I'm sorry for your loss. While you decide the best path to take, my recommendation would be to take time and make a careful and comprehensive inventory of all the items you don't want to keep, as well as any that you think you do want to keep. Document dimensions and detail damage, finish, etc. Take endless photos with your phone is one easy way to do it! Try and take the photos in bright but not sunny natural light so the sheen isn't distorted by direct sunlight or electric light.

When you do find a suitable buyer, at least you'll know what you have so nothing goes "missing," I'm afraid to say: there's many a slip 'twixt the cup and the lip."

There are numerous agencies who can help you sell your stuff. One local to me is Maxsold. You won't get a ton of money, in all likelihood, but you won't end paying storage and/or dealing with endless tire-kickers and time-wasters. The other option would be to send it all to auction. Many auction houses are now moving the bulk of their stuff through online auctions. EXCELLENT photos and informative details make all the difference.

Best of luck! Hopefully others will chime in.

You can post some pix here to get a rough idea of value.

tj

You have to decide if you want money or do you just want to get rid of the stuff. A lot depends if your parents estate is in probate and subject to the court. For that talk to your attorney.

If the first you can put the stuff in storage after doing what bubblyjock mentioned but be certain to add it to your insurance. Depending on what it is it may come back in fashion. You can also use any "estate" seller that you can find but realize that the money gained may be small. The second take what you want or that you consider valuable then donate the rest to some charity. Having been there the last may be the easiest and quickest.

Please think hard before putting anything in storage. Once in a storage facility, chances are it will just sit. While you pay monthly for those things to sit.

Does the house have to be emptied quickly? Without knowing what you have to dispose of it’s hard to advise. Have you looked what similar items are selling for on Craigslist or Facebook Marketplace? Selling price is often a lot lower then asking price. If an item has been listed for over a few weeks it’s usually priced too high.

If there is little value, go in, take what you want and can use. Then call a charity (a Woman’s Shelter, Salvation Army, St. Vincent dePaul etc) and see if they would be interested in taking the remainder.

If they aren’t interested you may have to call a service like ‘1-800-Got Junk’ to remove What is left. Good luck.

You could also think about consignment shops if there are any near where you live. I personally would call first and see what items sell best. There are a number of consignment stores where I live and I notice that some vintage items sell better than others.

Just another thought - there are antique dealers out there who I'm sure are looking for stock for their shops or booths in antique malls. You could call antique shops around the area and ask if they are interested in buying what you have or if they know anyone who would be interested.

Sorry for your loss and all that you are going through. I would give it a bit of time for COVID restrictions to lift. Love the idea of making a list of everything. I would consider hiring someone to manage an estate sale for you. If it is well advertised with photos and all of the vintage pieces highlighted, you should get a ton of traffic. Then the whole thing could be over for you in a weekend. Best of luck to you with whatever you decide.

Thanks to all who responded. I am an only child, so there's no squabbling over who gets what, but then I get it ALL! Things that were hot collectibles 40-50 years ago, you can't give away now, like my mom's Depression glass. I HAVE been using Craig's List, Marketplace and local FB Online Garage Sale groups, but very little interest, then I get the flakes that keep promising to come and look over things and never show up. I even tried an auctioneer right after m,om passed. He came and took all the best stuff, then literally sold it for pennies and "lost" the rest or at least couldn't account for it like a set of chandelier lamps and a painting that looked like ancient charioteers. Someone wanted to see photos of the house - here are a few samples:

I agree with whoever mentioned an “ estate sale”. I love all of those dishes, but young people do not. They just do not sell. You might have a “ gem” in there somewhere but it is hard to tell. They furniture does not look like it is desirable to today’s buyers.

It is very sad to hear that an auctioneer came in and took you across! I was an auctioneer in a previous life. If you have the time and some helpers, I would price the items right where they are and have a two-day sale. Advertise it heavily and have plenty of helpers with you. You then do not have to pack and lug.

I am sorry for your loss and understand the stress this creates.

That auctioneer was highly recommended to me. He took an oak china cabinet with curved glass windows - that got $25 and an 8 foot solid oak bench with velvet cushion (it was actually a church pew) fetched $10. A large box of assorted Stangl and Haegar china went for $2. Mom's costume jewelry went as a box lot for $3. Bibles from the 1800s - $5. Many items didn't even sell and I had to have someone with a pickup truck help me cart them back or the auctioneer said he'd take them to the dump and charge me for that service. In the end, between his 40% fee and trucking charges, I barely made $200! The problem with auctions is that you have no control over the selling price and no auctions around here take reserves.

