Is Consignment Worth the Trouble? How Do I Get My Belongings Ready to Sell?
You've decided to sell some belongings you no longer need. Perhaps it's a dining-room set, an Oriental rug, designer handbags, or boxes of china and crystal.
Consignment sounds appealing. Someone else sells your belongings, and you receive part of the proceeds.
But it's not always that straightforward. Different businesses accept different things, and commissions, transportation, shipping, and handling costs can make a big difference in what you actually receive.
With Legacy Treasure Chest, you can quickly get a better understanding of what you have, what it might be worth, and which selling options make sense.
Then you can spend your time on the belongings worth pursuing, rather than researching everything or packing items that a consignment business may not even accept.
1. Start by Finding Out What You Have
Start with ten belongings you're considering selling.
Take photos with your iPhone or iPad, one belonging per photo. Then open Legacy Treasure Chest (LTC) and use Add with Photos to select them.
LTC's AI can help identify your belongings, suggest descriptions, and provide preliminary estimates of current secondary-market resale value when enough information is available.
You can improve the information by adding manufacturer names, identifying marks, dimensions, condition, and other relevant details.
For china and crystal services, the pattern, number of matching pieces, and condition are especially important. One photograph cannot establish the value of an entire service.
LTC's estimates aren't appraisals or guaranteed selling prices. They can be inaccurate or unavailable, and unusual or potentially significant belongings may warrant professional evaluation.
The objective is to get useful information before investing time and money in trying to sell something.
2. Understand Your Selling Options
There are several distinct ways to sell belongings, and the right choice often depends on what you have.
Furniture, Rugs, and Large Decorative Pieces
These are generally candidates for local or regional consignment businesses.
Many businesses want photographs, dimensions, manufacturer information, and details about condition before deciding whether they're interested.
An expensive dining-room set might have limited resale demand, particularly if the style is no longer popular.
Some businesses offer pickup, often for a fee. Others expect you to arrange transportation.
LTC can help you consider consignment as a selling option and, through Find Help, identify potential nearby businesses to contact.
Find out whether a business is interested before paying to move heavy furniture.
Designer Handbags, Clothing, Watches, and Jewelry
Luxury consignment often involves national businesses with specialized acceptance and authentication procedures.
Depending on the company, you may ship items for inspection, arrange a local drop-off, or make an appointment.
For individual items or groups of luxury belongings, LTC's Find Help offers a National option with reviewed resale and consignment services. These suggestions include websites and useful questions to ask before proceeding. For groups of luxury belongings, LTC's Closet Lot feature can also help organize the work.
You'll still need to confirm which brands and items each business accepts, its commission structure, and what happens if something is rejected.
China, Crystal, and Collectibles
A dinner service for twelve, several boxes of crystal stemware, or a collection of Hummel figurines presents another challenge.
These belongings may require considerable work to identify, count, pack, and ship safely.
Some specialist businesses purchase china and crystal outright rather than accepting them on consignment. Others may have little interest in particular patterns or pieces.
LTC can help you investigate the manufacturer, pattern, condition, and preliminary resale value. Related pieces can also be organized into Sets.
Before packing anything, find out whether an appropriate business is interested and what you might receive.
A collection may have resale value without being worth the expense and effort of shipping it.
3. What Will You Actually Receive?
This may be the most important question.
Suppose a piece of furniture sells for $600, but the consignment business keeps 50%. Your share is $300 before any transportation or other expenses.
And that's assuming the furniture actually sells for $600.
LTC provides preliminary resale estimates and helps you consider disposition alternatives, but it doesn't calculate your actual proceeds after commissions and expenses.
Before committing, ask:
- What percentage of the selling price will I receive?
- Who pays for transportation, shipping, or other fees?
- Can the business reduce the selling price?
- What happens if the item isn't accepted or doesn't sell?
- When will I receive payment?
What matters isn't just what your belongings might sell for. It's what you could reasonably receive after the costs and effort involved.
4. Decide What Makes Sense and Take the Next Step
Once you know more about your belongings, LTC can help you consider selling directly, using consignment, making a quick sale, or donating. It can recommend an approach, identify information needed before deciding, and suggest practical next steps without requiring you to research every item individually.
For local selling options, LTC's Find Help can identify nearby businesses relevant to your disposition plan. You'll need to confirm that they handle your particular belongings and verify their terms.
For groups of items, LTC can also prepare an Outreach Packet containing photographs, item names, and estimated value ranges to share with a potential buyer or consignment business.
You still make the calls, arrange transportation or shipping, and complete the transaction. But you have useful information and a plan for moving forward.
The goal isn't necessarily to sell everything. It's to make informed decisions about which belongings are worth selling and which are better handled another way.
Try It with Ten Belongings
Choose ten belongings you're considering selling.
Take photos, select them in Legacy Treasure Chest using Add with Photos, and review the suggested identification and preliminary resale information.
See which items deserve further investigation, which might be good consignment candidates, and which may not justify the effort.
The first 25 cataloged items are free, so you can try LTC before deciding whether you need Full Catalog Access.