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This may not be the appropriate subforum, but it seems closest.
We retired and moved to a smaller condo. Thus, we had some quality but surplus furniture. We wanted to give it to charity for the good deed and avoiding the hassle of dealing with selling it.
I was disappointed sadly with the hassles I got from the charities. This was not junk and I was not using them for cheap garbage men.
I call AmVets - and they demand I move the furniture into the garage. They won't come into the house. The rationale is Covid. However, we are vaccinated, we were masks if required. How are two old folks supposed to do that.
Call Salvation Army and have to wait a month. We have a dining room table, a nice bed frame with wood headboards - quality stuff but we don't need it.
Set up the appointment describing each item, get a confirmation noting each item. Confirm that they sent two guys who will come into the house to get it.
The truck arrive. The head guy first demands that we move the items to the front door. Then he says they cannot get the table out. Well, the movers got it in, so that's baloney. Some waving of hands and uproar, they finally agree.
Then they refuse to take the bed frame. I show them the confirmation. He insists they don't take mattresses and bed frames. I say not the mattress - just the frame. See the confirmation! Doesn't care.
I am a touch suspicious that they were looking for a little extra cash. Been down that way before. When my mom died, I had a charity come for her good furniture and all of a sudden the crew couldn't handle it. I said: How much and the guy said they were recovering and couldn't take money. I said $50 and out it went.
So I'm getting a junk man to get the frame as I have to get rid of it and I don't want the hassle of trying to sell or find another charity.
I'm down on charities after these experiences. I know I shouldn't be but they need to vett their staff a touch more.
Nobody is interested in old wood furniture anymore regardless of quality. Too clunky, too heavy, etc.
I got rid of mine (2 bedroom sets - no mattresses) about 10 years ago and went IKEA..simple, clean lines and very easy to move plus everything comes apart which makes for very easy moving.
And I thought this thread was about getting smaller pieces of furniture...
Anyway, where I live, used furniture mostly ends up in the trash. It has to be really nice and ideally some sort of antique in order to have any resale value. Charities that do pickups typically do not want to deal in old furniture. It is just too heavy, too bulky, hard to display and of minimal value. Many people put their old furniture to the curbside several days in advance of the bulk trash pickup. Some neighbors might want it. Most of it just gets carted away.
Some people have trouble with this. They get attached to their stuff and think it should have value to others. So they store it in basements or garages until it deteriorates even further.
I understand the attachment problem. If that is the case that they don't want furniture, I wish they would have told me up front as then I could have had the junk man come and not wait a month for the rude folks to show up. They say they will take furniture.
Kind of a shame that everything is for resale nowadays. I see poor families on the TV that have crap furniture and they could have used these pieces. A little kid could have used a nice bed.
But that's the world. Sometimes, you just have not not to care. I recall during a heat wave, the local charity asked for fans for those who didn't have them. We had a hardly used box fan - NO, you have to buy them a new one. Forget it.
This sounds like what we went through recently. Furniture had to be moved to garage (we’re elderly with infirmities). Wait a month to get on the schedule. Bring it yourself to the Habitat resale shop.
We ended up paying people a significant amount to take away perfectly good furniture. Really no one wants anything from 20+ years ago. My own adult kids don’t want any family stuff. They just don’t save things like those of us whose parents lived through a depression and a world war with rationing.
Location: East of Seattle since 1992, 615' Elevation, Zone 8b - originally from SF Bay Area
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Quote:
Originally Posted by johngolf
Although it has been some time since I used them, but Habitat For Humanity would remove most any, usable furniture.
Yes, we recently made a donation to them and they do send a truck, but you have to leave it outside for them. In a similar situation we recently got rid of our huge sectional, but it was pretty worn after 18 years, so we dumped it. My wife and I managed to get it into my truck and unload at the transfer station ourselves (2 trips) and we were 68 and 67. We just took all the cushions off before lifting, and where space allowed, dragged it with a folded up beach towel under to protect the floor.
We recently gave away a club chair on Next Door. We posted a picture, and waited for people to respond.
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