We’re you at the auction to see them go for those prices?

tj

Yes, I did attend and wrote them down. Needless to day I was very disappointed at the prices, but when only 10 people attend, there isn't much competition. He didn't like me being there though, but he couldn't legally make me leave. An auction is a public event.

What state are you in ? If we knew where you live perhaps someone could recommend a honest buyer or auction house that could help you. I'm not seeing anything terribly valuable in the photos, but it's hard to say what things are worth without seeing them in person.

I am in upstate New York between Albany and Saratoga Springs.

Those are common prices for what you are mentioning in this area, KCMO, because there are very few buyers. Most common here is a Friday opening, Saturday about noon the prices are lowered normally 75-50%. They may be lowered further but other times that is when the sign "make offer" is displayed. On Sunday what is left is basically state your price and it is yours unless the owner has requested a specific price. It is very disappointing to see things that were loved and cherished go for very little but people need to expect it to happen.

I'd like to know where my neighbor advertises. He had a yard sale last weekend and every time I looked, at least one car was there. He may have "insider" privileges, being a weekend antique dealer himself. They probably have a network where they can let other dealers know about their sales. I have offered him things to buy from me, but he always refuses for some reason or other. He may be hurting also - if he isn't selling, he isn't buying. I went over hand he has old wooden crates for $25 apiece. I'd be happy to get $5 for mine.

I would tell potential buyers that the price of collectible glass goes though peaks and valleys and it is time to buy while it is low.

Right now sterling prices are up. If there are sets of silver in your parents house don’t let that go cheap.

From the photos...The only other thing that someone might be interested in is some of the carnival glass. Even that won’t bring high prices. Look and see if there is an organization or club in your area that might be interested in vintage glassware.

There is little value in anything else I can see in your photos. If your neighbor antique dealer wasn’t interested chances are there is little value. It’s not easy letting go of things your parents collected.

I live in your area (west of Amsterdam) and did some research for a friend who was planning to downsize and was looking for someone who dealt with estates. I located a company in Fort Plain — Mohawk Valley Estate Sales — that looked very reliable and offered a comprehensive list of services. My friend’s plans changed and he hasn’t used them yet, but he spoke with the owner (a veteran and retired school teacher) and was very impressed. The reviews are great, too. Here are links to the web site and FB page. I hope this information is helpful.

http://mvestatesale.com/

https://www.facebook.com/mvescny/

The easy option is to give it all to charity if there are some that will pick it up (send them photos). Few estates have the kind of used furniture that sells for over $100 per item. It may take a while for the reality of low sale prices to sink in. Then you can judge if it is worth your while to put in the time and energy to sell or if you'd prefer some good karma for donating whatever the charities will take.

Of those I know, the people who donated most of their parents' house furnishings have been a lot happier than those who worked hard to sell for what turned out to be a pittance.

If you wish, please post an update when you are ready.

I'm no judge of what's popular in your particular area, but I see Maxsold do list auctions there (I mentioned them initially). You negotiate with them who takes the photos, and you don't have to (pay someone to ) haul anything anywhere, and the stuff doesn't leave your property until it's sold and the buyers pick it up. I've never used it for selling but I have bought lots over the years, and always chat to the sellers. Invariably they're thrilled to have got rid of their stuff in a matter of days, and they've been amused or shocked at how much some stuff goes for and how little other stuff goes for.

I'm sorry you got screwed by the auctioneer. An honest auctioneer would welcome your presence! Don't let anything out of your sight until you've documented it and both you and the auction house sign an inventory, if you decide to go with another auctioneer. What a lowlife, ugh.

You could also do a yard sale (disheartening, and I could NOT be bothered with the haggling, personally), or donate the whole lot to a charity - look around, most do pick up once a month or so.

Are you selling the house as well? Some auctioneers in my area will auction off everything - house and contents. A house auction is often well attended ... or used to be, before the pandemic shut-downs.

Sterling value has gone through the roof, so don't take any lowball offers on it. Even valuable hallmarked antique pieces are now getting melted down.

ETA - I also really like apple pie order's suggestion - donating the whole lot, and then you're done and dusted.

https://maxsold.com/USA/New+York

Only one thing crosses my mind when you mention sterling. A pair of candlesticks. That may be other silver, but this is what I can remember at he moment.

I looked at the MaxSold site. They mention a fee. Would you happen to know about that? I tried to use the online contact form, but when I clicked on the GET IN TOUCH button, everything grayed out.

