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Because of the way the job market is now, younger people have to be more mobile. The days of spending thirty years at the same job down the street from the house you bought with your childhood sweetheart are pretty much gone for the average person. I personally am not about to put a ten billion pound armoire in my house just to have to figure out how to move it a few years from now. A lot of antique furniture is bulky and heavy.
My sister just had an estate sale at her in-laws' house. She told me that she got rid of a lot of little stuff but the big stuff didn't move.
The funny thing is, my husband & I are at the age where most people downsize but not us. We just moved into a bigger house and we are buying a whole bunch of new furniture for it-actually, that is new to us. Most of the furniture we buy are vintage/antique. We buy it at auctions. We get a lot of great deals. That works great for the buyer but for the seller...well... But auctions can be a place to unload a bunch of crap...er...I mean stuff. In fact, a few years ago, we wanted to get rid of a bunch of stuff and rather than having a yard sale (which I have never had much luck with anyway) or eBay, we took it all to an auction and ended up making over $200 and that was AFTER paying the auctioneer's commission.
A couple of weeks ago, we had 3 pieces of miscellaneous wood furniture in the garage, took it to the curb and put a sign "Free Stuff" and it took about 20 minutes for it to be scooped up by a thankful and smiling gentleman and we don't live on a busy street. Maybe in wealthier areas this wouldn't work but here, people are thankful for whatever they can get to bridge the "gap" that has been created by increasing prices and stagnant wages/decreasing hours. We also put things on the curb the last time we moved a couple of years ago and watched as the delighted individuals loaded up items. Let's face it, too many people think their junk is worth a bundle. Animal shelters can sometimes use items also and I think a cat would love Grandma's afghan!
Time is money too. The time and energy it takes to have a garage sale is not worth it to us. We've had some which made over $1,000 which is not small potatoes to us but we both were sick and exhausted for 2 weeks after ward. Frankly I would rather direct somebody to where it is in my house and have them haul it off but anymore some charities are not allowed inside a person's home to remove stuff.
I certainly would not spend a week packing and hauling stuff to another site for $200 but then again we are old old old...well it seems that way when it comes to things like this.
I can plan my grocery shopping and menus better and save that much in our family budget over a period of time. But I certainly don't fault others who take this route.
What's best for me may not be best for you.
Time is money too. The time and energy it takes to have a garage sale is not worth it to us. We've had some which made over $1,000 which is not small potatoes to us but we both were sick and exhausted for 2 weeks after ward. Frankly I would rather direct somebody to where it is in my house and have them haul it off but anymore some charities are not allowed inside a person's home to remove stuff.
I certainly would not spend a week packing and hauling stuff to another site for $200 but then again we are old old old...well it seems that way when it comes to things like this.
I can plan my grocery shopping and menus better and save that much in our family budget over a period of time. But I certainly don't fault others who take this route.
What's best for me may not be best for you.
I totally get that, although for me the yard sale is more appealing than all of this one-sie-two-sie offloading of things through this site and that, calling this organization and that to donate, hauling crap everywhere, negotiating, etc.
If you really want to get rid of stuff, get some family members or hire some big guys to move it all to your lawn/driveway/garage and have a yard sale with everything marked dirt cheap. At the end of the day, have your helpers shuffle everything that is left to the curb with a big FREE sign. Whatever is left after that can get hauled off with the trash.
A lot of grown kids (like myself) don't live in the same city as parents. For me, it's impractical to take big furniture from my parents or Grandma even if I needed them. Plus, I don't want to have to figure out how to get rid of something like a heavy armoire when it's time for myself to move out either. This is a much more mobile society - my parents bought 1 house and plan to stay there forever. Me... I'm lucky if I am in the same place 5 yrs later since most young professional people move when the job requires it.
My parents believe in keeping everything - I always say my Dad is a minor-league Hoarder. Well, when My Grandma passed, my parents brought a lot of her stuff and furniture into their already over-crowded-with-junk house. Some bedrooms have so many drawers that there isn't space to slide out the drawers to get into them. I hate to think what needs to happen years down the road....
Where I live, Craigslist is pretty active and the fastest things to sell are Ikea stuff. they are relatively cheap and easy to take apart for transport. College kids don't necessarily want to deal with or pay for heirloom stuff. When I moved into my own new house recently, I swear I'll not have extra bulk that I don't need. It is a conscious effort. So if I buy something, I'd think... hmm would anyone buy this from me if I posted it on CL. I did buy a lot of items from someone else on CL - TV stand, mahogany dining set, etc.... I got most of these at an awesome price and I'm pretty sure I can sell them at least for what I paid for if I ever need to vacate and get the hell out.
Part of the problem, too, is that people are living healthier and longer. By the time they're ready to down-size, their kids, and sometimes even their grandchildren, already have well-established households. My home has a dining table, several couches, artwork, lamps, and a full set of dishware. Where the heck am I supposed to put my parents' and in-laws' cast-offs? Plus, I live in a different part of the country. Very little in their house would be worth hiring a truck to transport 1700 miles, except the photos, and those will fit in a suitcase.
Last edited by randomparent; 07-06-2014 at 02:36 PM..
Reason: Typo
In my area there seems to be a pretty healthy market for 2nd hand furniture..or if not a healthy market, at least a healthy supply.
The issue is that people want astronomical prices for their furniture. Just because you paid $2500 for your bedroom set 10 years ago doesn't mean it's worth $2000 today. And lots of people seem to confuse "old" and "antique" and think that their "This End Up" furniture gains value with age.
..."people don't want to pay what things are worth..."
That cabinet may be "worth" $$$ to you, but not to me. If you come from plenty, give the stuff away. If you don't, you're actively withholding the item from someone who needs it, right now.
Don't be piggy, people.
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