Author Topic: The super-rich having a garage sale  (Read 20484 times)

Chesleygirl

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Re: The super-rich having a garage sale
« Reply #50 on: August 09, 2017, 12:34:29 PM »
Another reason no more garage sales for me, is I feel it  makes my home and family unsafe. I've had people come around, wanting to know if we have electronics in our home, one person was asking about gold or silver. I feel they're just wanting to know what kind of valuables we have in our home. That was a huge red flag for me and I shut down my garage sales altogether. I have children who live with me and I have to think about their safety. Every time our neighborhood does a garage sale day, we have an increase in crime in the area over the next few weeks.
And no, i'm not saying all garage sale customers are criminals. I've gone to these myself, but I'm just saying, gotta be careful when you have strangers coming around your home.
« Last Edit: August 09, 2017, 12:36:16 PM by Chesleygirl »

JAYSLOL

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Re: The super-rich having a garage sale
« Reply #51 on: August 09, 2017, 01:13:07 PM »
Another reason no more garage sales for me, is I feel it  makes my home and family unsafe. I've had people come around, wanting to know if we have electronics in our home, one person was asking about gold or silver. I feel they're just wanting to know what kind of valuables we have in our home. That was a huge red flag for me and I shut down my garage sales altogether. I have children who live with me and I have to think about their safety. Every time our neighborhood does a garage sale day, we have an increase in crime in the area over the next few weeks.
And no, i'm not saying all garage sale customers are criminals. I've gone to these myself, but I'm just saying, gotta be careful when you have strangers coming around your home.

Yep, I agree that is a real concern.  I go to a lot of garage sales and I'm also one of those guys that asks about coins and gold, because I buy n sell them, but it's amazing the number of people that are like "oh yeah, I've got a huge box of silver eagles, but not sure I want to sell them" and I'm like, dude you should NOT be telling a total-stranger that at a garage sale.

ShoulderThingThatGoesUp

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Re: The super-rich having a garage sale
« Reply #52 on: August 09, 2017, 01:27:06 PM »
I just give stuff away because we have plenty of money and I'm helping somebody else out that way.

In my dense neighborhood I can put something I don't want to take to Goidwill on the curb on the night before trash pickup and inevitably somebody comes by and picks it up, because there are people that cruise the neighborhood for that purpose.

Sometimes people don't come prepared and they try to shove a chair a neighbor puts out through the window of their rusty Golf...

ketchup

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Re: The super-rich having a garage sale
« Reply #53 on: August 09, 2017, 01:32:05 PM »
I just give stuff away because we have plenty of money and I'm helping somebody else out that way.

In my dense neighborhood I can put something I don't want to take to Goidwill on the curb on the night before trash pickup and inevitably somebody comes by and picks it up, because there are people that cruise the neighborhood for that purpose.

Sometimes people don't come prepared and they try to shove a chair a neighbor puts out through the window of their rusty Golf...
One time when I did this with a no longer needed couch, someone was literally already loading it into their truck by the time I came back out with the couch cushions.  It was bizarre.  The system works.

paddedhat

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Re: The super-rich having a garage sale
« Reply #54 on: August 09, 2017, 01:35:04 PM »

Yea - garage sales are a little different here.  It's not nearly the extravaganza that happens in your area.  The last two neighborhoods I have lived in hold an annual community garage sale.  Maybe I am spoiled because I can get away with the 15 minute garage sale prep.   25-30 hours of preparation and selling? Pass.  Not worth my time.  Would rather spend 5 hours reading a thread about how spending time doing a garage sale is a waste of time, the most precious commodity (not sarcasm)

Yea, I would admit that it's a odd cultural thing here. At one point, a few Saturdays back, the main street in out little town was at a standstill, and we slowly crawled past the cause. There was a yard sale that actually had a professional food trailer set up, like the kind you see at the county fair. Just great, bad enough that we have to deal with idiots that block traffic, and can't park, but now we have idiots selling funnel Cakes and fries at their freakin' yard sale.

ketchup

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Re: The super-rich having a garage sale
« Reply #55 on: August 09, 2017, 01:42:27 PM »

Yea - garage sales are a little different here.  It's not nearly the extravaganza that happens in your area.  The last two neighborhoods I have lived in hold an annual community garage sale.  Maybe I am spoiled because I can get away with the 15 minute garage sale prep.   25-30 hours of preparation and selling? Pass.  Not worth my time.  Would rather spend 5 hours reading a thread about how spending time doing a garage sale is a waste of time, the most precious commodity (not sarcasm)

Yea, I would admit that it's a odd cultural thing here. At one point, a few Saturdays back, the main street in out little town was at a standstill, and we slowly crawled past the cause. There was a yard sale that actually had a professional food trailer set up, like the kind you see at the county fair. Just great, bad enough that we have to deal with idiots that block traffic, and can't park, but now we have idiots selling funnel Cakes and fries at their freakin' yard sale.
That.... is extremely weird.  Wow.

paddedhat

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Re: The super-rich having a garage sale
« Reply #56 on: August 09, 2017, 01:49:02 PM »

An estate sale, however, is another matter. Seven years after my mom died (at 51) my then-58-year-old dad had an estate sale. My now-wife and I helped out. He put a pricetag on everything in the house and made around $20K. This was pre-Internet and an ad in The Washington Post attracted the masses. He had a high-end grandfather's clock that went, along with a collection of Hummel figurines (thankfully he dumped those when they still had value), an antique piano, etc. At one point, he gave me a paper bag full of money and a deposit slip and told me to count it out and go to the bank.

When you're 27 like I was at the time -- this was 20 years ago -- that has a lasting impact. I've put little value on anything that's not mobile, high-quality, and functional ever since. Everything else is unnecessary.

Your interesting story is far from typical. The wife and I both lost our moms within a few weeks, a couple years back. At that point I talked to two auctioneers that I knew pretty well. My local guy, in a rural area of PA., told me that the average set of household goods, from a typical home in the area, was bringing around $900 at the time. It was so valueless that he would only sell the stuff if it was delivered to a local fire hall where he did his regular weekly auctions. The other auctioneer, in the mother's home town gave much that same story, but said $1500-1600 was more typical. He also refused to auction contents in the home, unless he sold the real estate at the same time, since it was a money loser. The Hummels are interesting too. My grandmother had a great collection. When she passed her boys tried to hand them out to any family member that wanted them. I did an ebay search on one just like I remembered as a kid. It didn't get a bid, and had a $0.99 starting bid figure. A quick look around at closed sales pretty much confirmed that they are now pretty worthless.

WhiteTrashCash

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Re: The super-rich having a garage sale
« Reply #57 on: August 09, 2017, 01:57:25 PM »
The Hummels are interesting too. My grandmother had a great collection. When she passed her boys tried to hand them out to any family member that wanted them. I did an ebay search on one just like I remembered as a kid. It didn't get a bid, and had a $0.99 starting bid figure. A quick look around at closed sales pretty much confirmed that they are now pretty worthless.