You need to do some research because there will always be a fee of some type. Either a blanket fee or base fee plus percentage of sales. The ones that you do not want to use are the ones that promise you a percentage of the profits. The last ones tend to have very high costs for what they do and the client receives little.

Most fees are based on the amount of work that the company must do to sell things so no one can give you that amount.

As far as the graying of the screen I have found that it is an indication that the browser that the site is formulated with does not match the browser that you are using. Try downloading Firefox or one of the other browsers.

I am using Firefox.

Then try one of the other ones. I have not set up this computer but I had to have 5 different browsers because some simply did not work on some sites. Or the simplest method is to call the company if they have a phone number.

Sorry if I am sounding snarky but I have been where you are and have found no good solution either for my parents glassware collection nor my husband's beloved Louis Lamour book collection. No place wants either one so right now they sit and wait.

Deb, I went through something similar 2 years ago. My parents had collected early southern antiques and had gorgeous cherry and walnut furniture, some 200 years old. No one wanted it. We gave some away to loved family and friends. We donated some to charity.

I came up with the idea to hold a yard sale thinking that so much of this is valuable and surely someone will want it. Right?

Wrong.

I spent all day trying to sell these wonderful pieces and no one wanted them. It was awful. I finally got rid of it all but so much was given to charity.

Reach out to folks you know. We gave a lot to family and friends and everyone was thrilled to have an item. My parents are still living but had moved to a retirment center. They couldn't take their items with them. It's sad that the current generation doesn't seem to appreciate hand made furniture and they have been vocal about not wanting our 'stuff'.

And yet they buy veneer/MDF furniture from PB that is a direct copy of these pieces.

I hope you find a home for these items which your parents loved. Bless you.

I am so sorry for your loss and what you are going through now. Have you looked at www.estatesales.net? If you type in your zipcode it should pull up sales that are going on in your area/surrounding areas. You will also see the various estate sale companies that are organizing the sales — maybe you can reach out to one of them? I know in my area there are usually a few private sales listed as well. Best of luck.

elunia.. I used that web site to find the company mentioned in my above post. I really think the op should contact them. They’re local and have a good reputation. At the very least, they‘ll be able to guide her and formulate a course of action rather than floundering. It can be daunting to deal with this alone. I’ve been there.

I went to the site and typed in the info and it came back that there were no estate sellers within 100 miles. That what I get for living in the boonies of upstate NY miles from population centers.

Is this location close enough? https://www.estatesales.net/NY/Albany

or this one: https://www.estatesales.net/NY/Saratoga-Springs/12866

When I look at who is holding this weekend's estate sales, it looks like there are several businesses.

Did you contact Mohawk Valley Estate Sales mentioned in my previous post? I live in the same boonies as you.

I did contact Mark Lawson and House of Rose which are the closest. Neither was interested. Guess I'll have to keep trying, but I don't want to go any further than a 20 mile radius.

deb, I'm sorry for your loss.

I went through a similar situation about 10 years ago after both of my parents died in NYC. I live in Canada and my only sibling lives overseas and could not come back to look after clearing out the rent control apartment. We had a VERY limited amount of time to clear things out. My parents had some very good things, but no really valuable antiques. We kept as much as we could transport back home across the continent in a trailer. The better quality items went to the nearest Housing Works charity thrift shop, and the rest went to the nearby (thank goodness) Goodwill. In all cases we got charity tax receipts for all of the donations.

What I liked about Goodwill and Housing Works is that we were able to support those charities, we got tax deductions for their estates, and I especially liked knowing that other people were able to buy and enjoy so many of the things that had given my parents so much pleasure over the years.

maifleur has given you some very good advice. Unfortunately, the situation before the pandemic wasn't much better. No-one wants dark brown furniture -- disparagingly known as "brown stuff" -- even if it's very good quality reproduction furniture from Kindel, Henkel Harris, or Kittinger.

We looked at MaxSold for my inlaws' things and were horrified. It's highway robbery, at least in our part of Canada. In our rural area, we have small local auction sales which tend to be pretty well attended, and people bid up the darndest things, like vintage painted metal kitchen match holders. That's what we ended up doing.

Good luck : ) .

Some items from a friend’s estate in NYC were donated to a housing program for people with AIDS and they were so grateful.

This sounds like Housing Works, which we used. As I mentioned above, we got to help a very good cause and received tax receipts, and customers at the thrift shop found gently priced treasures to enjoy, like my mother's very large, very complete set of Royal Doulton Yorktown china; I kept one tea cup and saucer for myself, and I hope someone is loving the heck out of the rest!

