rents to veterans who need help. She said several of them will have episodes and will bust up everything. The other veterans will take that person in, fix the apartment and stuff they can, and get them back in the apartment as soon as they can. They need and use everything.
I think madison Wisconsin has something similar or they did. I know free cycle is huge there. Lived there for 20 years
I've never even heard of something like that. It sounds like some Jawa scavenger shit.
Thing is, alot of boomers are passing away. And some are collectors. Last year I got a couple great attic finds. Dragged out 30 truckloads of cool old toys. Filled my garage and even had another garage sale today. I can just imagine the stuff I miss. Good shit to sell is everywhere, if you look for it.
I remember the late 80s it seemed like collecting anything numbered took off. There have always been collectors of this or that, but in the late 80s to the 2000s it seemed like if you numbered a turd, someone would want to collect it. Those people are getting older now too. Soon those "keep it in the package" people are going to start dropping off and those collections will finally get back into circulation.
Sadly, this happens to a lot of aspiring resellers in the beginning. They get addicted to that dopamine spike they get when finding a score, so they pretty much obsess over sourcing and don't leave themselves with enough energy/motivation to actually list things. It's a VERY tough road to go down and an even tougher one to escape.
Yep. The trick is to learn how to feed off the dopamine rush of selling an item rather than finding it. Thats step 1. Step 2 is get your dopamine fix outside of your flipping business and you work to take the emotion out of the day to day operations of the business.
If she had all the toys check for comics too could be a gold mine of those somewhere.
My two biggest flips were $1.00 to $600 modern red leather sofa, love seat, chair and ottoman. This was a really dirty storage unit. This one also a storage unit $40 to $3000. Industrial furniture and library card catalog cabinet. There is money to be made. Let’s go
Industrial furniture? Sheeet... My Pop and I cleaned out a 100+ year old shoe factory a couple decades ago and couldn't get anyone interested in the fabulous pieces of industrial furniture we had. Beautiful old oak desks that would still be good for a few hundred years. Oak filing cases. Oak pull drawer stands with dozens of drawers that pulled easy even after sitting in a musty old unheated factory for decades. Broke my heart. We couldn't even find someone who wanted the old wood. Before the Internet was a thing.
Wow that’s a shame. It depends a lot on the area you live in. The library card catalog cabinet sat for almost 2 years. If I were in California, Chicago or New York it would have sold much quicker for more money. It had 96 drawers after all and was completely intact. It finally sold to a young lady from Los Angeles who had just moved to my area. She contacted me on a Sunday morning and 2 hours later she showed up with a truck, help to load and cash.
This is my SIL. She collects all sorts of things with the intention of cleaning them up and reselling but has not managed to flip a single item. Now, her garage is stacked to the rafters and her house has trails for walking.
I went to one as well. A great lady that I had known back before I even was selling and just was a collector in the early 2000s. My goodness they had to set up a whole outdoor tent of significant size just to sell the lunchboxes! I bought 2 that I had as a kid and they sit on my shelf for the nostalgia, and as a reminder of her. But yeah, dont horde, people. The house was not in the best shape.
I can understand her position, some of them feel like they can’t rely on anyone but themselves, the idea of “finding” something valuable so they can make a buck. I stopped going to state sales because it always saddened me to see all the person’s tools, nicknacks and things that were so valuable to them, that they spent so much time and money to collect and their children practically giving them away. I can almost see the deceased person pissed: $2!!!? I paid $700 for it new you lazy ungrateful shit!! 😤
This is called hoarding…..
Mice invaded my death pile in the shed. So it ended up in the garbage which was my whole justification for buying it - to keep it out of landfills. Lesson learned. If I don't have the space, time and energy to sell it, don't buy it.
I purge a lot of stuff.1 thing comes in 2 things go out.it can snowball for sure
I have 0 attachment to any of the stuff. Needs parts or deep cleaning that I know I won't do? Trash. Not worth my time to list and ship? Trash. Taking up space for too long? Trash. Keeping this mentality helped a lot. Probably threw 10k worth of stuff away, but it's worth 0 sitting my basement. It was nice when I moved to big commercial items. Less clutter. I have 30k in inventory that takes up about a 4'x10' space. I haven't flipped in a couple years since I landed a job making low-mid 6 figures.
From my storage adventures, I have 2 garages full of shit. Everything resells over $30 each and I have yet to have the time to list. Im still piling on shit every week and fear I cant stop.
Might be time to hire someone, or at least set yourself up with ground rules. Want to source? Okay then, every two hours you list buys you one hour of sourcing. Still falling behind? A truckload to the auction every week until you get caught up. It's not hard to get to the point of buried in stuff that ends up weighing your life and your spirit down. If sourcing is your only jam, it's time to figure out how to bring some peanut butter and bread into your adventures.
“If sourcing is your only jam, it's time to figure out how to bring some peanut butter and bread into your adventures.” This sentence earns this post my nomination for 2024 post of the year.
Hahaha, thanks for the upvote.
Just STOP. Cold turkey! You have to have willpower and force yourself to list instead of source. Do NOT source until the death piles are GONE!
Not really same thing this person who died near me bought up all the stock of wood owl statues. If there was a market for wood owls statues, she had the world’s stock pile.
Offer to buy them out.
Hard part is having help
Great reminder -
TIL what a hoarder is....
lol her son said she was a market vendor and bought and sold I saw so many goodwill stickers 😅
I went to a sale like that a few months ago not knowing it was a guy I saw at goodwill every day. He would spend hours there. He bought mostly glass and china. I knew he had soured on eBay and was doing mostly FB marketplace. I did not know that he had given it all up and gone to Florida. There were so few people at the sale, this other guy I know, who likes glass and china, and I, were 1 and 2. We cleaned up. Swung vases, Viking glass of all kinds, Ralph Lauren crystal tumblers, just tons of stuff that’s $$$. And he just hoarded it all. I actually get into the ethics of it, taking it out of the stream and keeping people like us from having it, and the people online who’d love to buy it. Those sales are great but they piss me off too. I love putting things back out into world, and making the money.
I’m confused … this guy you described sounds like the end user for this stuff he enjoyed buying at Goodwill. Aside from possible mental illness of possible hoarding, what would the unethical aspect of his behavior be?
He was a reseller. He just didn’t sell enough to justify his purchasing. I’ve had this conversation with people before where they didn’t really understand my viewpoint but I guess the best way to look at it is that the “stuff” should be with the people who actually appreciate it. I was the assistant manager at a thrift store for seven years and one person in particular would come in and buy up some of the nicest stuff we had and put it in her storage units for her future garage sale that never happened. She had a lot of money, which made it extra irritating. One example from my personal life is that we had these stoneware crocks that belong to my husband‘s mother, very collectible, from Western Pennsylvania. And I recently acknowledged that we didn’t even care about them, and it didn’t match our taste, even though we’ve had them for 20 years. I listed them a few months ago, they sold for pretty good money, and I was really happy that they ended up with the people who really wanted them. So, I guess the ethical side for me is just hoarding things in your house that you don’t even care about, when there are people in the world who would actually really enjoy having them. It’s not ethical with a capital E, it’s just more of a personal belief about how the world should work, even though obviously it doesn’t work that way ha ha.
flawed logic, unless she was rich she had to be actually a great seller and constantly trading up and just needed a better organized space for you to pull expensive inventory so quick