Inherited furniture etc, auction question

[moveblues]

Hi all
I'm selling a load of furniture I've inherited via auction as it's a bit out of date and no space here!
The auctioneer mentioned they are wholesale auctioneers. Is this the best way? Most items are in good nick bar one military chest which needs repair.
There are paintings, a Welsh dresser, cut glass decanters, clocks, a royal Doulton dinner service, all sorts!
Just wondering if this is the best route to sell as I am clueless!

exhausted sounds like you did all you could and the furniture will be used and enjoyed by its new owners

Well done to everybody that is at least trying to keep stuff out of landfill. I suppose in times gone by, when there was less easy credit and cheap imports, people went without and saved up for a few decent items of furniture. These days, people can get it all delivered in a matter of weeks, whether they've paid for it already, or will still be paying for it when it's fallen apart and been dumped in landfill!

Maybe orange boxes can become a thing again. Then we can all furnish like Mr Mean. (Is it just a version of Ikea's simple Scandi concept?). We'd be glad of the the odd Victorian/ Edwardian/ mid century item to break up the monotony then!

My friend lives in a 1770s , high ceiling , but big dark beams , old Quaker meeting house . She has lots of dark furniture in her home . It looks perfect in its environment.
My 1970s house , not so much .

We did as @Exhausteddog did - I think the problem i that many don't simply have the space to keep some of this furniture - I am one where my parents have a much bigger house than me - I could swap a few things but in general I can't take it all in. They have got rid of lots of stuff so there are some paintings and a few things they would like me to have as and when but they have a big detached house - I have a v small terraced house. Between siblings and I we will take the things which mean most to us ( sentimental value not £££) But DPs know their local auctioneer quite well so I am sure he could come round and help us out.

I do think @Siouxtse1 - people do try to keep things out of landfill - but it is harder than one might imagine ( Given circumstances ) Those with garages / barns etc great - you can store stuff. But just to reiterate it can be harder to give things away than you might imagine.

The Standfast and Barracks factory shop in Lancaster (which prints the William Morris fabrics) often has great discounts... www.designerfabricoutlet.co.uk/product-brands/morris-and-co/

It's not more difficult than I can imagine, I was sympathising and agreeing with you!

But just because people who've commented here are trying their best, it doesn't mean the message is getting through to others. Lots of people don't have space to store and work on inherited items and I agree, there's not much else you can do when even the 'house clearance' people are picking and choosing!

When we lived in the suburbs of a town, you could pop stuff outside on the wall and it would be taken away to be reused (or quite possibly sold on, I didn't mind so long as it was being used again)within about 5 minutes. We even managed this with boxes of crockery and glasses. Not many people drove past in vehicles ready to load up with wardrobes and dressers though.

Some friends did try local Facebook groups and Freecycle, but they got a bit fed up with people not turning up to collect. And it can end up looking a bit untidy if you don't keep an eye on things. Plus, the mad panic to get stuff back in if it rains!

@Siouxtse1 - I apologise if you took my post amiss - I was agreeing with you - thank you for sympathising.

When we last moved house I gave a good deal away on Freecycle to people who were trying to furnish a first flat - but Oh my goodness Freecycle takes a lot of effort for things you are trying to give away for nothing.

A friend of DH said - just put it outside your house with a sign on saying "do not steal" - it will be gone before you can say. That is probably very non PC and I will report this post if it offends.

Doesn't offend me. You turned your back on the wall and it was fair game. Immediate neighbours all lovely and would tell you who'd they'd passed things on to though. Brilliant, it got a second life.

I find the fear and suspicion with car boot sales too though. We must price things too cheaply. Then people get jumpy and think it must be stolen, or there's something wrong with it.... No. I just have too much stuff (mostly given to me, not bought!)and I want someone to make use of it. There are only so many craft groups, playgroups and nurseries, neighbours, allotment groups theatre groups and friends that I can offer stuff to. But if I say no, they just take it straight to the tip.....

I have used auction houses successfully for paintings and older books (particularly non-fiction on subjects like cookery and anything to do with trains).I think paintings are really subjective, aren't they? If you don't have a feel for the subject, it's never going to 'go' with your stuff. And sometimes the frames don't seem to suit the painting either....

