Decided to sell....have a question, please. (Bradenton, Naples: for sale, mattress)

[dalehorn]

We arrived in Bradenton for the winter.....did a few odd jobs to the house, and decided to sell.


On the fifth day, we had 4 offers. We will be closing soon.
Our issue now is selling our furnishings and household goods. We will be taking clothing, few pictures, in our car.
We will, first, try to sell as "Everything one price". Probably couple thousand. If there are no takers, we will piece mill it out.
My question...I will list moving sale with Craigslist, perhaps newspaper....is anyone aware of any other methods of, getting the word out??

Thanks for reading and/or responding!!! Lena

[vacoder]

Try walking into some thrift stores and used furniture shops. A lot of them will buy estate contents.

[crusinsusan]

I just have a suggestion for your craigslist ad. When I did the same thing, I posted to CL, with no pics, hardly any prices - save for larger items; called it an estate garage sale (I was selling a ton of stuff), and bc I'm not an early riser, listed it as starting at 9 am, with a warning that no early birds would be allowed and that I would not respond to email inquiries (and didn't give my phone number). I posted in my town's CL site, and two major cities CL sites within an hours drive. The night before, I roped off my property to keep people from coming onto it before 9 am. The sale happened both inside and outside the house, I put price stickers on everything the day before, and made sure I had plenty of change on hand to break those inevitable $20s everyone was going to have. I rose at 7 am to start moving the outside stuff outside (I had put it all in the kitchen prior). Part of the house was roped off so no one could enter parts they shouldn't be in.

I had a friend monitor the inside and I monitored the outside. (I'm fairly certain a few things were stolen)

By 8:50 am, the crowd was straining at the rope I had put up, but I wasn't ready for them and I finished what I had to do, with much glaring coming at me from the crowd. (Seasoned garage sale hunters get up at 6 on Saturday to hit the sales early, and I guess they all saved mine for last). As I took down the rope there was a stampede, so that all I could do was lay the one end of the rope on the ground and hope that the people at the other end of the rope would not trip as they stepped over it.

It was a mad house.

The ad is what brought them in...and in it I listed about 100 items for sale, so that anyone who was searching in the general search box would find my ad (gorilla ladder, gel fuel fireplace, you-name-it). Stuff every word you can into the ad so you will be found. ie: don't say "ladder"...call it a gorilla ladder, with extension to x feet. That way you get the people searching for: step ladder, gorilla tape, extension ladder, extension cord, and so forth. Those looking for, say, an extension cord come in and see your LONG list (make it a list as that's easy to read, rather than paragraph style) and they'll browse it.

I also put up signs around the neighborhood, and I did luck out as it was on the same day as an antiques show in my town (pure luck on my part, but still, if you can plan it on such a day, someone will say "Hey, hon, look...the day of the parade also has an estate sale nearby)

I made most of my sales in the first 3 hours of Saturday, but held the sale all day and again on Sunday. I'd say I pulled in another $500 total over the afternoon of Saturday and all day Sunday. I also wouldn't haggle until after noon of Saturday.

PS: remember to take down your signs at the end of the day on Sunday, to be a good neighbor. And make a note of where you've put each one so you can take it down!

Good luck!

[justNancy]

Originally Posted by dalehorn

We arrived in Bradenton for the winter.....did a few odd jobs to the house, and decided to sell.


On the fifth day, we had 4 offers. We will be closing soon.
Our issue now is selling our furnishings and household goods. We will be taking clothing, few pictures, in our car.
We will, first, try to sell as "Everything one price". Probably couple thousand. If there are no takers, we will piece mill it out.
My question...I will list moving sale with Craigslist, perhaps newspaper....is anyone aware of any other methods of, getting the word out??

Thanks for reading and/or responding!!! Lena

It sounds as if you're being very realistic about what most used furniture costs. Both of the above posters have good suggestions.

In 2009, I used Craig's List and the Naples Daily News (online) to sell 2 bedroom sets, a living room and dining set. For me it was a big hassle. I got emails asking me to post pictures and didn't have a digital camera at that time. I bought one, but then people wanted me to take photos of my mattresses, small appliances, etc. So crusinsusan's idea sounds a lot smarter! (if your community isn't gated or has restrictions)

It's season now, so your timing is better. I tried to sell in May and when the economy was a lot worse. In the end, I donated many things, including my Broyhill sleeper-sofa and some small appliances. You can also place leftover odds and ends of little value in a box and post a "curb alert" ad.

Just a note: I learned recently that animal shelters will use items that human thrift shops can't sell, ie., used pillows, torn or stained blankets, old mattress pads, etc. Florida is a lot warmer than where I am now, but perhaps your local no-kill shelter can also use those items as well as cleaning supplies like mops and rags, old newspapers, etc.

Good luck with your move!

[dalehorn]

Thank each of you for your very informative posts!!!!

I have not noticed a lot of digns, in the area, where we live. I didn't know if signs are, in general, frowned upon.

I will be putting an ad in the "garage/ moving sales", when the time comes. This is going to require some precise planning on our part. The obvious being, we'll have to have some furniure, just to live here, until time to go.

At this time, I have a few items listed....items that can be sold off first. The moving sale will require specific dates...so that is a little down the road.

Also, we don't want to head to Ohio, just yet. ;-)

[macrodome2]

See if there is a Nextdoor group in your area. Don't know if mods would remove link- so google "nextdoor". It's the first entry.


For items that don't sell, there may be a "freecycle" you can post items on for pick up.

[Nancy in Nokomis]

I would like to see what you have....hehe - people love garage sales around here - just put a sign up at the top of your street and people will be stopping by like crazy.

Would love some rattan furniture -

[dalehorn]

I am curious....I will check into Nextdoor.

Nancy, sorry I do not have any rattan. I'm thinking we will be able to list furniture items within the next week.
I will try to sell as a "whole lot", one price. I will run ad for, maybe 4 days. After that, I will have a garage sale/tag sale, to bring in some people.

This has been and still is, an adventure for us. We came to Florida, bought a house, turned it into a very nice home. We have furnished the house along the way, we came with only our clothing and a few wall pictures. We have spent 3 glorious winters here, Now we will return home with our clothes, a few pictures and a little more money than we came with. Not too shabby for an old retired couple! :-) Lena

[loves2read]

Would you care to share why you are moving after only 3 yrs here?
Seems like a long way and lot of effort for a short time to enjoy...

[dalehorn]

Hi,

We have, greatly,enjoyed our time in Florida. I have a brother in Lake Mary; my husbands' brother in Bradenton.
We will, probably, be back as snowbirds, but will rent. We did not like having a home that sat empty for 8 months.
We decided not to become residents.....did not like the summers here. Considered staying here 8 months, Ohio, 4 months. BUT.....we have grandchildren and greatgrand children being born and getting older. We decided we needed to live around our family.