need advice on flat clearance

[flatclearancehelp]

I'm helping a friend vacate a small flat; a lot of smaller items such as clothes, crockery, ornaments etc have already been taken to charity shops. However there are a number of larger items my friend would like to sell, ie bed, arm chair, fridge, some storage furniture.

What have other mumsnetters done to dispose of larger items. I've tried Facebook Market place for a few of my own items but find so many people are time wasters, not turning up as agreed etc. My friend is not in good health and is not living at the property so would need to make an arrangement to be on site at agreed times, I feel FB Market place seems a bit too hit and miss.

What do other people think? Any suggestions welcome. Thanks

Try gumtree - it's worked well for me. Alternative is eBay which I use a lot too. Good luck

Do you have a Home bank in your area? It's like a foodbank but for household items.

I had success giving away lots of bits on Olio. Each side rates the other afterwards and people tend to take their ratings pretty seriously, so I found they were very unlikely not to show up when they said they would.

The Red Cross take good quality furniture and it helps people.

Thanks for the replies.

My friend wants to sell the larger items. What do people recommend? Auction? House clearers?

How do people selling on ebay arrange delivery of beds, fridges etc?

I had a good experience clearing a house on eBay but that was with slightly quirky mid-century / vintage items of furniture, not modern.
I don't think secondhand modern furniture is worth a lot OP. I've given away IKEA wardrobes, bookshelves, even in good condition and struggled to get rid of sofas even for free. We have a local furniture reuse charity which is my go-to for that kind of thing. And they will collect.

British Heart Foundation can do house clearance if the furniture is good quality & they can sell it.

In my area, the council recommend a charity (BrightSparks) who will collect unwanted furniture for re-use. Again, it has to be in good condition etc, they don't take junk.

@Buffoonborisisatwat

Thanks for the replies.

My friend wants to sell the larger items. What do people recommend? Auction? House clearers?

How do people selling on ebay arrange delivery of beds, fridges etc?

You must be the OP with a different name?

For Facebook if you price things right they will go - cash on collection only. Same with eBay. Do a 7 or 10 day auction ending on a Sunday afternoon and starting price £0.99. If it's good quality and wanted, it'll go for more and even if it doesn't go for much, it's saved a trip to the tip. Anything that doesn't sell you can see whether the British Heart Foundation will take it.

We've sold IKEA stuff for a surprising amount on eBay - particularly if it's something which has been discontinued, even if it's just the colour.

We did best by selling furniture to buyer of property we were selling to - provide an inventory (which you have to anyway) with sensible prices and provide buyer with sticky dots so they can go round and identify what they want (negotiate if need be). Then giving away large furniture saves you money vs paying to be taken away although council is cheaper than professional companies for removal of large items. Auction only worth doing if you have pukka antiques (silver, clocks) because the costs are quite high. Antiques/collectibles/table top research prices - will take time & effort & costs quite high.

Flat is a rental so selling to buyers isn't an option

I think your friend needs to consider if it's worth his/her time and effort given their circumstances. You do get a lot of time wasters - or more often, people who show up, don't like it, are too embarrassed to say so, mutter something about contacting you re. collection and then disappear. Or people find out that transport is more than they thought etc. Or people who arrange to come and then text 10 mins before saying "sorry, [insert lame excuse].

Unless this stuff is in mint condition and high end (or as PP said, popular discontinued items), I'd probably persuade the friend to just get it cleared.

When I had to clear my parents’ house I found gumtree was quite good for the better quality items

House clearance people will not give you money for the items. If there is any value a local auction house might take it - but your friend will have to get it there. So be honest - are the items really worth paying some one £100 to get it to auction? If they don't sell the items will have to be removed too.
I sold my stuff on FB market but they were good quality and I did feel I was practically giving the stuff away! Local auction house took the best things.

Sorry I meant British Heart Foundation and they can arrange pick up.

BHF or council recycling can collect with notice, but not usually paid. Do the soft furnishings have fire safety labels?

Thanks for the advice which I'll pass on to my friend to decide what to do.