The 13 possessions your children will almost certainly sell the moment you die

It doesn’t matter that you think you’re leaving your children a house full of useful things, because the truth is, a lot of those treasured possessions are probably headed straight for Facebook Marketplace.

The table with nowhere to go

You paid a lot of money for that dining set because it’s made of solid wood and has matching chairs. That’s great. But your children will probably look at it and see one problem. They’ve got nowhere to put it. 

Yes, large traditional furniture is pretty awkward to move and doesn’t usually fit into modern homes all that well. Most adult children aren’t looking for inherited hutches and similar furniture. People might’ve gathered around the table for 25 years. It’ll be gone by Tuesday.

A library looking for a reader

A book collection often looks nice, and it’s even better when you know exactly where every one came from. Your kids probably don’t care, though. They might hold onto three or four of the books because they remind them of you, but then they have to figure out what to do with the rest.

Newsflash, just because a book is old doesn’t mean it’s valuable. Some common editions can be surprisingly difficult to sell because nobody wants to buy them. The fact that the collection took you decades to build isn’t important when there’s no value to them, financial or otherwise.

The machine beneath the laundry

The treadmill was going to change everything. At least, it was at first, then it became somewhere to put shirts. Don’t be embarrassed because it happens to us all. But the awkward part comes later, when your children inherit a machine that weighs several hundred pounds, yet they don’t want to run on it. 

Working exercise equipment can still fetch quite a good price, especially when it’s fairly recent. That makes selling it a pretty obvious choice. You can’t really blame your kids for wanting a bit of money now, can you?

The piano in the corner

Throwing out a piano feels wrong, and that’s why many people choose to sell it instead. They’re probably only going to hold onto it if they’re musical, because otherwise, it’s a lot of extra work. You have to get it tuned and repaired. That costs a lot.

Your children may still admire it, of course, and they might remember the piano lessons they hated having at age nine. It won’t take them very long to start calling piano movers, however.

The plates nobody eats from

A lot of collectible plates come with certificates and have numbered editions. Many people bought them because they were told certain ones might become collectible someday. Then someday arrives. There are still a lot of plates out there. 

Unfortunately, the majority of collector plates sell for much less than owners expect because so many of them were produced. Your children may hold onto one of them because it looks nice, or maybe they’ll even keep two. A whole collection is too much, and they’ll likely end up selling them ASAP.

The giant glass-fronted hutch

That’s not all for plates, however. Think about what you’re storing them in. That tall, heavy hutch isn’t going to be useful to your kids if they’re not holding onto the plates, either. Most of them don’t care about inherited china and hutches. 

They’ll start seeing the giant cabinet as something very sellable, and they’re not going to be waiting around for long to get rid of it.

The jar that might contain a fortune

So many parents are convinced their coin collections are worth something, and sure, maybe some of them are. The trouble is that a coffee tin full of old nickels and Wheat cents isn’t always valuable. The majority of adult children don’t want to sort through all that.

They’re not going to become coin collectors overnight, so instead, they’ll likely sell the whole lot. You might find some paying to get the lot checked and then separating anything interesting. But still, their goal is going to be to sell the coins, not hold onto them.

Decades packed into little albums

It’s a similar story with a stamp collection. Your children may see and understand how much work you’ve put into collecting them all, but they may have absolutely no desire to continue it. A lot of stamp collections contain pretty common stamps, after all.

The actually valuable ones are extremely rare. That’s why it makes sense to get an appraisal followed by a sale to another collector, while holding onto any sentimental ones.

The vacation home on wheels

The plan might’ve been to keep the RV in the family forever, but really, your kids probably have a different idea. There’s the RV insurance to pay for, for one. Then there’s the registration and storage, along with the repairs and tires. You also need somewhere rather large to park it. 

All the while that’s happening, the vehicle itself is losing value, so most adult children decide they’d rather be done with it all. They decide to sell it. Sure, they’ll hold onto fond memories of the road trips, but they can do that without owning a 30-foot vehicle.

Fun stops when the bill arrives

Let’s get one thing straight, being on a boat is great. Owning one is where things get complicated, and most adult children know that. They know it’s a pain to pay for things like fuel and storage, along with insurance.

There are so many ongoing costs that come with ownership beyond the purchase price, and not everyone wants to deal with that. That’s why they’ll decide to get rid of the boat at the first opportunity that they get.

Forty Christmases in cardboard boxes

It’s not like anyone’s deliberately trying to collect 14 boxes of Christmas decorations. That sort of thing just happens. You get a wreath one year and more lights the next, followed by ornaments from every vacation and sentimental tree toppers. It’s a lot.

Many adult children don’t want to keep hold of that, especially since these decorations become a sad reminder every year that you’ve passed. They’ll save the handmade ornaments and anything with family meaning. But the rest of it goes up for sale before the festive season even begins.

The garage has a new problem

It makes sense to have a riding mower when you have half an acre of grass waiting for you every Saturday. The thing is, your kids likely have a very different setup, since they might rent or not have a lawn at all.

There’s the maintenance side of it, too, like the oil and blades. You’re best off asking your kids whether they actually need the mower. If they don’t, then maybe you could do the selling part for them instead, just to make things easier.

The system that cost a small fortune

Here’s one that could hurt a little. You likely spent years putting a stereo together and swapping components, maybe buying better speakers, too. You could really hear the difference. While your kids may appreciate all of that, let’s be real. 

They’re still listening to music through their phone and a Bluetooth speaker. They’re not going to be interested in holding onto something that they’re not going to get any use of, so they’ll sell it.

Sources: Please see here for a complete listing of all sources that were consulted in the preparation of this article.

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