Cleaning out and downsizing

[Texas by God]

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[max it]

HI Ya, I am reminded of the colloquialism" no good deed goes unpunished".
Much obliged, Max

[ulav8r]

Several years back my granddaughter was talking the her mom about their guns. Granddaughter told her mom, I will inherit Grandpa and Granddad's guns, then yours and Dad's. I will have lots of guns.

[35 Rem]

I dont see why I should give everything away just because Im old .....sell this ,sell that ,get rid of the motorbikes ,get rid of the lathes ...etc ...etc.......why?

I agree. It has surprised me to see so many shooters that think they have to get rid of all their guns before they die because it will be too much bother to their kids to have to get rid of it once they are gone. I don't see the logic in that at all. First off, most of us don't know when we are going to die. What if you give most of them away then are suddenly stricken with years of great health? Do you give up shooting and just sit and wait to die? Or do you go out and buy similar guns back at current higher prices to have something to do while waiting to die? Secondly, the kids are getting all this stuff for free so surely, they think enough of you to not consider it a huge burden to have to deal with your stuff after you are gone? This mindset is completely foreign to me. I inherited a farm from my Father and he got it from his Father. Neither of them sold anything when they got old. Nothing. I don't plan to either.

[kaiser]

I'm going through that phase of my life and have two "off spring" that are "polar" opposites in that category; one is a "saver" of heirlooms, and the other a "Thrower". My "survivors" will have to determine the "winner" after I'm gone; for I will enjoy my hobbies as long as they give me pleasure from use, or ownership. I will endeavor to insure my possessions never "own me", for they are only inanimate objects. My .02

[waksupi]

I've got rid of quite a bit of the stuff I had collected over the years. That doesn't stop me from accumulating more, though!
My latest thing to do is to look for quality level wind bait casting reels. I find a lot of cheap ones, but few of quality. Most remind me of the back lashing SOB's from 65 years ago.
There was a valley wide yard sale this weekend. I've learned to not even bother with ones at houses built within the past 20-30 years. They don't have much, aside from clothes, kids toys, and cheap furniture. The old farms where families have lived for 40-50+ years is where I find treasures.
Regardless of my good intentions, my family will still have a lot to sort through!

[deltaenterprizes]

I am getting to the point of downsizing because I don’t have anyone to leave my hobby stuff to!
I recently went to a couple of estate sales where they were selling tools for pennies on the dollar!
My wife has no clue as to what my guns, reloading equipment and machine shop tools are worth and I don’t believe that she would take the time to research the value or take the time to sell them for decent money.
I guess since I have gotten some of the tools at estate sales at a good price history will repeat it self unless I dispose of my stuff when I get too sick to use them like a friend of mine did.

[Foghorn Legdorn]

I just dumped a ton of reloading stuff on FB Marketplace because it was starting to build up. I posted the stuff a little below what I thought it was worth individually but then offered huge discounts on taking multiple items. My goal is to buy space and time, so I was happy to sell well below what it was worth if it meant only dealing with a couple of people instead of droves of lowballers and tire kickers. Took less than a week to move a lot of stuff.

I am now about to do something similar with my wife's uncle's estate on behalf of her aunt (wow, that's a lot to follow lol), but that is mostly firearm. I just sent her the low to high values, and when we talk next the conversation will be around her goals. I think time is more important to her than money, but you never really know what people are dealing with behind the scenes, so we will see. No matter what she decides, I'll start with my network which includes friends, family, and my contacts at the local sportsman's clubs. How fast it moves will depend on her goals.

One thing I have no interest in is shipping anything. Way too many scammers and they are getting much better at their craft, unfortunately.

[lightman]

Good Luck with helping your friend! There are tons of excuses that you can use if you just don't want to do this for him. Use your imagination and your counconce.
I started downsizing back during the Obama shortages, again in 2015 when I retired and again when the Pandemic started. I ask the boys if they wanted any of the stuff before I sold it. A friend with an FFL sold the guns for me on Gunbroker and me and a buddy split a table at a local gun show to sell the other stuff.

[Four-Sixty]

I plan to gift some of my firearms to people well before I pass. I think it'll be fun to give presents and see the responses while I'm alive.

[ddeck22]

I feel for you. I am lucky in that I am constantly reviewing the stuff I have and selling things. I don't want anyone to have to go through a ton of stuff in case anything happens to me.

I know that some people want top dollar since they know that it won't sell. They just can't seem to let go of stuff.

