Who can sell off the stuff in a Maryland storage unit for us?

August 7, 2013 9:31 PM

My friend has been storing never-used furniture and appliances in a MD storage unit for about a year. Who can we get to sell them?

We would like to get one person or agency to take care of everything, so the unit can be closed.

The appliances were bought brand new with the intentions of filling a house. But a surprise move to the West Coast changed all that and they've just been sitting in this rented space.

Unit is in Howard County, MD.

Contents include:
Stove, Fridge, Couch and Love Seat, Dining Room Table and Chairs, Various Kitchen Appliances, Surround Stereo System, Washer and Dryer, and more!

posted by jander03 to Home & Garden (7 answers total)

Best answer: You probably want to google "estate sale" + "location" and you will find a dealer willing to take it all off your hands for a lump sum. Used consumer goods have a very low resale value, if you buy a $650 washing machine and try to resell it a week later, you'll be lucky to get half of its value.
posted by thewalrus at 9:51 PM on August 7, 2013

You might be able to post it to http://jobs.metafilter.com/ and find a MeFite who could handle it for you.
posted by theora55 at 10:44 PM on August 7, 2013

Uh, there's a Howard County in Maryland -- is that what you mean? (i.e. near Washington or Baltimore rather than Boston)

The easiest option is probably to use an estate sale company as thewalrus says -- they specialize in selling whole contents of houses.

I would estimate the likely return as something on the order of 25% retail even if it's all new. If you're really keen on getting more and just want to stop paying for the storage unit, you might try to find a consignment dealer, but they'll probably charge you for picking the stuff up and, well, that will cut into any future sale revenue.

If you want to just offer it to a non-profit who could give it to someone and your friend takes a reasonable tax credit, then Catholic Charities or Lutheran Social Services would be good bets.
posted by dhartung at 2:41 AM on August 8, 2013

Best answer: Two more ideas... 1) Ask the storage unit management for recommendations and 2) Hire someone via Task Rabbit and agree to split the proceeds (presuming the location is relatively urban, e.g., Howard County, MD).
posted by carmicha at 5:22 AM on August 8, 2013

Ask the storage unit company; I know someone who manages a storage facility and from time to time he (using the services of an auctioneer) auctions off the contents of a unit that gets abandoned. In those cases I think the bidding is for the whole lot, not piecemeal... but in any event, the storage facility probably has the contacts your friends need to sell the stuff off one way or another.
posted by usonian at 5:59 AM on August 8, 2013

Response by poster: My mistake. The unit is in Maryland. Get suggestions so far!
posted by jander03 at 6:21 AM on August 8, 2013

Mod note: updated the post with the correct state info, carry on
posted by jessamyn (staff) at 7:50 AM on August 8, 2013 [2 favorites]