I had a similar experience when I moved from Hillbilly Mountain to the Flatlands. I tried selling my extensive mint-on-card and mint-in-box Star Wars toy collection to raise money and I discovered that all this stuff I had purchased as an "investment" in my financially ignorant past was worth practically nothing. I purchased one action figure twenty-two years ago and it's actually worth less today than what I paid for it back then. Unless you are just collecting stuff for the fun of it, it's a massive waste of time and money.

Cowardly Toaster

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Re: The super-rich having a garage sale
« Reply #58 on: August 09, 2017, 03:39:39 PM »
$0.99 starting bid figure. A quick look around at closed sales pretty much confirmed that they are now pretty worthless.

 Unless you are just collecting stuff for the fun of it, it's a massive waste of time and money.

There's all these isolated cases of people making a find and selling for big money, so people have inflated idea of what things are worth.

There's a few high end collectors who do well, and if you hustle you can make a living with collectibles, but it would just be another job.

Chesleygirl

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Re: The super-rich having a garage sale
« Reply #59 on: August 10, 2017, 11:55:56 AM »

An estate sale, however, is another matter. Seven years after my mom died (at 51) my then-58-year-old dad had an estate sale. My now-wife and I helped out. He put a pricetag on everything in the house and made around $20K. This was pre-Internet and an ad in The Washington Post attracted the masses. He had a high-end grandfather's clock that went, along with a collection of Hummel figurines (thankfully he dumped those when they still had value), an antique piano, etc. At one point, he gave me a paper bag full of money and a deposit slip and told me to count it out and go to the bank.

When you're 27 like I was at the time -- this was 20 years ago -- that has a lasting impact. I've put little value on anything that's not mobile, high-quality, and functional ever since. Everything else is unnecessary.

Your interesting story is far from typical. The wife and I both lost our moms within a few weeks, a couple years back. At that point I talked to two auctioneers that I knew pretty well. My local guy, in a rural area of PA., told me that the average set of household goods, from a typical home in the area, was bringing around $900 at the time. It was so valueless that he would only sell the stuff if it was delivered to a local fire hall where he did his regular weekly auctions. The other auctioneer, in the mother's home town gave much that same story, but said $1500-1600 was more typical. He also refused to auction contents in the home, unless he sold the real estate at the same time, since it was a money loser. The Hummels are interesting too. My grandmother had a great collection. When she passed her boys tried to hand them out to any family member that wanted them. I did an ebay search on one just like I remembered as a kid. It didn't get a bid, and had a $0.99 starting bid figure. A quick look around at closed sales pretty much confirmed that they are now pretty worthless.

That seems to have been my experience, also. When my mom died, we hired someone to sell off the valuables. She found buys for the antique furniture and electronics, but that was it. She refused to try and sell the rest of the stuff, so I took it into my home and sold it on facebook garage sales. But it took a very, very long time! The main issue were "buyers" who would try to get stuff for very cheap, or free. Whenever a seller gives in to these people, he makes it harder for other sellers. I didn't give in to them, in fact, I blocked low ballers on facebook garage sales. There were eventually some things I had to give away, but I gave them to family and friends only. My mom's Norman Rockwell plates had no value at all (as my mom had previously believed), so I gave those to a friend. My mom had been convinced they were highly valuable and even hid them in her home. But there are thousands sold on ebay starting at $1.00.

She also collected Haviland china, but nobody buys them even though they are very old, almost antique.

ysette9

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Re: The super-rich having a garage sale
« Reply #60 on: August 10, 2017, 01:29:55 PM »
I suspect that this is all the result of the big generational shift in the value of "stuff". I've seen multiple articles written about how Millennials don't value stuff and don't want stuff, and so the bottom has dropped out of the antiques market. Anecdotally, my sister and I don't want stuff and our older generation will have to figure out what to do with the lovely things they have accumulated over their lives (antiques, expensive china and silverware, etc.).  find it fascinating because I can't explain why we both came to the same conclusion that we want a more minimalist lifestyle when we grew up with a family that went to antique stores and restored old phonographs and whatnot. It isn't that I don't value that stuff, it is just that I don't want any of it for myself. Why? not sure. Why this is a trend for our entire generation? I have no idea.

paddedhat

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Re: The super-rich having a garage sale
« Reply #61 on: August 10, 2017, 02:38:11 PM »
I suspect that this is all the result of the big generational shift in the value of "stuff".

Insightful post on a topic that is scaring the hell out of segments of the consumer good sector of our economy. There are entire sports (golf) product lines ( Harley motorcycles) and other categories of consumerism, that are basically screwed, as millennials show zero interest in being associated with them. The antiques market is pretty amazing also. I dealt with a few pieces from my mom's estate that the auctioneer/appraiser lamented, "ya know, a decade ago I was getting 4-5 times what that piece brings today, I'll sell it if you want. But, you're probably best off finding a friend, or relative, that might want it".

Feivel2000

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Re: The super-rich having a garage sale
« Reply #62 on: August 10, 2017, 02:43:25 PM »
One factor could be that in the current generation nobody will stay with one company in one city anymore. Mobility is necessary for the employee of today and relocating with boxes full of stuff sucks.

Also, if you move, you normally remove a lot of clutter first. So less linear careers -> more moving -> more decluttering -> less stuff and wanting stuff.

That's my hypothesis, any social studies student interested in proving it?

Cowardly Toaster

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Re: The super-rich having a garage sale
« Reply #63 on: August 10, 2017, 05:26:44 PM »
I suspect that this is all the result of the big generational shift in the value of "stuff".

The antiques market is pretty amazing also. I dealt with a few pieces from my mom's estate that the auctioneer/appraiser lamented, "ya know, a decade ago I was getting 4-5 times what that piece brings today, I'll sell it if you want. But, you're probably best off finding a friend, or relative, that might want it".

I keep hearing that antiques are losing value, hopefully they're referring to the ugly ones, not the well made ones. Also, it breaks my heart how much nice hardwood is probably being wasted

JAYSLOL

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Re: The super-rich having a garage sale
« Reply #64 on: August 10, 2017, 06:51:51 PM »
I'm not an expert, but in my experience antiques are not losing value if the term antique is being used correctly, as in ~100 year old or older high-quality, hand-made items of real collector value.  These are (generally) not losing value, the problem i see is people have been using "antique" and "vintage" VERY loosely these days.  I mean, seriously i see people post stuff for sale all the damn time now like "antique fisher price toys!" and you look at the photos, and its like from the '70s.  "Vintage baseball cards!"  Nope, those are from the late '90s, moron, nice try.  Not saying newer things can't have collector value, but mass-produced commercialized made-to-be-collectables ("Collectors Edition" right on the box!!) are not antiques. 

WhiteTrashCash

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Re: The super-rich having a garage sale
« Reply #65 on: August 10, 2017, 08:39:22 PM »
I suspect that this is all the result of the big generational shift in the value of "stuff". I've seen multiple articles written about how Millennials don't value stuff and don't want stuff, and so the bottom has dropped out of the antiques market. Anecdotally, my sister and I don't want stuff and our older generation will have to figure out what to do with the lovely things they have accumulated over their lives (antiques, expensive china and silverware, etc.).  find it fascinating because I can't explain why we both came to the same conclusion that we want a more minimalist lifestyle when we grew up with a family that went to antique stores and restored old phonographs and whatnot. It isn't that I don't value that stuff, it is just that I don't want any of it for myself. Why? not sure. Why this is a trend for our entire generation? I have no idea.