The best thing to do is move. When moving, you purge things and think about what you really want to hang on to. This can clear up a lot of unnecessary stuff.

[cervelorod]

You’re telling me I finally get to a point I can afford all the things I always wanted and I need to sell them all before I die? It took me way to long to get to this point then…

[fatelk]

It's a very personal thing; I don't think anyone is telling anyone else what they should or shouldn't do with their stuff.

[shooterg]

Been there , done that . A lot of time but worth it to me to help at that point - much of it was sold here. Later told another widow I was too busy, wait a bit and I'd help .
Meanwhile one of the husbands "friends" offered her $500 for everyhing in the basement and made off with at least 20 times that . Cans and cans of surplus GI ammo, reloading stuff, casting, shop tools, gun safe and contents.
My wife knows who's really a "friend" and which local auctioneer to go to . They now get 15% on top plus tax and since they list online also, the prices they're getting are as much/more than a storefront ! Crazy what folks do when the bidding starts !!
Also, only have one grandson, he has dibs, can keep as much or as little of it as he wishes . Whtever you do, just quit fretting, load some rounds up, go and shoot something and let the worries go downrange .

[fatelk]

Meanwhile one of the husbands "friends" offered her $500 for everyhing in the basement and made off with at least 20 times that . Cans and cans of surplus GI ammo, reloading stuff, casting, shop tools, gun safe and contents.

Wow, that’s sad, and a perfect example of why we plan, so those we leave behind don’t get ripped off. Makes you wonder how people like that live with themselves.

I bought a reloading estate about 15 years ago, from a widow. I felt a little bad for offering $500 because full value was about double that (and I told her that), but in retrospect that was probably pretty fair, and more than she would have gotten elsewhere. My buddy who knew the family decided he was entitled to part of it as a “finder’s fee”, so there ended up being very little profit, but oh well. I was out of work at the time, after the 2008 crash, and didn’t really have money to spare.

Considering the money and time involved, the potential for hurt feelings and unrealistic expectations, I shy away from stuff like this in general. I’m encouraging my friend who’s cleaning out his excess reloading stuff to start selling it cheap if he’s serious about getting rid of it because I just don’t have the time and energy to help much more; either that or learn to use the internet himself. He did give me a brick of primers for my troubles though.

All this reminds me of a story another friend told me some time back, about helping move his elderly grandfather out of his house and into assisted care. It was a huge job figuring out what to do with everything, and grandfather was furious the whole time because he was attached to all his stuff. He kept saying that he didn’t understand: he work his whole life to accumulate all his treasures, and now he couldn’t keep it. (I think they were careful to respect his wishes as much as possible)

Absolutely nothing wrong with having nice stuff, but this makes me think I should focus on building up a different kind of treasure in my life…

[Ed K]

It's a very personal thing; I don't think anyone is telling anyone else what they should or shouldn't do with their stuff.

Completely agree. For example there's nothing wrong with a man having 20 44 mag revolvers however I was able to decide I didn't need the six I had - especially as I only used 1 or two over the past decade. That said made a personal decision to downsize. I'm the kind of person that does not spend impulsively but perhaps ruminates excessively prior to purchasing. This can make it harder to part with things so starting early, being selective and trying to get decent prices. Sold a little here, other forums, LGS consignment, Gunbroker, etc. really spread it around. The gun/reloading/casting hoard has been cut at least in half the over the past 12-18 months. Yes, I take responsibility for creating the mess in the first place and have been pleased to be have been able to play with all these toys over the years but I am capable of being happy with a basic "set". Between shippers not wanting to deal with non-FFLs, brokers looking to 1099, and the general political environment this isn't going to get any easier. And no I'm not offering to do this for anyone else.

[Wag]

If I sell something for less than its "worth" I consider the difference to be rent for the use I had over the years.

I don't have kids and my friends are all the same age I am so it is very likely that I'll just sell everything. The question is going to be timing. I don't know if I'll live to be 80 so do I sell it all now and miss out on some of that rent?

--Wag--

[BJung]

I've noticed that old people try to give away their stuff when the end seems near. I'm not there yet but I've had a Toy Box rule of thumb. Honestly, I make exceptions because where am I going to put all those cans of brass and lead and guns I've collected! Besides those, I use two military aluminum medical boxes. Any reloading and archery related tools must fit in it. I've expanded the rule as I admit. All my stuff must fit in a hall closet and a corner of my garage. Or, it should be able to fit in back of my small pickup truck bed.