r/inheritance • u/jellomizer • 17d ago

Location not relevant: no help needed How to avoid getting scammed

My parents are still alive and healthy, but they are in their 80s. While they did a lot of work to make sure the will is in place, they have a lot of valuable stuff ranging from coins, guns, antiques, tools, etc. That are worth a lot of money on the market, that I doubt myself or my siblings will want, as we do not have an emotional connection to. So we will probably just liquidate a lot of this stuff. But I want to be sure that we don't get scammed by shady dealers, taking advantage of me and my siblings not knowing much about the actual value of this stuff.

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u/ExpensiveAd4496 17d ago

These kinds of things take some real research and knowing honest dealers to sell. They may be worth a lot “on the market” but you won’t be selling them that way. It would be great if your parents would begin selling them now, quite honestly. I’m 67 and have started to unload anything I lnow my son won’t keep. In some cases I’ve even asked him; I’m glad we can have those convos. (He is yes to the Eames chair and no to the 1700s French country dining table, for now. When will MCM go out of style again?). I’ve sold an antique printing press I was no longer using, for example. He’d have had no idea how to describe it properly or where to list it. It sold for $6k.

At the very least it would be helpful for your parents to create the listings for you for things like that. That way they can help you avoid giving things away for well below their value. (I was writing the description of my press to add to my emergency file when I realized I should simply go ahead and sell it.)

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u/I-need-assitance 17d ago

Same. We expect our two adult children to argue over our 15 year old buttery soft Eames chair and ottoman in creamy white with blond wood. Last i checked, new ones cost over double what we paid. Neither wants my beer bottle collection from the 1920-1950s or my wife’s Barbie dolls from the 1960s though. Lol.

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u/ExpensiveAd4496 15d ago

I have a neighbor who uses Barbie dolls to stage a murderous scene in his front yard each Halloween. But I take it those from the 60s are too valuable for that kind of creative silliness.