I suspect that part of it is an obsession with the newest stuff from the current generation. People on the forum are largely immune to the trend, but most Millennials see stuff as quickly obsolete and disposable. Hence very few people repairing stuff anymore and people getting new smartphones every six months.

There's actually a lot of older technology that still perfectly fine to use. I still play video game systems from fifteen years ago because they work perfectly, they are a lot of fun, you can get games for it for $2 a piece on eBay, and they never require any hardware or software upgrades. Plus nobody spies on me while I'm playing the games, because the system isn't connected to the internet. Millennials tend to laugh at me about it, but I feel pretty good about my choice.

Dicey

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Re: The super-rich having a garage sale
« Reply #66 on: August 10, 2017, 09:24:41 PM »
I'll brain dump some more, since this thread has turned to page 2. At Estate Sales, Everything is being sold, and it usually happens inside and out. The recent Estate Sale I referenced above is a good example of some of my observations.

Household items like sheets, linens and towels and all types of kitchenware sell very well, as do children's games and toys in decent condition. Partyware sells, as do small appliances. Office supplies. Outdoor furniture and garden stuff sell in the summertime. Man stuff like tools, radios, small motors, paint and heavy duty cleaning stuff sell. Got a pressure washer? Gone. Bicycles? Ditto.

Any category that's unique to Estate Sales does well. Cleaning supplies (including laundry detergent and window cleaner), disposable kitchen storage (foil, ziplocs, foil, wax paper, paper towels). Anything bulk that's identifiable as coming from Costco such as what's left of TP, paper towels, cleaning wipes, and kleenex multi-packs sell, even if it's been opened. And OMG, food pantry staples sell, as long as they're not bulging cans of weird stuff.

Desks, bookcases and storage-type furniture sell. Kid's stuff like highchairs, pack'n plays, baby baths, changing tables, bassinets will all sell if condition is good and price is low.

Books, clothes, upholstered furniture and collectibles totally blow. So do Christmas decorations in the middle of summer. If you have them to get rid of, price them super cheap. Use category signs, such as "All Books 2/$1.00" and "All Clothes $1.00". We did sell little girl's party dresses for $5.00 each, but we hung them from the canopy, with a price tag on each one.

Now, the difference between a yawner and a blowout is a series of steps.

- Organization - group like things together.

- Get shit off the floor. Beg and borrow all the tables you can lay your hands on. The higher up, the higher the price, I say.

- Pricing - Tag as much as is humanly possible. Use the smallest Avery-type return address labels and cut them in thirds. They're cheaper than the Dollar Store price tags and more customize-able. For linens, wrap sets with blue or masking tape and write the description and price right on the tape.

- Pricing, Part 2 - If you can't price it, print out signs to the effect of "The more you buy, the more you'll save. Bring your selections to the check-out table." It lets people know your prices will be reasonable.

- Lots of great signs. (My dollar store sells neon color posterboards 2/$1 and sets of punch-out letters for a buck apiece.)

- Use Open House type A-Frames if you can get your hands on them. I store the library's book sale signs between sales and make good use of them for other purposes, in exchange for storing them. I just tape the Estate Sales right over them. Know a realtor or better still, a former realtor? Borrow theirs, but take good care of them.

- If you have expensive things, print out an ad for the same item on EBay (or wherever).  Attach it to the item. Show their price, then your lower price. This works well for high-end stuff. People will pay more if they know the value. We did this for high-end cookware and it worked well.

- Place ads everywhere they're free. Craigslist, NextDoor, FB, etc. Include pictures wherever possible, especially if you have good stuff.

- Have an obvious entry/check-out point. I use the kind of pop-up canopy that you see at every soccer game, and NO, it's not for sale, sorry. This is where your check-out table will be, plus a chair, also NFS, but you won't be sitting in it much.

- You and your helper(s) should all wear the same color shirt. Makes people think you're pros, and that you're everywhere. We use leftovers from an annual community event that gives out free t-shirts. Nobody reads them but they see the color. We used red this time, but neon green works well, too.

- Have plenty of change. Also make sure you keep lots of water and quick snacks on hand, because you'll be too busy to eat.

- Have bags and boxes for people to load their stuff into.

- Have a FREE box and replenish it as the day goes on.

- Bargain back! Have fun with this and feel free to defend your prices. Sometimes I ask people what price will make them happy. Then I say, "Well (double that) is the price that will make me happy. Can we meet in the middle?" Works so often it's hilarious.

- Have a plan for what to do with the leftover stuff. My favorite strategy is to make signs that say "50% Off Everything". Use them on the last day or in the last few hours of a one-day sale. What little is left goes to GW.

Is this a shit-ton of work? Yes, but sometimes it's the best option. In the last few years, we did it when my parents died (sold the house that day, too), when we cleaned out my MIL's houses prior to sale (sold one to a neighbor a couple of weeks later, kept the other.) We did another when we were selling DH's house and consolidating both of our households. Then, last month I did the one described above. It's a lot shitload of work, but we made over $2k at each one, sometimes much, much more*. More important, we got rid of shit, and it went to people who will use and enjoy it.

Amusing note - I sold a bunch of nice golf gear to a couple of millennials. I congratulated them on shopping at an Estate Sale. They were so darn cute, I wanted to hug 'em. Of course, I told them about MMM. Oh, and one of my helpers was the owner's  millennial grandkid who was really into the sale. When I asked about it, they said their dad took them to estate/garage sales every other Friday after school. Love it!

Random sidebar- I bought a lot of 14 small Hummel figurines, still in boxes, at an Estate Sale that was being held at an Open House (which is a great way to sell a house, BTW) a couple of months ago. They were new in boxes, but afterwards, I wondered why the hell I bought them. DH was very amused, because he was sure I wasted ten bucks.

I put them on the check-out table at this sale and sold them for $5.00 each. Sonofagun, they all went.  I did give someone a discount for purchasing multiples, but I turned my $10 into a $50 profit, for the win. Still, collectibles don't sell. My theory is that these sold because they were new in box and only $5.00.

TL;DR: Garage sale with random crap? Don't bother. Estate sale? Might well be worth your time.

*When we did the Estate Sale at my MIL's second home, we found over $11k IN CASH stashed in various places throughout the house. Probably would have missed that if we had just hired someone to haul it all away or dumped everything. Just sayin'.

Oh, and we got $11k cash for her car, too.


Anon in Alaska

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Re: The super-rich having a garage sale
« Reply #67 on: August 11, 2017, 04:46:27 AM »

If your goal is to have a nice time socializing with neighbors, then do as you will. If your goal is to maximize your time and money, then you donate the stuff from your garage sale and receive the tax deduction.

Doesn't this assume you itemize?

