Decluttering advisor

You need a gimmick and an incentive, something that would really motivate people to buy your stuff.

For example, you approach a charitable organization that doesn't already have a thrift store. Let's say I go to an animal rescue or shelter and make this deal; You (the shelter) display my flyer (which is full page, bold, and catchy) and urge everyone who walks into your facility to "Please visit our C.R.A.P. Store" (Collectables Rare and Precious), and you get 50% of the revenue from every sale I make.

"The C.R.A.P. Store" is the gimmick and helping an animal rescue organization is the incentive. I would also tell the organization that they will get 50% whether a buyer was referred by them or not....50% of every sale, period. All they have to do is point to the flyer and say stuff like "Please visit our C.R.A.P. Store, it's fun and beautiful and it's for the animals! It'll really help us out." etc

You could even partner with individuals - people looking for help paying for little Sally's chemo treatments, our favorite teacher's operation, Gramma's funeral. People who have car-washes or put collection jars in stores...offer to make your living room or garage *their* C.R.A.P. Store and they will send customers. You could partner with multiple charities - everything on these shelves go to this charity, everything on those shelves to another. In that situation you could probably ask fair prices. Not appraisal values, but fair prices. Or let people make offers, but remind them it's for charity!
 

RadishRose said:
Sorry to say, DVD's an CD's are a dime a dozen, especially CD's.

With streaming movies and music on the Internet, much of it is free.

They don't take up that much room. If you can't donate them, just store them in a closet and enjoy them now and then. Good luck.
Click to expand...

I totally agree. I was thinking of maybe dividing some up among area Nursing homes, assisted living centers and senior living centers. My husband and I have vastly different music tastes, so most of his collection would gather dust before I would even listen to them. Plus, as you said, it is just so much easier to listen to you tube, or streaming
 
I'll take all your DVD's you want to shed. My 'off grid' daughter, came for a visit last week, she still has internet but no streaming services or cable. I informed her that I captured/copied all my DVDs to my 1TB hard drive for my cord cutting. Also, being hard of hearing I opt to watch movies from my laptop's hard drive. I use ear phones & have a library of over 150 movies (more each month). I watch Redbox for new releases, I try to keep it to a select few each month because of the rental fees. It has now risen to $1.50, so still can get up to 4 a month cheaper than the cost for Netflix streaming. I've found that the selections of good rated movies are slim each month, 4 good ones is about it.

I pointed out that my watching good rated movies repeatedly is no different than watching the reruns of all the reality shows over & over on cable. You can only watch so many 'cops' or 'Pawn Stars' reruns. Plus the quality movies are not rerun as much as the also rans. Once I get them recorded the originals go back to Redbox or if mine I donate them to our library, they last about 1 hour on the 'free' table after I take them over. I gave her a copy of them on an external 1TB hard drive, she called 3 days later thanking me for them & has watched 1-2 a night since plus reading books.
 

Son_of_Perdition said:
I'll take all your DVD's you want to shed. My 'off grid' daughter, came for a visit last week ...
Click to expand...

What a very nice offer! I had to laugh though because up here, off the grid means no electricity or running water, although one might rely on a generator, but definitely well water and hopefully an outhouse. Many, many years back I lived that way on the side of mountain for about a year (with a formidable wilderness guide no less), and found it was much easier than anticipated. Alas, the lure of regular hot showers made me trot back to civilization.
 
bluebreezes said:
What a very nice offer! I had to laugh though because up here, off the grid means no electricity or running water, although one might rely on a generator, but definitely well water and hopefully an outhouse. Many, many years back I lived that way on the side of mountain for about a year (with a formidable wilderness guide no less), and found it was much easier than anticipated. Alas, the lure of regular hot showers made me trot back to civilization.
Click to expand...

That's precisely what I meant, she is transitioning to completely off grid. For the last 3 weeks she has been living out of a 12 x 12 shed with her dog. She only has electricity & can get wifi but no cable. She has the shower problems, the bodily waste problems, the food storage,,,etc. figured out. Electricity is her only utility, right now for lights & a hot plate(which will be replaced with a propane grill) she figures to take her laptop to a free wifi access in the city when she absolutely needs contact but she does plan to have a generator for emergencies. She will rent two PO boxes one in AZ one in the NW. She owns the house & shed outright but will be selling it when she jumps ship. The settlement on her house will be her reserve, she plans to get odd jobs to pay the $180 parking expenses in AZ for the winter & buy a piece of land in the NW to park her van along with other off-griders paying her rent to cover prop taxes. We'll see how long it lasts, I may be surprised.
 
debodun said:
When I posted to a FB antiques discussion group, some of the comments on my possession was rather harsh. One person said, "You think you're sitting on a gold mine when you're really sitting on a pile of ****!" (asterisks mine - fill in the blank with your imagination). I wonder why antique people seem so snobby?
Click to expand...
Ah yes, another internet jerk. Probably jealous of what you have and wanting to put someone down.

I'm sad about your inability to get what you want for your antiques. I'm not sure what goes on in your area. In California, things sell. Our thrift shops are always eagerly taking donations.

I think you have mentioned you don't want to go the internet route. I know there are some shops on ETSY with many vintage sales. I don't buy vintage online (except jewelry) But someone is buying.
 
My husband and I accumulated many CD's over the years, probably close to 1,000. After he died, I discovered that I really only ever play about 10% of them. I had been selling books over Amazon for years so I just added the CD's to my list of offerings. I only get pennies for each one; in fact, I've sold a lot of them for .01 since there are many others for sale for that price. So why bother? Mainly because I like to see a book or a CD go to someone who specifically wants it and is willing to pay a few bucks for it, even if most of the few bucks go toward postage. Amazon pays me enough to cover the postage usually plus about a dollar, so that's what I make on the .01 items, Still more than most CD's sell for in garage sales. And it's kind of fun.
 
From a man’s point of view: I wonder the function of “display” glassware ? Perhaps it’s something like MY fascination. The first house I bought had a broken hand-crank phonograph, along with several 78 records, in the basement. I repaired the phonograph and played the records. It was great to hear the 1920’s ! ~ the era of my parent’s births. I still have the phonograph and LOTS more records.

Getting back to De-Cluttering (Down Sizing): I’ve learned to STOP expecting the children and grand children to understand the value of workmanship. The last person to understand beauty and style attached to functionality was Steve Jobs. He died. I’ve learned to STOP considering the monetary value of “stuff.” My last Garage Sale taught me: it’s less worry, less work and often more satisfying to GIVE stuff away than to try selling it.

I’m still De-Cluttering, still Down Sizing. If I haven’t used it in years ~ it’s gotta go ! I wish my children and grand children had bigger houses ! The Salvation Army turns out to be the salvation of lots of my “stuff.”

Thank ALL of you (all the comments here) for the De-Cluttering Wisdom you’re handing out for free !
 
How about you take some of your stuff to some shops in New York City and see if there is any market for them in that area of the state and go to several shops to get a feel for the market in that area. Just from reading your first post it sound like you have some things that are of fair value, but if there is no local market for it than you need to take it to another area where there maybe one. The people on line that are telling you it's not worth anything seem like ignorant fools to me. Get on the phone to some of the shops in New York City and see what they say and remember their going to try to low ball you on the values. This is why you need to talk to several people, but you need to stick some of that stuff under a dealer nose and see what they say!!! A bird in the hand is better than two in the bush!
 

You must log in or register to reply here.

Back
Top