Hiring Someone to Sell My Stuff: Is this a thing?

February 29, 2024 5:04 AM

TL;DR: Can I pay someone sell my stuff so that I don't have to? I'm probably going to be selling a number of household items over the coming months, and would be willing to accept a lower price for not having to do the labor of arranging the sales. Details inside.

It's not a small list and there are definitely some more expensive items - potentially some furniture, a nice vacuum, a PS5, a small TV, a gaming PC, a nice air conditioner, etc. I'm in the Boston area. I don't have a car and would prefer not to have to ship the items.

I'm wondering if there are people who might do the work of coordinating Facebook Marketplace/Craigslist/whatever for a cut of the proceeds or for a flat fee. If so, what would I look for or what should I be careful of?

posted by kserra to Work & Money (10 answers total)

A professional organiser may be willing to do this. I hired one to manage cleaning out my mother's house when she died, as I live in a different country. I had her donate everything and let her use her judgment as to where and how while keeping me informed, but I think if I'd wanted things sold she would have been fine handling that too.
posted by Rhedyn at 5:16 AM on February 29

Depending on how much it is, you could hire an estate sale specialist. Their whole purpose is to get rid of large amounts of stuff quickly, generally at better-than-yard-sale prices. I've only dealt with them as a buyer, but they'll go through your things, take photos, find stuff that's worth money, and try to price them accordingly as well as stage a one or two-day event in exchange for a cut of the profit.
posted by backseatpilot at 5:28 AM on February 29 [5 favorites]

Auctioneer. I see several auction houses listed in the Boston area. They're the people who actually run estate sales (per backseatpilot's suggestion).
posted by bricoleur at 5:47 AM on February 29 [2 favorites]

One example is Piermont Bicycle Connection in Piermont, NY, which has a thriving business eBay-ing people's stuff (NOT just bike-related) for a % of the proceeds. Satisfactory in every way. Someone in your area probably does the same thing.
posted by JimN2TAW at 6:05 AM on February 29 [2 favorites]

I'm going to send you a memail.
posted by 41swans at 10:30 AM on February 29

Someone is doing this very thing for me at the moment. She is weeding through my late husband’s extensive sheet music and song book collection, selling the sellables on eBay, and splitting the proceeds 50-50 with me, which suits me to a T.
posted by BostonTerrier at 1:26 PM on February 29

I see ads on my neighborhood facebook sale page pretty regularly from a couple of people who help people sell things in that weird spot when you don't have enough for an estate sale but too much to want to list items individually. I've bought things from them ranging from a container of spools of thread to a throw rug.

I would check prior sales and ask for references
posted by The Elusive Architeuthis at 4:28 PM on February 29

Response by poster: Thank you folks! Appreciate the variety of suggestions. I suspect I don't have enough stuff to make it worth an auctioneer/estate sale expert, but this gives me plenty to go on.
posted by kserra at 5:03 PM on February 29

To be honest, I don't think what you are selling will net enough for a person to take on as a gig. In my neighborhood "buy nothing" group, people are giving away items like this every day. Unless the item is, say, a camera or a designer item or something similarly high value, you aren't going to be making any money. Craigslist is chock full of people selling furniture for hundreds of dollars because they think it's worth "something."
posted by computech_apolloniajames at 5:35 PM on February 29 [1 favorite]

I would just list them cheaply (or free) on Facebook marketplace for porch pickup only.
posted by MadamM at 7:30 PM on February 29