I don't have a mortgage so I use the standardized deduction. Donating to charity will not gain me a tax deduction, it will just declutter. I donate anyway, but that's because my expected hourly return form a garage sale is low.

paddedhat

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Re: The super-rich having a garage sale
« Reply #68 on: August 11, 2017, 05:47:03 AM »
I'm not an expert, but in my experience antiques are not losing value if the term antique is being used correctly, as in ~100 year old or older high-quality, hand-made items of real collector value.  These are (generally) not losing value, the problem i see is people have been using "antique" and "vintage" VERY loosely these days.  I mean, seriously i see people post stuff for sale all the damn time now like "antique fisher price toys!" and you look at the photos, and its like from the '70s.  "Vintage baseball cards!"  Nope, those are from the late '90s, moron, nice try.  Not saying newer things can't have collector value, but mass-produced commercialized made-to-be-collectables ("Collectors Edition" right on the box!!) are not antiques.

Interesting point. There is also the issue of reproductions. When the MIL passed, she had a great Cape Cod that was full of interesting "antiques" including things like a spinning wheel, huge brass log holder and tool set for the fireplace, a brass whiskey still, and similar items. Nobody in the family gave much thought to a house full of antiques, but everybody was pretty shocked to hear an appraiser walk through and note that except for one or two pieces, everything was fake, and nothing older than 1950.

Cowardly Toaster

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Re: The super-rich having a garage sale
« Reply #69 on: August 11, 2017, 09:55:57 AM »
I'm not an expert, but in my experience antiques are not losing value if the term antique is being used correctly, as in ~100 year old or older high-quality, hand-made items of real collector value.  These are (generally) not losing value, the problem i see is people have been using "antique" and "vintage" VERY loosely these days.  I mean, seriously i see people post stuff for sale all the damn time now like "antique fisher price toys!" and you look at the photos, and its like from the '70s.  "Vintage baseball cards!"  Nope, those are from the late '90s, moron, nice try.  Not saying newer things can't have collector value, but mass-produced commercialized made-to-be-collectables ("Collectors Edition" right on the box!!) are not antiques.

Great point. When I think antique I think "handsome solid wood furniture" but the reality is they try to pass of a lot of junk as antiques. Antique store often means "junk store"

Trudie

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Re: The super-rich having a garage sale
« Reply #70 on: August 11, 2017, 11:08:28 AM »
Garage sales just aren't worth the time.  I've tried them a couple of times, but didn't make more than a couple of hundred bucks -- just not worth the time and effort invested.  I now regularly clean out bags of stuff and drop it at the charity on my way to work.  I get a receipt, they get the cash from my stuff.  And that cash gets cycled back into my community in the form of grants to other non-profits I want to support.  Boom.

When I have nicer, unique items (furniture, skis, tools) I advertise them on Craigslist or local Facebook selling sites.  People rarely dicker on price as long as I am reasonable about it to begin with.

I also don't lift heavy stuff anymore and I don't have a truck.  I'd rather call a charity that really needs my stuff and let them do the hauling.

JAYSLOL

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Re: The super-rich having a garage sale
« Reply #71 on: August 13, 2017, 07:48:59 AM »
I'm not an expert, but in my experience antiques are not losing value if the term antique is being used correctly, as in ~100 year old or older high-quality, hand-made items of real collector value.  These are (generally) not losing value, the problem i see is people have been using "antique" and "vintage" VERY loosely these days.  I mean, seriously i see people post stuff for sale all the damn time now like "antique fisher price toys!" and you look at the photos, and its like from the '70s.  "Vintage baseball cards!"  Nope, those are from the late '90s, moron, nice try.  Not saying newer things can't have collector value, but mass-produced commercialized made-to-be-collectables ("Collectors Edition" right on the box!!) are not antiques.

Goddamn I hate it when I'm right.  So yesterday a lady posted on the local FaceBook buy and sell group asking if anyone bought old coins and bills, I do so I wrote to her and asked what she had.  It was a mostly worthless pile of paper money from South America and Southeast Asia, they were all from the 1980s to 1990s, too old to take to a currency exchange, too new and not in good enough condition to have much collector value.  She proceeded to argue with me and tell me that she got "an offer of $50 each bill" (complete bs) and that I didn't know what I was talking about and that "these are ANTIQUES!"  (No, they aren't)  Didn't matter how much actual knowledge I had about them, she didn't want to hear it, I'm still pissed about the whole thing, how can someone be both completely uninformed AND so sure of themselves?  Mostly posting to vent about the whole thing

Chesleygirl

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Re: The super-rich having a garage sale
« Reply #72 on: August 13, 2017, 09:13:17 AM »

Goddamn I hate it when I'm right.  So yesterday a lady posted on the local FaceBook buy and sell group asking if anyone bought old coins and bills, I do so I wrote to her and asked what she had.  It was a mostly worthless pile of paper money from South America and Southeast Asia, they were all from the 1980s to 1990s, too old to take to a currency exchange, too new and not in good enough condition to have much collector value.  She proceeded to argue with me and tell me that she got "an offer of $50 each bill"

Then, tell her to take it back to the person who offered her $50 for each bill. If she can get that, shouldn't be a problem for her to just go back to whoever gave her that offer.

JAYSLOL

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Re: The super-rich having a garage sale
« Reply #73 on: August 13, 2017, 09:23:36 AM »

Goddamn I hate it when I'm right.  So yesterday a lady posted on the local FaceBook buy and sell group asking if anyone bought old coins and bills, I do so I wrote to her and asked what she had.  It was a mostly worthless pile of paper money from South America and Southeast Asia, they were all from the 1980s to 1990s, too old to take to a currency exchange, too new and not in good enough condition to have much collector value.  She proceeded to argue with me and tell me that she got "an offer of $50 each bill"

Then, tell her to take it back to the person who offered her $50 for each bill. If she can get that, shouldn't be a problem for her to just go back to whoever gave her that offer.

Yep, that's exactly what I told her, and how I know she was full of shit, because she eventually offered the bills to me for $20 for all when it was clear I knew what I was talking about, but even that is too much, so I declined.

paddedhat

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Re: The super-rich having a garage sale
« Reply #74 on: August 13, 2017, 11:15:43 AM »
how can someone be both completely uninformed AND so sure of themselves?  Mostly posting to vent about the whole thing

You just described half of the adult population in the USA, when it comes to what really matters like, politics, the economy, the environment, and science. You said it was just a rant, and I doubt you're surprised in the least that this dolt was playing the same game when it comes to a bunch of worthless paper? I'm sure it was incredibly frustrating, but it's become epidemic. We are degrading into a society where our "individualism" has now extended to the delusion that our thoughts and beliefs are of tremendous value, and correct, regardless of reality.  Facts, science, education................. all meaningless. All that matters is that you have a belief, and there is a large group of easily accessible dolts out there that agree with you. It could be as simple as telling a neighbor, or mentioning on a chat that, "I have a guy coming to the house to look at a bunch of old foreign paper money I have had laying around since the 80s".  If another dolt says, "oh, don't let him rip you off! Some of those bills are worth big money. Nothing to get $50 for the right one!"  That's all it takes. One dolt has a thought, another confirms, and it's settled fact.

