DISPOSING OF APARTMENT/HOME CLEANOUTS

[cyberdan]

I know some of you are in the home clean out business or "estate sale" business.

A buddy of mine has asked me to help him. Possibly go in as partners. He has a friend that has a home clean out business.
(someone gets evicted or someone dies and the apartment/home needs to be completely cleaned out of all items)

Their business is doing pretty well. At least the clean out end of it. But, the stuff that does not get trashed is building up in a warehouse. They are good at getting the business but not in selling what comes out.

Because I hit 40-50 yardsales every week he has asked me to help come up with idea on how to empty that warehouse and sell the stuff.

So, I need ideas on how and where to sell all types of personal and household goods.

 

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[kingskid1611]

I do this type of business and most of the clothes and linens I donate to a women's shelter. Any valuable's I keep until I can have a yard sale, but when things start to build up I usually sell to local thrift shops cheap. You can make out like a bandit but the downside is you undersell some of what you find because of volume.

 

[dejapooh]

Partner with a thrift store / open a thrift store. If they have a warehouse of stuff, they should be able to keep a store supplied. Partner with a charity, and accept donations...

 

[GibH]

I've been to storage unit auctions where some of the units offered were by the owner, not for being delinquent.

 

[EccentricInTexas]

Two ways to do this, first you run through and buy stuff at a discount that you know you can resale for a profit. The second way is that you Get them to start an Ebay account and set them up with a system to sell higher end items on ebay. The rest I would have Ware House Sells. If the stuff doesn't sell after a few sells I would donate it to GoodWill. The main thing to remember is to sell it cheap so its gone. Anything from sells will be profit since the company has already been paid to remove the stuff. Don't get greedy get speedy. Turn that stuff as fast as you can.

 

[cyberdan]

They tried craigslist and did not have any luck with it. (I understand, nothing but scammers and flakes) I think they just want to get rid of the stuff.

 

[jerseyben]

They tried craigslist and did not have any luck with it. (I understand, nothing but scammers and flakes) I think they just want to get rid of the stuff.

Honestly, I would just go through the stuff with him as you have time. He might be better off just donating or throwing away a lot of it.

Help him sort it into 4 piles: donate, throw away, auction/flea market, ebay.

 

[ARC]

One word.
Auction.

Just gotta find the right ones for the right items.

Also ... My other suggestion is "bulk" selling on craigslist TO the people who sell at flea markets.

OR sell it yourself at a flea market... load by load.
Buy a trailer man.

Here's a "bone" ill throw ya... AUCTION . ZIP

 

[ARC]

The problem you have is actually a very common one...
I see a lot of people in the "resale" hustle come and go...

It is REAL EASY to buy something...
Selling it is another matter entirely.

The ole phrase "Easier said than done" applies.

 

[bill from lachine]

cyberdan,

I tend to agree with AARC's approach.....heck if they just want to make the stuff go away you could probably go 50/50 on the split and still do pretty good for your efforts.

Instead of hitting all those sales every week just cart the stuff off to the flea market and have some fun and get paid for it.

Regards + HH

Bill

 

[ARC]

Oh I might add...
"connecting the dots" is what I call it.

For example...
You have some old dishes...
Online they are going for lets say 100 bucks...
But you don't want to sell em online...
WELL...
Here is problems...
FIRST... you will b lucky to get 20... and should be happy if you do.
And IF you need it to move in this economy quickly. 10 is realistic.

This is a hard thing to swallow...
But it is what it is.
Otherwise...
Get a box to store those dishes in... cuz you will be.

That is REALITY... And I don't care what anyone says.

IF... REPEAT IF... you can find the ONE person willing to give you 100 out of th 7 billion people out there... good luck.
Luck plays a part.
Skill of moving things quickly and turn it into cash IS what makes it disappear QUICK.
Which... is worth a lot more than holding out for that last "buck"

"wait for the buck... risk getting stuck".

Take the money ... you dump it... it will sell.
Want it gone and don't care about the money (the really junky stuff)...
Put out a "curb alert" on craigs list.
It will be gone in a half an hour... just stipulate in you add that they must take it all.

 

[diggummup]

Well let's see, they have a warehouse already so why not just start selling from there? Unless it's a "storage unit" type of warehouse behind locked gates. If that's the case then take the others advice that's already been suggested. After you go through it all first as Ben mentioned. Just remember the cheaper it is the faster/easier it will be to get rid of.

 

[jerseyben]

Oh I might add...
"connecting the dots" is what I call it.

