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I need some advice. I have a pretty large “death pile” of things I enjoy selling and want to list. However, I am kind of overwhelmed by what I already have and am running out of inventory storage. I have an acquaintance (my mother-in-law’s friend) that wants to give me (for free) a bunch of stuff to sell. She knows I sell on eBay to stay home with my child, and wants to help me out. It’s a little complicated because her daughter suddenly died and she’s going through her things. She messaged me today: “I guess now we are cleaning out our daughter’s storage. I want to give you anything that might sell. Can you give me an idea? This is a daunting and emotional task. Thank you.” I really do not want anything, but I don’t feel I can say no due to the circumstances. I thought about telling her no, but after much thought, I decided it would be no big deal to let her bring me whatever she wants. I can immediately go through it and donate what I don’t want (if I decide to keep anything at all). I just feel like it’s the right thing to do and it will be easier for her emotionally. So…if it was you, what would you tell her to look for?? I’ve been selling for a year and I do sell a little bit of everything, but I don’t really have the experience to say without looking what is generally valuable for resell (daughter lived out of state). To my knowledge, the daughter was around 40 years old and average income, so probably not a lot of super expensive clothing, etc. I am really thankful she thought of me because it is very kind of her, but hopefully you all understand how overwhelming an overabundance of “stuff” can be. Any advice would be appreciated! -Amber (btw, this is my first time posting, but I’ve been listening since before I started selling!)
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If I were in your shoes, I would politely decline. Say something to the effect that you have more than you can handle as it is right now. I get the sense that taking this stuff is just going to send your stress level through the roof. It’s a tragic situation your mother-in-law’s friend is dealing with, but that doesn’t mean you have any obligation to fix it.
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The best advice is Kentucky Picker’s. If you don’t take that, I would start with what it is you generally sell and your comfort zone. If it were me (assuming I know nothing about the woman other than what you’ve described, that I’m running out of storage, and that the mother really has no idea), I’d tell her that I’d I would only take any decorative items and jewelry she doesn’t want to keep. You might also ask her to call you if there appears to be anything unusual; collections of things or hobbies, or items that appear to be old but it may be best not to encourage the start of dialogue while she’s going through this. There really could be anything in a storage unit. Most of the time there is very little of value individually.
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Agree with all of the above. And think about your statement of what you said. You would cherry pick then donate the balance. Well any body else could donate the stuff just as well.
If you do want to cherry pick, has her take “good, sharp” photos and send to you. Look closely and zoom in. If you see anything of interest just ask for more photos.
Another thing, if you take all that stuff someone is going to have to go get it, or deliver it to you and who is going to do that. If they deliver stuff it will be a back up to your door and dump quickly. Do you have a space for a large, quick dump off?
As many of us have said in the past, there is a whole world and tons of inventory out in the world. When you need inventory, there will always be a source for it. The harder thing is to list all of your current in house inventory, clean it all up then go looking for new stuff later.
Don’t forget it is 4th quarter right now and every item you have unlisted is a missed opportunity to possibly have hard cash in your pocket.
Just my opinion. That and $1.50 will get you half a cup of coffee, or a partial payment on some of Ryanne’s fresh roasted! 🙂 LOL
Mike at MDC Galleries and Fine Art
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While I respect both Kentucky Picker and Temudgin, who have both given you good advice, I’m going to weigh in with support for your idea, because I do it too. Perhaps a mix of all of our advice is what would work best for you.
I am given stuff quite regularly by folks in the neighborhood, trying to be supportive. I tell them, up front and openly, that they can give me anything they like (entire car loads, sometimes) but that I will sort through it and anything that doesn’t work for me goes straight to Goodwill. I tell them that I don’t have the space for “sentimental” so, if it’s special to them, don’t give it to me. If they just want it out, I’ll take it all, sort it out, and take it to Goodwill or any of the other charity shops in my area (I know who likes what items) at no charge to them, as my thanks for their donation to my business.
It has taken me a while to work out my process, and I’m ruthless. I sort through the stuff and if I don’t want to pack or ship it (too large or too delicate) or if it’s got a sale value of less than $15, it goes. I have boxes on the side as I am sorting, and I pick each item up, decide on its destination, and it goes straight into the relevant box: Goodwill, charity store, dump (trash) or my store boxes. If I’m really organized, I have multiple store boxes so that I can sort like items together. Kind of broad genres of like items, such as Christmas or Clothing, not strict “Clothes -tops -women”. Then I label the boxes with the items to go into my Money Piles (I don’t call them Death Piles any more. Who wants to work with death?) and I load the donation/dump items straight into my car. Everything gets out of the house as fast as possible.
Yes, I do have a box for “maybe” items and yes, sometimes something stays that is low dollar or awkward to ship, just because it takes my fancy. For the most part, though, it has worked well for me and my donors feel good that they’re helping my business, are grateful that I’ve taken a load off their hands during their stressful time, and I haven’t “turned off the faucet” of my pipeline.
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“I really do not want anything” You answered your own question right there.
I’m emotionally inclined towards Amatino’s response, and I have the nearly impassable office and basement to prove it. Even when you have the ability to cherry pick things, it can quickly become a curse rather than a blessing.
You can say no, and from your post it sounds like that’s what you really want to do. You can do so with care for the struggle your mom’s friend is going through, and recognition of her desire to help another mother care for her own child. Those things exist whether you say yes or no. But if you say yes when you don’t want to, then it may become a daunting and emotional task for two people rather than just one.
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If you are worried about hurting her feelings by saying no, you may want to just take it and then donate it to a charity or something if you are feeling generous. Often when people lose a relative part of the grieving process seems to be getting rid of their things. When my grandfather died, my grandmother was very eager to get rid of all of his stuff (clothes, etc) but wanted them to go to family. Almost none of it was anything anyone wanted (e.g. his plaid golf pants from the 50s) and the family could see it was going to be difficult for her as long as the stuff was around, so we took a lot of it and gave it to thrift stores just to help her complete the process.
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I’ve never been in this situation exactly but decline to take on items that someone wants to give to me.
One thing not mentioned, don’t forget to factor in the value of the income tax deduction for the items you donate to Goodwill or other nonprofit charity, that deduction gives you a little something for your time.
Locally, my favorite place to donate clothing and household items is a battered women’s shelter which runs a thrift shop, the women and their children have first shot for free. Nicer women’s clothes and accessories are much appreciated because some of these women have nothing decent to wear to a job interview or to work if they get a job. They just give me a blank receipt to fill in the value for tax deduction purposes, but its the “feel good” value that means the most.
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