I just had this happen with a contractor who did some work for me. He decided, out of the blue, that I needed to be educated about how global warming was a hoax. He opens with "Al Gore uses 20x the electric of a typical home in his neighborhood".  Well, in the world of dolts, that's all he needed. He knew Gore was in the media of late. His favorite source of propaganda told him about Al's electric bill, and he has a reaffirmation of what he, and any other intelligent person, already knew. Trying to present this dolt with any scientific rationale would be a waste of time. The same situation would occur if you met with your seller, and presented her with a current published guide, listed her notes as essentially worthless. She would immediately dismiss it as being wrong, and a tool you were using to defraud her. I can't count how many times I've heard the line, "well, if I can't get what it's worth, I'll just hold on to it". The rural area I lived most of my life in was full of cool old  things, cars, trucks, tractors, etc... rotting away in the yard, since the dolt owner was waiting for somebody to show up and give then what "It's worth".

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Re: The super-rich having a garage sale
« Reply #75 on: August 13, 2017, 11:50:45 AM »
how can someone be both completely uninformed AND so sure of themselves?  Mostly posting to vent about the whole thing

You just described half of the adult population in the USA, when it comes to what really matters like, politics, the economy, the environment, and science. You said it was just a rant, and I doubt you're surprised in the least that this dolt was playing the same game when it comes to a bunch of worthless paper? I'm sure it was incredibly frustrating, but it's become epidemic. We are degrading into a society where our "individualism" has now extended to the delusion that our thoughts and beliefs are of tremendous value, and correct, regardless of reality.  Facts, science, education................. all meaningless. All that matters is that you have a belief, and there is a large group of easily accessible dolts out there that agree with you. It could be as simple as telling a neighbor, or mentioning on a chat that, "I have a guy coming to the house to look at a bunch of old foreign paper money I have had laying around since the 80s".  If another dolt says, "oh, don't let him rip you off! Some of those bills are worth big money. Nothing to get $50 for the right one!"  That's all it takes. One dolt has a thought, another confirms, and it's settled fact.

I just had this happen with a contractor who did some work for me. He decided, out of the blue, that I needed to be educated about how global warming was a hoax. He opens with "Al Gore uses 20x the electric of a typical home in his neighborhood".  Well, in the world of dolts, that's all he needed. He knew Gore was in the media of late. His favorite source of propaganda told him about Al's electric bill, and he has a reaffirmation of what he, and any other intelligent person, already knew. Trying to present this dolt with any scientific rationale would be a waste of time. The same situation would occur if you met with your seller, and presented her with a current published guide, listed her notes as essentially worthless. She would immediately dismiss it as being wrong, and a tool you were using to defraud her. I can't count how many times I've heard the line, "well, if I can't get what it's worth, I'll just hold on to it". The rural area I lived most of my life in was full of cool old  things, cars, trucks, tractors, etc... rotting away in the yard, since the dolt owner was waiting for somebody to show up and give then what "It's worth".
You nailed it, paddedhat. But then, I expect you might believe me to be a dolt too, so what's a person to do, lol? Believing that one is the only person of rational intelligence in a sea of "dolts" is no way to enjoy this journey we're all on. You may consider me an idiot, someone else may think me a savant. Who is right? Does it matter? For that matter, if JAYSLOL  knew they were going to be right, why didn't they trust their gut, take a pass and do something more enjoyable with their time? (Rhetorical question.)

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Re: The super-rich having a garage sale
« Reply #76 on: August 13, 2017, 12:14:10 PM »
how can someone be both completely uninformed AND so sure of themselves?  Mostly posting to vent about the whole thing

You just described half of the adult population in the USA, when it comes to what really matters like, politics, the economy, the environment, and science. You said it was just a rant, and I doubt you're surprised in the least that this dolt was playing the same game when it comes to a bunch of worthless paper? I'm sure it was incredibly frustrating, but it's become epidemic. We are degrading into a society where our "individualism" has now extended to the delusion that our thoughts and beliefs are of tremendous value, and correct, regardless of reality.  Facts, science, education................. all meaningless. All that matters is that you have a belief, and there is a large group of easily accessible dolts out there that agree with you. It could be as simple as telling a neighbor, or mentioning on a chat that, "I have a guy coming to the house to look at a bunch of old foreign paper money I have had laying around since the 80s".  If another dolt says, "oh, don't let him rip you off! Some of those bills are worth big money. Nothing to get $50 for the right one!"  That's all it takes. One dolt has a thought, another confirms, and it's settled fact.

I just had this happen with a contractor who did some work for me. He decided, out of the blue, that I needed to be educated about how global warming was a hoax. He opens with "Al Gore uses 20x the electric of a typical home in his neighborhood".  Well, in the world of dolts, that's all he needed. He knew Gore was in the media of late. His favorite source of propaganda told him about Al's electric bill, and he has a reaffirmation of what he, and any other intelligent person, already knew. Trying to present this dolt with any scientific rationale would be a waste of time. The same situation would occur if you met with your seller, and presented her with a current published guide, listed her notes as essentially worthless. She would immediately dismiss it as being wrong, and a tool you were using to defraud her. I can't count how many times I've heard the line, "well, if I can't get what it's worth, I'll just hold on to it". The rural area I lived most of my life in was full of cool old  things, cars, trucks, tractors, etc... rotting away in the yard, since the dolt owner was waiting for somebody to show up and give then what "It's worth".

Yep, you absolutely nailed it.  I think everyone including myself are guilty of this kind of thinking from time to time, I mean, EVERYONE thinks they are the good driver and that everyone else on the road is terrible sometimes, right?  I try to work on that, and I think one of the most important things we can try to instil in the next generation is the ability to consult instead of debate and the ability to admit when we are wrong. 
And actually when i was messaging back and forth with that seller, i sent her screenshots of an identical bill to one that she had, but in mint condition that sold on eBay for $5.   This is how the conversation went  her: "But mine is ANTIQUE!"  Me: "No, yours is WORN, it's the same year as the one i sent you"  Her  "But my 90 year old grandpa had it since he was little"  Me: "Well, he's a fucking time traveller then" (ok fine, i didn't actually say this), what i actually said was "Sorry thats not what you want to hear, but i always give my honest opinion on a collection wether its worth a lot or a little.  I don't low-ball people, but i also know enough to not to overpay"

Dicey

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Re: The super-rich having a garage sale
« Reply #77 on: August 13, 2017, 12:53:33 PM »
^^And I think you gave her an most excellent and diplomatic answer.^^ Still not sure why you went to her anyway. Thrill of the hunt, perhaps? I totally suffer from that disease.

And hey, since you clearly know more on this topic, may I please ask a couple of questions? 《Pause...Okay then, here goes...》

I collect the coins from the library's passive book sale and dump them in a Coinstar machine once a month. It weeds out the silver coins, which is nice, but also the foreign currency. I've got a pile of random coins from all over the world, including a few euros, plus some silver dimes and quarters. What can I do with this stuff? I'd love to convert it to spendable US currency for the library.

