Paul Quinn, the owner of Falls Church Antiques and Quinn's Auction Galleries, takes a holistic approach to disposing of household contents. He'll run an estate sale to get rid of "ordinary items," auction the better things, and even sell the house. "Some people, when they're really in liquidation mode, find that package of services really wonderful," he said.
Like the family in Fairfax County that packed their bags and moved to their second home at the beach, turning everything over to Quinn. Some things were sold, others donated. A maintenance company came in and fixed up the house, which he then put on the market. All the owners needed to do was come back for the closing.
Anne Wohllenban of Falls Church examines a piece on the showroom floor at Adam A. Weschler and Sons.
(Michael Temchine For The Washington Post)
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When Dia Blankenship sold her five-bedroom, two-kitchen bed and breakfast in Falls Church a few years ago to move to a one-bedroom apartment in Dupont Circle, she took the modern route, selling online.
"I used eBay for the smaller stuff, everything from clothes to sheets -- 100 percent cotton but nothing fancy -- to comforters and towels . . . and a lot of kitchen appliances."
It cost nothing to register at the auction site and only a little to sell her wares.
Blankenship started selling three months before her move, listing about 15 items a week. "I sold all of them and I made about $1,200, which I thought was a fair return."
Bigger items -- beds, mattress sets, sofas and televisions -- were sold through washingtondc.craigslist.org, an online bulletin board that offers free classified advertising. "You can find everything from basic junk to very nice antiques," she said. Because the advertisers are local, you can also go see the merchandise before you buy.
"It's not a bidding thing," she said. You just write an ad and set your price.
The first ad Blankenship placed brought more than 100 responses in a single night. So she created a Web site, posted photos of the furniture and placed the link in the ads. "You learn to do things like that," she said.
Dan Doernberg would approve, from a fairness perspective. "I love eBay," he said. "It's revolutionary." Private sellers can get the same kind of prices that only dealers used to be able to charge.
So he didn't raise an eyebrow when his mom held on to a Rocky and Bullwinkle Thermos. "You can find that buyer in Uruguay who'll pay $30."
