While helping Families sort through their Parent's Possessions, I have seen many items considered (by the Family) to be of little or no value. And then I see some Families who believe that every item is worth a lot of money. It's important to remember, that all these possessions do have a value...whether it's sentimental or monetary.
But today, I want to stress the importance of spending a little time on the Internet to do research.
While sorting, often times, since the Family has "grown up" with the possessions and have seen them for years, so they don't think there could be any worth. Plus, during the stress of packing up everything in a home, people have a tendency to want to keep plowing through the clutter and throw a lot of it out.
Here's what we've found recently:
A very small print that was in a cardboard frame......value was approximately $1,200
Petrified rocks.....there were a lot and some were very valuable!
Old albums.........many people LOVE these and there can be real value here
A stamp collection.......there were many valuable stamps in there.....just had to go through and research
A coin collection.....when I saw it, they had it in baggies ready to cash in at the bank...worth a lot more to a collector
Then, I received an email from someone in the NASMM (National Association of Senior Move Managers) Organization that I belong too...
While sorting through an old trunk that was being thrown away (full of cobwebs and extremely dirty so the family was tossing), they found a First Edition Copy of "Uncle Tom's Cabin"...value could be $15,000!!
Whether you are selling, donating or keeping these possessions, you can see that it can be advantageous to spend a little time on this. The Internet has been an incredible tool for this kind of research and typically, you can find values quite quickly. Plus, using the Internet, you can often find people who can appraise the items as well.
Jeri Pischke
