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I'm Gen X and I don't want the stuff that my retired parents have collected, either.
Looking at the low prices similar collectibles are fetching from other sellers on eBay, it seems like almost nobody outside the family will want it, either.
This is why I readily accept that my millenial kids won't want the stuff that my wife and I have collected. They're following our example!
It's not just that they don't want it but that stuff isn't worth much anymore, if it even was at one point. I would blame ebay for this most of all of this. Because of ebay there is so much supply that made it onto the marketplace, prices were driven down. Over the last 50 years people realized to keep some items because they would become collectable. Problem is if every one does it they are not collectable.
Nowadays after the crisis, there is less focus on traditional house Goodall more focus on lifestyle and experiences whether it's startbucks or skydiving. Sure jewelry and coach or lv bags will sell but things like Lennox bone china or Hummel figurines don't attract that much interest. Even coins, unless they are in great shape and certified aren't worth that much more than their metal content.
I understand this. My dear Uncle passed away in 1998 and his wife, my aunt, in 2000. They were 41 and 34 years older than me, respectively, and their stuff was mostly antiques from the era when they were young. But I was not interested in it. I did not know how to value the things. Since i was the successor trustee I had to divest their possessions in order to give the beneficiaries their shares. I sold stuff to their neighbors. Some of the "antiques" were worthless gambles. Others were probably very valuable. I have one of the original radios of the early 1900s. Anyway I learned from them. I decided to buy precious metals bullion over the years. The metal content is easily valued.
It's not just that they don't want it but that stuff isn't worth much anymore, if it even was at one point. I would blame ebay for this most of all of this. Because of ebay there is so much supply that made it onto the marketplace, prices were driven down. Over the last 50 years people realized to keep some items because they would become collectable. Problem is if every one does it they are not collectable.
Nowadays after the crisis, there is less focus on traditional house Goodall more focus on lifestyle and experiences whether it's startbucks or skydiving. Sure jewelry and coach or lv bags will sell but things like Lennox bone china or Hummel figurines don't attract that much interest. Even coins, unless they are in great shape and certified aren't worth that much more than their metal content.
For small and readily shippable items, I'd agree with you. Is the market for something bulky like an antique pipe organ affected by eBay? No, because the item is prohibitively expensive to transport.
Location: On the "Left Coast", somewhere in "the Land of Fruits & Nuts"
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Millennials grew up in a "disposable" culture, where they're always used to having "new". Heck, most of 'em refuse to even repair anything anymore! Besides, aren't we also moving into an era where everything is becoming 'artisanal', 'unique' and infinitely "personalized"? So why would they want our old stuff, that's just "yesterday's news"… and by today's standards, probably seems so common and 'mass-produced' anyway?
My husband's mom just moved into a senior living apartment and is looking to get rid of a lot of the stuff from her house. To me, so much of it is junk! She wants to drag half of it to her tiny apartment, but we are trying to talk her out of it. One reason we thought the move was so nice is that it isn't so overwhelming with crap! I mean, she isn't a hoarder or anything, and everything is "neatly" stacked and stored, but it's still an overwhelming mess!
Old dishes, old linens, old ornaments, etc. etc. etc. Most of it isn't "cool" old, it's like...1980s old, and it's basically useless. She was asking us to help go through all of her "stuff" -- three huge bedrooms full, plus a storage building and multiple closets, cabinets, etc. -- and I told my hubs...."She doesn't want me to go through all of that stuff! 80% of it is going in the garbage!"
He got a little nostalgic and mentioned selling it all at a yard sale or something. Like I told him...nobody wants all this old junk!
Had to laugh, but when growning up and told to "clean our rooms out good" my 2 sisters and I would gather our junk we wanted to get rid of in the hallway between our rooms and then go thru each others "rejects" and the majority of the stuff just moved from one room to another as a "find" for the new owner...guess we had that "oh, this is something worth keeping" traits even as kids...and yes, I am 60 so have seen our millennial kids not really want what we were ready to part with when downsizing.
I'm a millennial, and I think this article hits the nail on the head. My wife and I have both lost grandparents in the last couple of years, and the keepsakes we were interested in were things we could use. I value my grandfather's shotgun or the set of deep sockets I inherited from my wife's grandfather. These things are useful, so I can justify having a place for them, and they do sort of inspire some reminiscing when I use them. To me, that is far preferable to some piece of stuff that will sit on a shelf and never get picked up -- or even looked at.
I do value photographs, but I'm likely to scan them and put the originals in a box somewhere.
I think this sort of divesting from junk is a good trend.
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As your children get older....