For example...
You have some old dishes...
Online they are going for lets say 100 bucks...
But you don't want to sell em online...
WELL...
Here is problems...
FIRST... you will b lucky to get 20... and should be happy if you do.
And IF you need it to move in this economy quickly. 10 is realistic.

This is a hard thing to swallow...
But it is what it is.
Otherwise...
Get a box to store those dishes in... cuz you will be.

That is REALITY... And I don't care what anyone says.

IF... REPEAT IF... you can find the ONE person willing to give you 100 out of th 7 billion people out there... good luck.
Luck plays a part.
Skill of moving things quickly and turn it into cash IS what makes it disappear QUICK.
Which... is worth a lot more than holding out for that last "buck"

"wait for the buck... risk getting stuck".

Take the money

Someone who gets it.

 

[ARC]

PS... In a real case scenario of this ficticious dishes scenario I just painted here...

I would ask for 30... and hope they say "will you take 20" ...
At which time I say "how about 25"...
IF they say yes.. BINGO GONE !
If they sorta scratch their foot and hem and haw and gawk a bit...
I SAY...
I tell you what ... 20 bucks... they are yours.

Now... I am really happy.
I do not look at what I "could" get...
I am looking at what I JUST DID get.

Get it ?

People get confused out there... they look at "what its worth"... instead of reality...What it actually is selling for...
People say... "I will get blah blah for this"...
And I say... well when you do... come back and show me the money.

It takes ALOT to get 100 bill out of people in this day and age.
It better be REALLY good... REALLY rare,,, OR really collectable...
It better be Really something...
Really needed etc... like a lawnmower for example... thi will bring the money soon perhaps... because this is "needed" by someone.

SO... My point ?
IF it is NOT these types of items...
IT IS just stuff...
And "stuff" is only worth what someone is "willing" to pay.
Just find a buyer...
Once you find a buyer... you cant let em go without a sale...
THATS HOW... you get "rid" of things... AND make $.

 

[kingskid1611]

Its kind of like a way to give everyone a piece of the value pie. Sell cheap to get rid of the volume and make bank on the volume.

 

[ARC]

Its kind of like a way to give everyone a piece of the value pie. Sell cheap to get rid of the volume and make bank on the volume.

Exactly...
One time sales are just that ... one time... repetition makes money...
AND... The absolute BEST part...
If you get known for "great deals"...

They come back.

 

[diggummup]

Its kind of like a way to give everyone a piece of the value pie. Sell cheap to get rid of the volume and make bank on the volume.

That's how I get rid of my overload. I've finally learned to control my buying (somewhat) this past year, compared to years past. Buying cheap is easy. Selling it is where the work comes in. I don't need another storage unit.

 

[trdhrdr007]

I bought a warehouse full of stuff a while back. A friend of mine was renting it to a couple guys that ran an auction house. They had a falling out & split up. Neither one was willing to pay the rent & my friend called me. I paid the back rent & the stuff was mine. I spent a 60 hour week sorting/hauling & 2 more 60 hour weeks selling most of it. Probably threw away over half of it. Wholesaled about a quarter of it to other dealers, had a BIG yard sale & sold the best of it at the antique mall and on eBay. Was a butt load of work for those 3 weeks but I cleared close to $5000 not counting what I sold on eBay over the next several months.

 

[cyberdan]

A friend of mine was renting it to a couple guys that ran an auction house. They had a falling out & split up.

That is probably how my situation will end up. After three meetings with the two owners (husband and wife) my buddy and I have decided to sit back for now and see what happens.

The husband ran the business (into the ground) the wife paid the bills (she completely emptied her $300,000 401K) She has a good job. They live in a million dollar, behind the gates, home in south Orange County, CA.

The husband was supposed to empty 50% of the building of e-junk and old refrigerators by last Saturday. (so we could have a yardsale) Nothing has been done yet. After my buddy and I met him the first time I asked my buddy if he smelled alcohol when we walked into the building. YEP! (turns out alcoholic and anti-depressents)

The wife is a long time friend of my buddy, this is the only reason we were going to do anything.

Long story short. The wife is kicking out the husband and legally taking over the junk business. When this is done, then we will think about going through the warehouse and selling anything worth any $$.

 

[SnakemanBill]

Auction. Shop around for the best deal. Some take a cut 10-20% of each items sale price, others take a lesser % and add a buyers premium. In some cases you may have to move items to auction house in others the auctioneer comes to you. In any case this is probably the quickest way to move your inventory. You could even start off slow with one or two loads to see what kind of turnout you get to see if you want to continue. This is what I do with most of my finds, auction every 3-4 months and a semiannual flea market in May and September. Clothing, books or any other items that wont do well at auction gets donated to goodwill, habitat for humanity, salvation army etc.