Next, MIL used to be a world traveler and has a box containing neatly labeled packets of coins and small bills from all over the world. We've just been ignoring it, and idly wondering about donating it to a teacher or school. I am positive it's just old (but not antique) random, low-value, well circulated currency. Any thoughts beyond continuing to ignore it?

Thanks!

paddedhat

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Re: The super-rich having a garage sale
« Reply #78 on: August 13, 2017, 12:54:42 PM »
You nailed it, paddedhat. But then, I expect you might believe me to be a dolt too, so what's a person to do, lol? Believing that one is the only person of rational intelligence in a sea of "dolts" is no way to enjoy this journey we're all on. You may consider me an idiot, someone else may think me a savant. Who is right? Does it matter? For that matter, if JAYSLOL  knew they were going to be right, why didn't they trust their gut, take a pass and do something more enjoyable with their time? (Rhetorical question.)

Well, we have argued about issues in the past, and I have no interest in doing so again. That said, you have no basis for assuming that I find myself the only rational person is any setting. In fact, on many threads here, where there is a lot of high caliber input on topics like finance, I am very clear that I am no match for many contributors. OTOH, paying attention to what they have said, and directly asked a few for additional advice on PMs, has quite literally, directly resulting in a personal net worth that I would of never imagined possible just 5-6 years ago. Now the opposite of that, in keeping with the topic at hand, are the many friends and relatives I know that don't invest, since only "fools play the market, and it never ends well unless you are rich".  They KNOW this, and find zero need, nor suffer from any intellectual curiosity, that might cause then to educate themselves to the contrary. 

I do however believe that the point I make is becoming an issue at a crisis level, in the states, and even though it is a point of ridicule for everybody from foreign nations to or comedians, it's far from amusing. The fact that I was totally unaware that JAYSOL presented the seller with verifiable values, as I suggested, and she would not allow it to affect her "knowledge" on the topic, confirms my observations on the topic.  Oddly, between posts I grabbed the mail. I found a new Atlantic magazine with the front cover headline of "How America Went Haywire",  an article about how America lost it's mind, and a critical mass of us are untethered from reality.

Dicey

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Re: The super-rich having a garage sale
« Reply #79 on: August 13, 2017, 01:19:44 PM »
You nailed it, paddedhat. But then, I expect you might believe me to be a dolt too, so what's a person to do, lol? Believing that one is the only person of rational intelligence in a sea of "dolts" is no way to enjoy this journey we're all on. You may consider me an idiot, someone else may think me a savant. Who is right? Does it matter? For that matter, if JAYSLOL  knew they were going to be right, why didn't they trust their gut, take a pass and do something more enjoyable with their time? (Rhetorical question.)

Well, we have argued about issues in the past, and I have no interest in doing so again. That said, you have no basis for assuming that I find myself the only rational person is any setting. In fact, on many threads here, where there is a lot of high caliber input on topics like finance, I am very clear that I am no match for many contributors. OTOH, paying attention to what they have said, and directly asked a few for additional advice on PMs, has quite literally, directly resulting in a personal net worth that I would of never imagined possible just 5-6 years ago. Now the opposite of that, in keeping with the topic at hand, are the many friends and relatives I know that don't invest, since only "fools play the market, and it never ends well unless you are rich".  They KNOW this, and find zero need, nor suffer from any intellectual curiosity, that might cause then to educate themselves to the contrary. 

I do however believe that the point I make is becoming an issue at a crisis level, in the states, and even though it is a point of ridicule for everybody from foreign nations to or comedians, it's far from amusing. The fact that I was totally unaware that JAYSOL presented the seller with verifiable values, as I suggested, and she would not allow it to affect her "knowledge" on the topic, confirms my observations on the topic.  Oddly, between posts I grabbed the mail. I found a new Atlantic magazine with the front cover headline of "How America Went Haywire",  an article about how America lost it's mind, and a critical mass of us are untethered from reality.
Easy, paddedhat. Though we may disagree on some issues, I KNOW you're not a dolt. I am somewhat less certain of my own standing on the Dolt-O-Meter, depending on the topic being discussed and who's minding the meter. I was responding to the topic at hand. I don't have enough bandwidth to solve this obviously complex issue, but I do have enough to recognize its futility. It's a lovely day out, can we all go outside and play? If that confirms my Dolt Status in your estimation, well at least that would make me a Dolt who's FIRE  ;-). Things could always be worse.

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Re: The super-rich having a garage sale
« Reply #80 on: August 13, 2017, 01:32:44 PM »
Perfect. This thread has reduced my Mustachian guilt for not putting forth the effort to do a yard sale as we declutter this summer. We donate all our junk and sell the more valuable items on Craigslist or Amazon.

To be honest, though, I take a strange pleasure in wheeling & dealing, so I worry I am missing out on some entertainment. I used to love visiting yard sales and haggling, especially back when I had next to no money and truly needed a deal. Now I enjoy the idea of hanging out in the yard with my game face on, striking deals with my cheapskate neighbors.  Maybe some day we'll make it happen.

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Re: The super-rich having a garage sale
« Reply #81 on: August 13, 2017, 02:04:35 PM »
^^And I think you gave her an most excellent and diplomatic answer.^^ Still not sure why you went to her anyway. Thrill of the hunt, perhaps? I totally suffer from that disease.

And hey, since you clearly know more on this topic, may I please ask a couple of questions? 《Pause...Okay then, here goes...》

I collect the coins from the library's passive book sale and dump them in a Coinstar machine once a month. It weeds out the silver coins, which is nice, but also the foreign currency. I've got a pile of random coins from all over the world, including a few euros, plus some silver dimes and quarters. What can I do with this stuff? I'd love to convert it to spendable US currency for the library.

Next, MIL used to be a world traveler and has a box containing neatly labeled packets of coins and small bills from all over the world. We've just been ignoring it, and idly wondering about donating it to a teacher or school. I am positive it's just old (but not antique) random, low-value, well circulated currency. Any thoughts beyond continuing to ignore it?

Thanks!

Yep, thrill of the hunt is right, its a full blown addiction for me, haha. 

I'd bring the silver into a coin shop, make sure they know you know it's silver and ask them what they pay compared to spot price.  If they don't give you a specific amount or percentage (personally i wouldn't accept less than 95% of spot, but your local market may vary), then go somewhere else.  As for the random foreign coins, you are probably right, they will likely most fall into the too new or too worn to be collectable, but also too old or of too small value to efficiently convert into USD category.  I usually go one of 2 routes with this stuff, either sell in small batches (50 - 100 coins per box/lot) at auction (put them in an old wooden box or jewelry box to make them look cooler and more valuable.  Or i post them online and see what kind of offers you get.  You can always pm me if you have a question about a specific coin, and keep an eye out for anything that may be older, more rare or silver/gold among the foreign coins, you never know!  Pretty much all countries have had gold and silver as coinage at some point, and most have been producing commemorative gold and silver coins to this day, so keep an eye for those. 