The auction sales in our area have now all gone online because of the pandemic, so they're attracting even more buyers and potential buyers, which is an unexpected but quite welcome consequence for sellers : ) .

Yes, I think it was Housing Works. Whatever was left over was taken by the building superintendent, an unsung hero of NYC living.

Another impetus to choose a simple option such as donation or professional estate sale is that someone will have to clean and prepare the house and yard for sale. A common strategy is to use a "time budget" - decide how many days to deal with the contents and how many days to fixing up the house itself.

Several of the commenters on this post have been there, done that. You can spend your time chasing a few hundred dollars from selling the contents yourself which may delay the listing date and incurs running costs for electricity, water, insurance and so on. A month of delay time could cost hundreds of dollars. But ask yourself if you'd be adding more than that few hundred dollars in value to the house sale by getting it clean as a whistle and prepped for a good sale. Every hour spent trying to sell the contents is an hour not spent on actions that may help maximize the sale price of your parents' big asset, the house. Beyond hiring house cleaners, carpet cleaners, yard mowers, and gutter cleaners or doing all that work yourself, there will be many repairs that will require your decision-making, phone calls, and just being there at the house to deal with it all. Everyone has their own strengths to bring to the job.

I would pick out anything you want for yourself, friends, family, or you want to sell yourself. See if there are any estate clean out places. The one in my area comes in to see what you have and gives you a price on everything. Anything that needs to be disposed of they do that too.. literally take everything out. They resell at a store and donate items themselves too. You won't get a lot but you end up with a empty house. And some people get good deals on things they wouldn't otherwise afford. A relative ended up with a pretty nice used sofa for $40. She really appreciated the store had prices for nice usable things.

I'm also sorry for your loss. I live in Buffalo and we have an auction house that is doing auctions in person and online. I went to one of their auctions last weekend, everyone was masked, and saw tons of glassware being sold for good prices!

Kelly Schultz Auctioneers .. https://schultzauctioneers.net/

It might be worth your while to send him an email with some pictures .. if he thinks he can sell some of your items, it might also be worth renting a truck to get it here.

The prices you got are the going prices. My mother back in the 80s bought a walnut 1800’s French armoire. A gorgeous piece but alas my sisters and I couldn’t use it. Back in the 80’s she paid $4000 for it. It was hauled off after a 2 day sale to St Paul. No one wanted it

I am sorry for your loss. Almost four years ago, my parents died within six weeks. The first thing I did was toss what was trash. Have our children come through. Donated a ton to local charity with thrift stores. Gave a few heavy/large pieces away just to get out of the house! Then I started selling on eBay and local FB selling page. We decided to purchase the house from the estate, so the things that are too nice to just give away are still here and still listed. Not much has sold over the summer.

Is there a local antique store with dealers that sell similar things, like the glassware? If they are not interested in buying, maybe they could help you pick out things worth more.

One thing I would do is get rid of things that are not going to sell and donation paces do not want, like the old TVs. Seems like the older gate leg table would sell. Your best bet for selling the glassware is probably eBay or Etsy. Some Etsy sellers have left and sell on Instagram now. No fees, but you have to build up your followers/buyers with hashtags. Depends on how much work you want to put into it, how much you are willing to store, etc.

Unfortunately, there are no consignment shops or antique stores local to me. There use to be a slew, but they all went OOB in the last 5 years. There's an antique dealer about 30 miles away. I sent him photos of what I felt were the more interesting items. He wasn't interested citing that the market has changed - Victorian and large heavy furniture style is OUT. That's how bad the antique and collectibles market is here. Also I am not shipping fragile items like glass. I can see a lot of problems with that. A buyer might claim the item was broken in shipment and demand a refund. Then I am out the money AND the item. I see many horror stories about situations like this on Facebook. I know this severely limits the market I can see to, but I also have my limitations. Thanks for your reply.

I went through a similar situation a few years ago and my experience was exactly as others have written. There is simply not a market for the kinds of furniture and collectibles that our parents collected.

When I was closing my parents' home, I had the luxury of time as there was no financial pressure to sell their home. I went through everything meticulously and sorted through items to make sure that nothing that was truly of sentimental importance or high monetary value was overlooked.

It is really hard to separate our feelings about our parents' stuff from the practical reality of how to deal with it. My mother was extremely emotionally connected with her stuff and so disposing of it felt like I was somehow getting rid of her.

