Well, to make a long story short when my grandma passed away a few years ago we moved a lot of stuff into the basement and garage. I dont know why we didnt just throw it out, but this summer I really want to clean out both areas because, well....room. Not to mention there is other stuff between my(I'm living in what was my grandma's house) and parents house. Now here is the issue, most of the stuff is pretty much junk. Old electronics, old..err.... stuff...is the best way to describe it. Its really nothing I could put on eBay or craigslist and get anything for. There are things like old paintings and desks and whatnot, but I guess thats beside the point. What I have no idea what to do with is stuff like garden statues, old tools, random utensils, old motor parts, old washer and dyer, etc. I know I could put it in the alley for the garbage guys to pick up...but then those other people come by with their personal truck and pick up random scraps of metal. What do they do with it? I figured I should get SOMETHING for this stuff. Not to mention I'm not doing the greatest financially right now(full time student, full time work, stupid debt ), so thats another reason why I would rather get something instead of nothing. What do you guys recommend? And for the record....there is A LOT of stuff to be gotten ridden of lol. And beside the point....I found a lot of old laserdiscs, is there a site that could tell me how much they are worth?
Exactly what I was thinking. I'd check the paintings for an artist's signature to see if they're of any value before selling them, if your grandma had them for a long time, they might be worth something. Any of the stuff that nobody buys could be dropped off at a charity store, or recycling centre.
have a yard sale then send the rest to charity, if you give a charity shop a call and tell them you have a load of stuff for them I'm sure they will even come and collect it from you.
Most scrapers pickup the pure metal ("pure" meaning its not embedded in electronics, or has something to do with hazardous metals) and then take it and sell it to industrial recyclers that usually pay a per pound/per ton price depending on the type of metal. The problem with doing something like that is that is almost not worth it unless you have a size-able amount of scrap metal (in my personal opinion anything less then 1 ton of metal isn't worth the gas to haul it), thats why most scrapers run around neighbor hoods looking for discarded washer, dryers, metal frames, etc. Its quite the racket really, and you can make a large chunk of cash if you do it right. For instance, a few years ago my neighbors car tossed a rod, killing the engine. My father and I offered to buy it from him for $100. He said okay, we pushed it on to our car hauler, dragged it to the recycler and an hour after we started we walked out of the recycler with about $400 (Ford Econolines from the 80's are heavy). Thats a huge profit margin! Ever see those ads where it says "we buy your scrap"? This is exactly what they do, buy your metal cheap and flip it.
I would double check those laserdiscs. Some movies are very rare and were not released on DVD, nor will they ever be. You have to go through them one by one and make sure. Do you have an "Ameoba music" store near your home? They buy laserdiscs. Old tools can also be quite valuable, but you also have to check them one by one. Old motor parts and paintings are also a crapshoot, but could be worth a fortune. It would appear to me that you have a LOT of research to conduct in order to maximize the value of these items. But if you are lazy you could always have a garage sale and donate the excess to a charity for a write off.
Thanks for all the advice guys!! As soon as I get everything organized, I'll be sure to take pictures of stuff and send them so ASSEMbler and K-Panggg as requested. Also in the summer I'm gonna be selling some stuff here, like my laptop, and other random stuff, so I guess I'll take a mass picture of stuff that some of you could be interested, and you could just ask more questions about whichever items. I'm also gonna research all the dolls, Christmas tree village houses, and other random collectibles on eBay...hopefully I'll get something. Everything else that seems to be of worth I'll put up on craigslist, maybe someone would want something.
The Craigslist Free section is a great way to get rid of a good amount of stuff fast. You would be surprised at what people pick up from this section, and especially, what people offer. There are a lot of people that are moving, and can't take some things with them (they are traveling out of state, lack of room at a new place, just want to get rid of stuff quick, etc), so offering it free, as opposed to selling it, is very appealing, and you get a lot less flakes in most cases. I have seen people giving away perfectly good working items, like hot tubs, furniture, etc in the Free section of Craigslist. Of course, giving it away for free doesn't get you any money, but it sure beats storage fees. Then again, you can do a "virtual garage sale" on Craigslist, as many people do