Chesleygirl

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Re: The super-rich having a garage sale
« Reply #82 on: August 14, 2017, 09:53:56 PM »
Perfect. This thread has reduced my Mustachian guilt for not putting forth the effort to do a yard sale as we declutter this summer. We donate all our junk and sell the more valuable items on Craigslist or Amazon.

This is the right way to get rid of things.  If you want some cheap entertainment and a few laughs, host a garage sale. The last garage sale I had, was a combination sale with a friend. She was selling music CDs for a dollar, most were new, unopened. This guy comes around and whines that he usually gets CDs for a quarter. He wanted Elvis Greatest hits. But it would cost 75 cents more than what he wanted to pay. He haggled and whined; she wouldn't give in. Then he drove off in a nice, new truck.

Dicey

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Re: The super-rich having a garage sale
« Reply #83 on: August 16, 2017, 05:08:13 AM »
^^And I think you gave her an most excellent and diplomatic answer.^^ Still not sure why you went to her anyway. Thrill of the hunt, perhaps? I totally suffer from that disease.

And hey, since you clearly know more on this topic, may I please ask a couple of questions? 《Pause...Okay then, here goes...》

I collect the coins from the library's passive book sale and dump them in a Coinstar machine once a month. It weeds out the silver coins, which is nice, but also the foreign currency. I've got a pile of random coins from all over the world, including a few euros, plus some silver dimes and quarters. What can I do with this stuff? I'd love to convert it to spendable US currency for the library.

Next, MIL used to be a world traveler and has a box containing neatly labeled packets of coins and small bills from all over the world. We've just been ignoring it, and idly wondering about donating it to a teacher or school. I am positive it's just old (but not antique) random, low-value, well circulated currency. Any thoughts beyond continuing to ignore it?

Thanks!

Yep, thrill of the hunt is right, its a full blown addiction for me, haha. 

I'd bring the silver into a coin shop, make sure they know you know it's silver and ask them what they pay compared to spot price.  If they don't give you a specific amount or percentage (personally i wouldn't accept less than 95% of spot, but your local market may vary), then go somewhere else.  As for the random foreign coins, you are probably right, they will likely most fall into the too new or too worn to be collectable, but also too old or of too small value to efficiently convert into USD category.  I usually go one of 2 routes with this stuff, either sell in small batches (50 - 100 coins per box/lot) at auction (put them in an old wooden box or jewelry box to make them look cooler and more valuable.  Or i post them online and see what kind of offers you get.  You can always pm me if you have a question about a specific coin, and keep an eye out for anything that may be older, more rare or silver/gold among the foreign coins, you never know!  Pretty much all countries have had gold and silver as coinage at some point, and most have been producing commemorative gold and silver coins to this day, so keep an eye for those.
Thank you, JAYSOL!  I only have 9 quarters and 5 dimes so far. It's not a lot, but every little bit helps the library.

SweetLife

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Re: The super-rich having a garage sale
« Reply #84 on: August 16, 2017, 01:39:16 PM »
Ok ok ... I'm going to admit this here ... we are having a garage sale over an entire weekend (ugh) we won't make a ton of cash but it helps get rid of some things and I sent letters to all the neighbors to see if they would have sales too so I can advertise it as a block sale.

My husband likes the idea of a garage sale to get rid of things... but the ton of work not so much lol...

I will be organized, I will have everything tagged and on tables and prices are always "To sell". And afterwards we'll see lol... but I can imagine I won't mind lazing around the weekend on my front porch saying hello to people and seeing if they will take some stuff off my hands ...


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Re: The super-rich having a garage sale
« Reply #85 on: August 17, 2017, 01:57:55 PM »
After having a yard sale last year, I'm in team "just give it all to Goodwill." We didn't need to spend a bunch of time pricing stuff because it was easy enough to make a few signs saying "Books 50¢", "Clothes $2", etc., and there wasn't much to price after that. Even so, I did spend a good portion of a nice day sitting outside waiting for people to come through and buy stuff, all for on the order of $100 when all was said and done.

Even for the stuff we did manage to sell, we would have done almost as well financially by giving it to Goodwill. The reason is simple: Goodwill charges more than most garage sales. Goodwill might charge $2-3 for a book that we had priced at 50¢, or $6 for a shirt that we had priced at $2. When you donate to Goodwill, you get to deduct the thrift store value. $2 times my tax bracket is pretty darn close to 50¢.

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Re: The super-rich having a garage sale
« Reply #86 on: August 17, 2017, 04:17:22 PM »
I'm debating about the yard sale . I going through separation, and decluttering. Not like I have a single thing that is worth a lot of money, but a steadily increasing pile of stuff by the door. Most of it pretty pragmatic stuff (folding chair, adult and kids books, puzzles and kid's games, toys household items, small electronics and cords, etc. I might do a yard sale, in the laziest way possible (though I will use tables), and then take it to charity. It would be nice to make a few bucks regardless.

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Re: The super-rich having a garage sale
« Reply #87 on: August 20, 2017, 02:06:04 PM »
I have done garages sales, moving sales, estate sales, put a free sign in yard, Craigslist to sell, dump at thrift store or thrift store picks up with truck.  It really depends on how much time you have, what effort you feel like putting into it, etc.  I have also done this for a few friends that were hoarders and downsizing. Basically they  moved out and I sold what was left in the house with the provision they could not come to the sale and I was pricing stuff. WE spent a week when we first retired pricing stuff and the day of the sale had 3 people selling. I made them 1800 and they were very happy. The rest went to charity. I also helped a good friend have 4 moving sales and she was happy with the outcome. When my parents downsized my Mom and I had sales every summer for 2 years and then the rest to charity. I was a SAHM during that time and it was fun.  Fast forward to when I went back to work f.t. and had little kids so just gave stuff away. It depends if you enjoy it and how much time yo have at the moment.

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Re: The super-rich having a garage sale
« Reply #88 on: August 21, 2017, 11:23:37 AM »
Has anyone considered that perhaps these "super-rich" people got that way because the recognize the value of a dollar?  Warren Buffett got rich a nickel at a time.  One dollar for a used item is a dollar they wouldn't otherwise have.

Food for thought.

SweetLife

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Re: The super-rich having a garage sale
« Reply #89 on: August 21, 2017, 12:00:38 PM »
Drifterrider ... that is my theory ... one million things sold $1 is still one million dollars :)

That being said - yard sale this weekend netted about $250 which was fine. Did get rid of a lot of clutter AND had picked up some stuff on side of road that was sold for some $$ the rest was left on the side of the road with a free sign (and was gone this morning!)

So I suppose I could have done other stuff this weekend but I was fine with making some money and hanging out at home (not spending money)!

I wouldn't do them every year but what I did like was that we had a bunch of repeat buyers from previous years ... that was hilarious who all bought more stuff. And to cap it off was the final sale on Sunday an older man (mid 50) came on his bike (Mustachian for sure!) and bought a full size solid wood bed frame and rails for $20 AND CARRIED IT HOME ON HIS BIKE!!! ... that was stellar!!!

