Sell your stuff: Ideas for selling your unwanted, but valuable items

"Don't throw it away; we might need it someday."

"But that was always my favorite; it stays."

"I got a good deal on that; it's a keeper."

"My mother gave that to us; she'd be mad if we gave it away."

Sound familiar?

Tracy and Debbie Childers take a break from helping customers to pose for a photo at an estate sale they hosted May 16 in Cape Girardeau. (Glenn Landberg)

At some point, the excuses from those of us with a "stuff management" problem -- call us collectors, clutterbugs or hoarders -- may need to be silenced. There's that point when it's just time to get rid of things. It may be an older couple downsizing from the family home to an apartment, the combining of households to blend two families under one roof, not wanting to pay a moving company to transport unwanted or unused items, or the children having outgrown both togs and toys. There is a range of reasons.

The solutions to the problem lie on a spectrum, from having a garage sale to hiring a professional estate sale company, to advertising items on an online selling site or in a newspaper classified ad, to donating to a charity.

Debbie Childers, who with her husband, Tracy, operates Open Door Estate Sales and Liquidations in Cape Girardeau, says their business -- generally, selling the entire contents of a home -- customarily precedes the sale of the home.

"When we get called in, typically there is a family member who has passed away or who may have gone to a care facility. The family needs to empty the house to get it ready for selling. Or people may just be moving, and they need to prepare the house for sale," Debbie Childers says, adding that much of their business comes via referral from previous clients or real estate agents.

"Sometimes people will ask, 'Do we have enough for an estate sale?' We'll take a look to determine whether it's worth it for them. We might advise them to do it themselves, and perhaps give them some ideas on pricing," she says.

Debbie Childers helps answer a customer's question at an estate sale she and her husband hosted May 16 in Cape Girardeau. (Glenn Landberg)

Unlike an estate auction, which takes place at a certain place and time, an estate sale generally spans several days, and items are marked with prices that may be reduced as the sale progresses.

Childers' clients pay the firm 30 percent of the gross receipts of the sale, and clients also pay for newspaper space to advertise the sale, which also is publicized on websites such as estatesales.net and the firm's Facebook page.

"People love going to estate sales, especially during the winter, because there are no garage or yard sales," Childers says. "I was a garage saler for many years. A friend and I started the company four years ago."

When her friend dropped out of the business, her husband stepped in.

Items left at the end of a sale often are donated, Childers says, adding that their disposition is the client's decision.

Dr. Mitch Gerber looks over a book he purchased from an estate sale May 16 in Cape Girardeau. (Glenn Landberg)

Many turn to a yard sale to lighten their load. On a recent steamy afternoon, Marie Persons was helping elderly family members display some of their possessions under a blue canopy.

"They're finally ready to part with some things. It's hard to let go sometimes," Persons said.

Growing in popularity are online sales sites. On Facebook, the page "Southeast Missouri buy/sell/trade" has 18,545 members. "SEMO buy/sell/trade" has almost 10,000 members, and "Perry County Sellers Club" has 4,591 members. Some selling sites are exclusive -- limited to, perhaps, children's clothing, automotive parts or antiques.

Dr. Mitch Gerber looks over a book he purchased from an estate sale Saturday, May 16, 2015 in Cape Girardeau. (Glenn Landberg)

Those sites, however, may not be ideal for the serious seller, according to Kristen Pind, Southeast Missourian classified advertising sales representative, a position she has held for more than three years.

"With the newspaper's circulation, you're guaranteed people will see your ad," Pind says. "With online sites, you post an ad, and within a few minutes there may be 200 listings on top of yours. Plus, unlike Facebook, you don't have to keep track of it and post it on several different sites."

The newspaper has guaranteed rates and packages; ads appear in print, at semissourian.com and, as space allows, in the Dollar Stretcher, a weekly free publication distributed at area retail locations.

"The Southeast Missourian offers free classified advertising to those wishing to sell an item with a value less than $100," Pind says, adding the free ad will run for a week. "We still list a lot of vehicles and appliances, but we're seeing items of lesser value, too -- like a ballglove for $15 or an outdoor planter for $10."

Too many books? The Book Rack and Hastings Books Music and Video in Cape Girardeau will take your unwanted books.

"We take books for store credit. We'll give the customer half of what we can sell the book for," says Jennifer Gray, manager at The Book Rack. She adds that most of the store's paperback books sell for $5 and less.

"The store credit doesn't expire, and it can be shared among friends. Some people donate the credit to schools," Gray says.

The Hastings website, gohastings.com, lists titles of used books, video games, CDs, DVDs and gaming consoles that the store will buy for cash or for store credit and, in some cases, lists the buyback price.

Keri Hurt, sales associate at Hastings in Cape Girardeau, says, "We pay customers more in store credit and less in cash" when they sell items to the store.

Donating unwanted items may be easier than one might imagine.

Trent Bradam, supervisor of Teen Challenge International Mid-America's thrift store in Cape Girardeau, says in addition to accepting donations at the shop, his crew "runs a truck" several times a week to pick up items from homes.

When asked what the shop doesn't accept, Bradam has a quick, one-word answer: "Pianos." And, sweeping his open arm to illustrate the immensity of the store, he ticks off items the store accepts and resells: "Stoves, refrigerators, microwaves, dishes, toys, clothes, mattresses, clothes" -- until his voice trails off.

Donations to the Cape Girardeau Goodwill store net the donor coupons for half-price tickets to select St. Louis Cardinal games.

That, however, didn't seem to be the motivation behind the recent visit of John and Holly Weems to Goodwill. From their red pickup truck came two sets of golf clubs, a dog crate, snow skis, black work boots, exercise equipment, a bowling ball, metal bed frames and more.

"We emptied the basement. The farm is on the market. Let's just say we're doing this in anticipation of the sale," John Weems said.