In terms of practical advice, for peace of mind go through the items carefully and perhaps hire an appraiser. I had some sense of what vintage and antique stuff was worth but I still checked every mark on tchotchkes and checked internet values. But be sure that you are checking the prices for items actually sold.

Just recently I was remodeling and had to get rid of stuff that I wasn't going to be using. I live in a metropolitan area and there was simply no or little interest in the "brown" furniture. I was offered about $250 for a large Victorian china cabinet with ornate detailing and double bowed glass. In the end I felt lucky that a neighbor's brother needed furniture and carted it all away.

As others have posted, how much is your time worth? There might be some pieces in the glass collection that are worth selling. If I were you, I would check pricing on the glass collection to make sure there are no hidden treasures. Select a few that give you pleasure and display those in your home.

You could box up the rest of the stuff - take pictures and make a spreadsheet of what is in each box. You could then store the boxes so that you are under less pressure to go through them right now.

Selling on EBAY or ETSY is time consuming and requires a commitment. You insure items shipped for breakage. If the person claims something broke during shipping they will need to provide pictures. You would have pictures of the intact item. So if you are willing to put in the effort, you could do it. So it's not impossible - but again is it worth it to spend the hours necessary to take good pictures; list; pack and ship.

However, I think that most people wind up donating to a charity if no one in the circle of friends and wants the stuff.

Exactly what I am dealing with now, Helen. I know my parents paid top dollar for items in their collections, but that was back in the 1960s and 70s when things like Depression glass was a "hot" collectible. Now I can't even give them away. A while back, I got some items together that I know probably wouldn't sell and put them out on the front lawn with a "FREE" sign. Six hours later I checked and I swear there were more things there than I put out. I think people were bringing things and leaving them in my pile (i.e. "Oh, look, Henry. Someone is giving away stuff. Let's go home and get that junk we were trying to get rid of and bring it here." ). Just what I don't need. LOL

I went through this too with my parents house. They had accumulated a full house, basement and garage after living in the same house for 60 years and spent years enjoying and buying many items at flea markets, antique stores, and garage sales. Their items were not valuable either but they sure did have a lot of stuff.

I am lucky that I have a sister and we did this together. It is an overwhelming job to do this alone. Do you have a partner, best friend, cousins or others who would be willing to help you out from time to time?

First, take the items that you want. There are no rules about this, doesn’t have to have monetary value for an item to be cherished by you. Second, rent a dumpster. It is painful to throw things in there and this is a job to have a helper for physical work and for emotional support. Realistically there is a fair amount of junk we accumulate that no one wants so throwing it away early in the process really helps. Keep the dumpster for a month or so because you will need it at the final clean out too. You can next try selling some of the bigger items on Craigs List to reduce the amount of stuff because your next step is to hold an estate sale. You need help here as well. Price all items but keep the prices low because your goal is to move items, making money is secondary. Anything useful leftover can be donated to Goodwill or a thrift shop of your choice. Whatever is left at this point goes in the dumpster.

Is it hard work? Will it make you cry? Yes to both but it one of life's passages. It will also bring up many good memories as you sift through the items so stop and treasure those moments. Good luck to you.

I saw a clock on the wall, but I could not determine much about it. If that is an antique, over 100 yr old, and a spring wound pendulum clock, it might appraise at $400. If it is modern, battery powered, $5.

It seems that an auctioneer is not the way to go at your location and situation. You will probably get the most by running a rummage/estate sale yourself. Its a lot of work, but you and the customer decides the price. Expect haggling.

I think the house is old, but the inside show it has had a lot loving care and upkeep. I'm judging that's it old because I spied a steam heat radiator. That indicates it has no air ducting. This restricts choices for the next owner if he/she wishes to upgrade the furnace. Force hot air would not be a choice. Most likely, the upgrade would be hot water radiators. This is good since these are easy to set up zone heating. If I was buying the house, I'd want to know details about insulation. My suspicion is ti did not have any when built, although you are in upper New York with a cold winter.

There is one thing you should attend to right away, and that is the inheritance. Since you are the only child, that simplifies the inheritance, that is, if your parents left a will. If not, you will need to check on this. A probate might be required before you can sell anything.

They are not steam radiators, it is an oil/hot water heating system. Also, there is no insulation of which I am aware.

My father predeceased my mother. She never probated his will and the witnesses had already passed away. This made it more difficult to probate, but that had to be done first. Then everything went into my mother's will, then that as probated. When the smoke cleared, I inherited everything.