I've even tried some of those vintage websites. A lot of them are only really interested in the jewellery and metal wares. Often the jewellery will fetch a better price if you take it to a jewellery shop that sells second hand items. I have an extremely large extended family and they've often kept the receipts as well, so at least the jeweller knows I'm not stealing it!

@Siouxtse1 - I managed to (when were downsizing) give away , sofas chairs , curtains , other bits of furniture, lamps and a whole load of kitchen stuff to three or four people who were setting up home for the first time. Didn't worry about selling it - just happy it did a good job for someone.

I gave away a huge number of books to charity shops but they ended up saying we can't take any more books. I have a Kindle now - for day to day reading it just makes sense - I have my very favourite books on the shelf but no longer have the storage / bookshelves I had before. Have also given a lovely set of books to a friend of DS as he will cherish them .
I had a lovely artists easel - no room for it so gave it to the local primary school - they liked it , lots of clothes I gave to friends' daughters ( when they said they would like them - I did not force them on the poor Dd's )

I am not by any means an ecological evangelist - but I do not like waste. If something one cannot use can be used by someone else - well to me that is just great.

The thing is charity shops are often full so it genuinely can be hard to give things away - that said - if people try - great. Also - when I cleared out DPil's house - it was heartbreaking how much stuff they had just kept. A small example, in the attic they had toys for their GDCs still in the original wrapping - these were for young children and the DGCs were teenagers . When the chaps clearing the house out saw this , one of them said - could I take these for my grand kids I said Oh please do. The other clearance chap saw a set of sherry glasses in their original wrapping and said this will make a nice present for my sister may I have it . Yes please take it - anything that doesn't go to the tip please take it if it will be nice for someone else.

The experience of clearing out my DPil's house has made me so much more ruthless in getting rid of stuff - & recycle or sell or whatever right now. Don't leave it for your children to do. I have given away so much stuff , a few things I sold , but of everything , there is only one thing I regret , the rest I haven't thought about twice.

Those with huge storage available to them may think differently & be able to put things somewhere - I can't.

Anyway enough from me

My elderly Aunt is moving into a retirement property, so we're just starting the process of 'clearing' her house - 60 years worth of stuff. She does understand that much of it will need to be skipped, but it's going to be tough for her. I really don't know where to start - should I get a house clearance person in to have a look, or begin removing things bit by bit - obviously with her agreement?

It's really made me think about the stuff I keep - who the devil is going to want a stack of theatre programmes going back 40 years?!

@ajandjjmum
Yes I agree with you. Our ' treasures ' of items emotionally close to us are for others , just tat to be thrown away .
There is apparently a thought in Denmark called death cleansing , where you get your house in order ready for your old age and eventual death to make it easy for your loved ones once you have died .
I quite like the idea of going through my stuff and minimising every few years until I'm left with just what matters most to me .

When we lived in the suburbs of a town, you could pop stuff outside on the wall and it would be taken away to be reused (or quite possibly sold on, I didn't mind so long as it was being used again)within about 5 minutes.
Did you see this thread the other day?

Problem with so much old furniture isn’t it’s colour or style but it’s sheer size.

I love a bit of Victorian mahogany furniture for my grandmillenial style house, but - having spent years living in shoe box apartments - I refuse to clutter up my nice spacious house with oversized furniture. So all my antique pieces are all on the dainty side. I think a lot of people are the same - having learnt how IKEA can solve your storage needs with a very modest footprint, it’s difficult to then give space to a giant chest of drawers that offers half the storage in twice the space.

I refuse to clutter up my nice spacious house
Fashions change. Your descendants will probably wonder why your generation paid so much money for houses but then didn't use them to their full extent.
I'm always amazed by TV makeoever programmes where they spend loads on an extension to only put in it: a sofa, a side-table and one artful pot plant. It's even worse when they go double-height - what a waste of square footage!

If the items are small enough for more modern tastes I would see if it sells. Where are you in the country. Have you been to auctions in the area?
Round here, rural area, the local upholsterers are all booked up for a year - as I've had stuff done before and it's only a chair the upholsterer says he might take it in August and fit it in between larger items. The local furniture restorer is busier than he's been in years. I think it's people moving from the cities to older houses in the country but that's a guess. Somehow, possibly due to the tv progs, everyone round here is eyeing up small good quality stuff. I was in a shop yesterday, very tasteful, small antiques nice cushions, expensive, and some guy was interested in Everything!