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Re: The super-rich having a garage sale
« Reply #90 on: August 21, 2017, 03:05:42 PM »
Thanks JAYSLOL, had not thought to put my pile of random Euro coins on ebay.  I and half my coworkers all have small piles of coins from across the pond that you really cant do anything with.  Can you do a bulk random set of coins or do you have to make a pretense of them being collectible?

re garage sales:  I have never had the necessary volume of 'stuff' required to have one. CL or Goodwill for the win.   

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Re: The super-rich having a garage sale
« Reply #91 on: August 21, 2017, 03:58:51 PM »
It's always hit or miss with auctions, sometimes I put together a box of say just coins from Mexico, and they sell great, sometimes not.  I've also just lumped in a ton of coins together and sold them like that, again sometime they sell well sometime not so much.  I use a local auction house rather than eBay

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Re: The super-rich having a garage sale
« Reply #92 on: August 24, 2017, 02:07:03 PM »
Some people just want to do it for the fun of it.  I have some friends and relatives who are very well-to-do, but either have had or want to have yard sales.  If anything, it's them having some fun with the idea, being eco-friendly by reselling vs. throwing away, or even being frugal.

I know it's not the mustachian way, but someone who owns a 10k sqft house can still be frugal, it's just in a different ballpark.  They may buy a lightly used boat instead of a new one, or one a few feet shorter with a swim platform to get the same overall length as a bigger one would be, or other things like that.  They may do/buy things that mustachians would consider to be a trajedy, but if they manage to spend less than their peers, they are still embracing the concept of frugality.

It's not that different than some of my side hustles.  I don't make a fortune flipping broken computers that I find for sale/free, but I do hone my skills and have something to do when I get the urge to build/disassemble a computer.  If I factor in my time, it's 100% not worth it.  But I enjoy doing it, and if I can make ~$30-$50 each then why not!  Economically it really has zero impact, but it gives me a little bit of extra fun money, and is almost a game to see how much I can make now.  YTD I'm up ~$534, but have ~$150 of computer inventory and another $150 worth of peripherals (external hard drives mostly) plus a large box of misc. electronics that I'm going to sell.  I also got a really cool Lenovo Yoga 2 touchscreen tablet/laptop thing that I fixed in 20 mins (software issue) and have been using for the last 6 months.  So really I'm probably up a little over $1k for something I do when I'm bored and can do in front of the TV.

AlanStache

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Re: The super-rich having a garage sale
« Reply #93 on: August 24, 2017, 02:45:10 PM »
Spending 200$ on a blender instead of 600$ does not make you frugal.  I can acknowledge there is some range or grey area on the frugality meter simply being better than your peers does not make you frugal.  You may run 12min/mile while your friend does 20min/mile; in comparison you are faster but you are not fast.

DangleStash

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Re: The super-rich having a garage sale
« Reply #94 on: August 26, 2017, 06:58:06 AM »
Spending 200$ on a blender instead of 600$ does not make you frugal.  I can acknowledge there is some range or grey area on the frugality meter simply being better than your peers does not make you frugal.  You may run 12min/mile while your friend does 20min/mile; in comparison you are faster but you are not fast.

It’s just kind of funny when you think about it though - apparently the wealthy can’t win here.  It’s weird if they have a garage sale, but if they just throw it in the trash instead then it would 100% show up on the “most anti mustachian thing you witnessed today” thread.

JAYSLOL

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Re: The super-rich having a garage sale
« Reply #95 on: August 26, 2017, 07:35:53 AM »
Spending 200$ on a blender instead of 600$ does not make you frugal.  I can acknowledge there is some range or grey area on the frugality meter simply being better than your peers does not make you frugal.  You may run 12min/mile while your friend does 20min/mile; in comparison you are faster but you are not fast.

It’s just kind of funny when you think about it though - apparently the wealthy can’t win here.  It’s weird if they have a garage sale, but if they just throw it in the trash instead then it would 100% show up on the “most anti mustachian thing you witnessed today” thread.

I don't actually think it's anti-mustachian for them to have a garage sale, I just happen to think it's funny (this goes under the "and comedy" part of the forum) they would chose to do so.  And there's a much better option, donate the junk to charity and get a tax write off which for the type of person with a $3m home is probably worth as much or even more than what they'd make at a garage sale anyways.

ABC123

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Re: The super-rich having a garage sale
« Reply #96 on: August 27, 2017, 12:05:52 PM »
I don't go to garage sales because the only things I would buy there I already have too many of.  Kids clothes we get oodles of hand me downs, both grandmas enjoy buying, and the odd 90% off clearance item I find.  Toys, we get far too many for Christmas and birthdays.  Kitchen gadgets I have no desire for.

I tried helping my mom with a garage sale as a teen and hours of work ended in an overcast day and we sold one old puzzle for a quarter.  We have very little that anyone would buy, and because we have been given so much from others I would feel guilty to make money off it.  So anything that survived my boys gets handed to a friend if they want it or taken to Goodwill.  If it is too big to fit in the car then it goes by the curb with a Free sign and I have never had something not taken. 

AlanStache

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Re: The super-rich having a garage sale
« Reply #97 on: August 27, 2017, 03:36:06 PM »
Spending 200$ on a blender instead of 600$ does not make you frugal.  I can acknowledge there is some range or grey area on the frugality meter simply being better than your peers does not make you frugal.  You may run 12min/mile while your friend does 20min/mile; in comparison you are faster but you are not fast.

It’s just kind of funny when you think about it though - apparently the wealthy can’t win here.  It’s weird if they have a garage sale, but if they just throw it in the trash instead then it would 100% show up on the “most anti mustachian thing you witnessed today” thread.

Wealthy people can absolutely be frugal see www.mrmoneymustache.com.  You were saying people can be considered frugal for buying a boat that is smaller and second hand.  I say that is wrong.

Quote
I know it's not the mustachian way, but someone who owns a 10k sqft house can still be frugal, it's just in a different ballpark.  They may buy a lightly used boat instead of a new one, or one a few feet shorter with a swim platform to get the same overall length as a bigger one would be, or other things like that.  They may do/buy things that mustachians would consider to be a trajedy, but if they manage to spend less than their peers, they are still embracing the concept of frugality.

Buying 20$ dish towels from Williams Sonoma vs 40$ dish towels from Saks is not being frugal. 

"...Embracing the concept..."



If a wealthy person sells things at a yard sale, on CL or donates them for the tax benefit - GREAT!!!  If someone owns a 10k sqft home and a  boat* I am going to basically exclude them from being frugal; they might be great people, a huge asset to the community all while being smart about the nickles and dimes but over all they are not frugal. 


boat* if the boat is objectively cheap and/or can be pulled behind a bike then I might be open to qualifying my statement.  Similarly with the home size; if it were inherited or you run an Amazon fulfillment center out of four fifths of it then maybe a qualification should be added.

JAYSLOL

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Re: The super-rich having a garage sale
« Reply #98 on: August 28, 2017, 09:06:36 PM »


Wealthy people can absolutely be frugal see www.mrmoneymustache.com

ROFLMAO


 

Wow, a phone plan for fifteen bucks!