Washers & Dryers and Bedding

Hello all,


I live in Atlanta and have bought three units so far. I have been watching, lurking around since August and been to 12-15 auctions and bought the first on in December; I have made a few bucks. I have also kept some stuff because there were things in the units I needed; the rest I have sold and taken to Goodwill.  Had I known about this stuff 25-30 years ago I would have been all over it as my father was into cars and went to auction all the time and when he moved away from that because of what he was into he would have been all over this back then. 20/20 hindsight.

Half to a third of the units I see have a Washer & Dryer and/or Bedding (Box Springs and Mattress) or multiple bedding items.

I am willing to drive stuff limited distances if I can make some money back on the items. If people repair and resell I know there can be money in that. I spoke to a few people at the auctions regarding reselling and they told me they are selling pairs for $150-350 depending on condition, age and model.

Now reading back other post people have said they will not sell a used mattress because who knows what can be lurking in it or other things that have soaked into the padding. Some stated the rip the padding off, throw it away and sell the metal for scrap. Some say they just dump it. Some said they may find buyers for the stuff if still wrapped in plastic.

So my question is for the Atlanta environment based on previous experience. Other than the outlets or CL, Flea markets etc. does anyone have contacts that just buy this kind of stuff; either to repair and resell or scrap?

JCS

Welcome to the boards JCS.  I'm in GA but not Atlanta.  That said - washer/dryers do sell pretty well.  I do most of my sells of them via CL or to one of the other regulars that has a large thrift store.  Now if I sell to him it's a good 50% off the price but he will take them untested.

Now for matress/boxsprings - I run as far as I can.  People just don't want them.  I've even tried to give them away on CL and got no bites.  Atlanta may be different but who knows.  I see them in a unit I automaticly deduct $20 on my max due to trash run.  Atlanta dump fees I know are even higher.  One of our people here buys up there many times.

I've even tried to contact habitat for humanity to see if they want them and never got a response.  I really should burn them and scrap the metal since scrap most everything else.

I add $25 when pricing a unit for a set mattress sold a set at the flea today for $40.  Had folks drive 50 mi. to buy a cheap metal bed with the mattress set.  At the flea markets in South GA they sell for $25 and up depending on condition.  Washers and dryers if they work and look ok $75 - $100 each.

Washers and dyers are money makers. Even the oldest, ugliest working set will bring $150 minimum. I have always had good luck with them because people typically don't store large appliances unless they work. They typically sell within hours after posting them on craigslist. The other thing that sells fast is older used refrigerators. I think the reason cheap appliance sell so fast is that there is always someone out there who is just starting over. Also, there are plenty of people out there that live paycheck to paycheck and when their appliances go out, they need an immediate substitute.

This is a strange fact that I learned in the resale business: Cheap older appliances sell faster than modern used appliances. Especially in today's economy.

As far as mattresses are concerned, the law requires you to sterilize them. Some people do follow the law and others don't. Mattresses are great money makers, especially the name brands in good condition. I had no problem selling mattresses quickly. Obviously, if they're really sketchy, just get rid of them. But if they're in average condition, you will have no problem selling them from $40-$100. The nicer ones can bring even more.

I am so glad I found this question and all the answers. It helps me a lot in deciding what to do with the items mentioned. :-)

There are no requirments about cleaning mattressess in GA I checked the Sec. of State website.  There are laws in other states so be sure to check before selling mattressess.

So how does one go about sterilizing a mattress?

I've asked this to several of the store owners at auctions and they always avoid me.  I've checked the tags put there by the companies that sterilize them for these thrift stores and have yet to find a name of the company.  This is my largest problem also.

I don't know a legit way as far as the law but......

Back story: Room flooded, bed on floor, mold, smelled.

Internet search.

Warm water and carpet cleaner.  Used sponge to wipe clean. Then vacuumed. (very important to vacuume to get stuff out, like mold spores.  I used shop vac for best suction.)

Then I soaked it with rubbing alcohol useing spray bottle.   Set in sun.
That gets deep to clean but evaporates out pretty fast.  In a day.

Then misted with bleach/water.  Dried in sun.

Fabreezed the crap outa it.

Came clean and doesn't smell......

Total work time is all of 30 minutes.   Total time 2days but would depend on how fast you can get it to dry.  Except for rubbing alcohol you never want it "wet".

Cost: about $3

In ATL...use your pressure washer and dish washing detergent (found in 1/4 units) fastest way to take out the stains.  We are very picky about the mattresses we sell though and usually will only pair them with a bed.  Steam iron like the one that you use to take wrinkles out of clothes will kill germs on the top layer (1/2 inch or so).  Be very very very careful of bed bugs though.  Get them on your clothes and take back to the house and you are screwed.  I cannot stress this enough...look at it in the daylight.

Good luck.