Jewelry

[depglass]

People laughing and haggling over outdated junk? Ask yourself why would they bother. This is a trick of some dealers and collectors, downgrade the piece so they get a better price. Pointing out a flaw that makes your piece overpriced is one thing, lying and telling you it is junk is unethical. So don't feel bad if you hear this going on. I'll tell you what's even harder yet, having an auction and listening to the prices some things bring. Stay away from those, too. Just get references for an ethical, thorough auctioneer.

[culebra]

I sell stuff on ebay all of the time. Right now until Christmas is a good time to sell on ebay especially jewelry items if you have the boxes. Take your time, take good photo's and be realistic about pricing. You will be able to sell it all over time.

[Shogirl]

Ditto on whoever said get an estate sale company to handle it. Sounds like there's a ton of stuff, and it's worth the money to hire someone to handle it. My husband and I did just that for his mother's estate, which was loaded with antiques, collectibles, you name it...and the 35% of the total sale that we paid them was worth it, no question.

[Dogaholic]

This post is so wonderful,full of information in so many ways.We are in the process of moving my 88 yo Mom & 89 yo Dad to assisted living from Philly to Florida.They will take some things with them but most of the contents of their condo will be left.Now I can see what to do and how you all felt and handled the situation.I am so grateful I read this! Thanks so much to all that posted!

[beach-mom]

MomsQVCEstate - I'll agree with jugtown and tell you how sorry I am for your loss.

And the advice you got from terrier3 and the others is great!

I was in your shoes a few years ago. I was my mother's only surviving child. My late brother's belongings - I took most of his things and now I'm trying to figure out what to do with all of his college stuff - and my dad's personal things were in the attic and the basement. My mom did not watch QVC, but she had a lot of antiques and such. My parents had their first house in Williamsburg, and she furnished it there!

I kept what I could, told my uncle and cousins to come get what they wanted, then hired a professional. On the day of the estate sale, my DH went down - I just couldn't. It was bad enough to see her beloved home by the water with a huge sign in front a few weeks before. I couldn't watch everything I grew up with scattered around. I asked DH about a few things and he told me, but he didn't volunteer anything else - which was good.

I am thinking of you and I'm glad you don't have to go through this alone. It's very hard.

[aprimo]

I dread having to eventually disperse my parents' estate. They are collectors of lots of things (silver, china, french pottery, etc) and they live in a small rural retirement community far from any decent-sized city with a good market for the things they collect. eBay does not have the best market for all collectibles necessarily. Mom & Dad have so much stuff that has value but that neither my brother nor I would want. I wonder if an estate sale company would travel 3.5 hours to pack up all their valuables and take them to a good sale market? I hope so, and I really hope I don't have to deal with it for a long time yet.

I agree, not handling the actual sales yourself, particularly of things with sentimental value that you nevertheless can't keep, seems like an excellent idea. Not to mention, the mental and emotional exhaustion from the loss of your loved one wouldn't be helpful to the process either.

[Ibby114]

Let us know what you decide! I'm actually looking for a couple of Joan pieces, I'll check your listings if/when the times comes. I feel (for the most part) ebay 'sold' item prices depict the fair market value. This time of year is best to sell on ebay, also- with the holidays around the corner.

[Mustang Shar]

I'm so sorry for your loss, hugs. Joan's Bee pins are selling very well on eBay. One was over $250!

[Hellodemocrat]

Sooner, i had to clean out my moms 2story house w/full basement. She didnt want to get rid of anything. Other dead relatives stuff too. I had 3 yard sales (i dont do yard sales) still didnt get rid of it all. My aunt would say, wish you had let me know - i said what do u want with some of the furniture, she is 90. I sai my cousin didnt need any of it. U do not have to keep eberybodies stuff. People u never knew! The last sale was in the country with a cousin of my husands and she said, u want to leave it all here and i will put it in my sales and send u half. I said fantastic. Drove off, two weeks later got a check for 286. And a few months later a couple hundred. Wonderful.

[MomsQVCEstate]

Thanks to all who replied to this! Very helpful information! I love the idea of getting an Ebay seller. I just don't have the time to price/list/ship all of these pieces. I'll let you know when I hand it over to an Ebay seller (will they give me the name of the online shop?). Mom had many bee pins and egg charms. I think Joan Rivers and Judith Ripka were her favorites!