Why is My Stuff Worth so Little?

One of the biggest issues estate sellers and consignment shops have to deal with is the customer who has unrealistic expectations of the value of their stuff and by stuff I mean everything.  From their grandma's Limoges dishes to their ginormous wall units.  What people forget is that as soon as their furniture leaves the showroom floor the value of their item drops by as much as 50%.  With each passing year and with the normal wear and tear an item will take the value drops again and again. 
Homeowners also tend to forget that the item they purchased many years ago just may not be in style any longer.  The good news is if you can wait 50 years styles tend to reemerge and become hot again.  And some items become  are MORE valuable than the original price paid (dolls, artwork, clocks, vintage furniture, etc...), but remember that is not the norm.   Most items depreciate with time. Most consignors and estate sellers start the pricing of an item at 50% of retail.  From there if the item does not sell at that price, the price will go down in 10% increments, if it's an estate sale it will normally be dropped to half off the original selling price.  Consignee's and folks hiring estate sale companies need to remember that estate sellers and consignor stores would LOVE to sell your items for TOP dollar, but if no one is buying you have to drop the price to a number the market will bear.  I"ve seen a dining set sit and then boom once we drop the price to a certain price level its purchased right away with usually two or three customers in line waiting to buy it if the original purchaser falls thru.  So when going to sell your preowned items just know that yoru estate seller or consignor is always going to go for the top price, but that in most cases your original price will need to be reduced!   Remember to buy pre-owned-- you not only save the planet  by ryou get high quality furniture at a fraction of the original price.

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