Guest Blogger: Barry Gordon, Broker, Gordon's Downsizing and Estate Services
This is a question people often ask. With the importance of reduce, reuse, and recycle, a major downsize for many is stressful for a number of reasons- one of which is doing something responsible with everything you can’t keep. Uncertainty of what to do with their things can and does stop some from moving forward altogether. It often forms part of the puzzle summed up by the phrase; “it’s just too overwhelming”.
Being personally involved in helping people downsizing for 40 years, we’ve watched a number of evolutions over time in answering this question. Our grandparents bought things to last- and most of what was available for purchase was built that way. Over time as a society, we have become ever more active consumers and the market has responded by being ever more creative in manufacturing things for our every need. Problem is, that once we go to downsize, many of us have far more than we can keep, and most of the younger family members either don’t want or don’t need these extra things.
In speaking with professional move managers (folks who assist people downsizing) throughout North America, I often hear that up to 70% of what their downsizing client can’t keep goes to landfill or in some cases charity- that often ends up in landfill. But it doesn’t have to!
There are better solutions that not only divert things into the hands of people who can use them, but also capture some monetary return for the person downsizing. For most, the financial returns aren’t huge- at least not in comparison with the price of the average house these days, but getting some return, while keeping things out of landfill is good for the client, the buyer, and the environment. The challenge; how to get it into new hands at a reasonable cost of handling? Too many things are generalised as waste simply because the cost of handling through traditional means presents a challenge.
The answer for many is employing online auction as a safe, transparent way to sell the extra goods. According to MaxSold- which made The Financial Times Top 500 list of fastest growing companies in North America in 2019, 98% of everything listed- sells! And their target client is the downsizer or estate seller.
Professional move managers that employ the online auction solution find that after getting food and clothing off to a local charity ( which is valuable to them), most everything else can be arranged in lots- some being individual items like a ladder or lawnmower- and some in groups, like a bench or wall of tools or even a quantity of opened but not yet finished cleaning solvents. And leaving everything one can’t keep for an event auction from their home, makes the auction more effective with more items sold and better financial results.
People compete to buy all these things and then pick them up safely and easily at a mutually agreed and scheduled time using an easy software tool. Elderly sellers need not fear- the process can be completely managed safely by the auction company or a professional move manager.
Traditional sale of goods options, are often too labour or cost intensive, hence encouraging landfill as the default alternative. Individual sale of item APPs abound but for a person facing the need to clear half or more of the home, the ability to sell one or two of the most desirable items easily can do more harm than good. Selling a ride on lawnmower on Kijiji can seem like a good idea, but for a downsizer with an actual need to clear everything, fragmenting solutions with individual sale of items options creates complexity.
Online auction provides a tool that any senior with volume, access, and time can use to safely and productively turn a problem into a benefit across everything extra while drastically lowering the stress that can be hazardous to their health.
For sellers, it’s good for the planet, and their extra things can be enjoyed by new users. Things that gave them pleasure can once again bring pleasure to others.