MAG, you have a couple of good options. Both require some work, but they can result in some tax benefits or cash in your pocket.

Scan through eBay and see if the size and type and period of the suits you're selling are there. If they're selling for prices you'd like to aim at, then find, borrow, or make yourself a mannequin (I have a blouse I stuffed with paper and sewed the neckline, sleeves, and bottom shut, and it has a hanger "built in" to this stitched in arrangement). Put the suit on it, and photograph front and back. Try to keep the background neutral. A wooden door, a curtain, but not an interior shot of your house. Try to keep hands and feet out of the photo. Photograph the label. Describe the wear, any mends, or if it is in perfect condition. Put it in a box and weigh it, calculate the postage, and you can start low and charge postage, or you can add a couple of bucks to the postage (calculate shipping it to the farthest point from you in the U.S. via USPS usually works for this) and call that your opening bid and be sure to promote "FREE SHIPPING."

Yes, this is work, but once you get the hang of it you may decide to sell a few things online. Unlike a garage sale, where you rely on people who want these things to come up your driveway, this is putting it out where people who want it will search for it.

If this is too much work, then follow my second suggestion: you know how much you'd get (ballpark) on eBay for this suit. You might even print up an auction with one like it as a point of reference. I use a sewing cutting board (a big cardboard piece with a grid on it) and photograph the item on it (it helps for scale). Bag it up and donate it to the Goodwill or the Salvation Army or whoever is your charitable organization, and ask for a receipt. Before you forget (I do this monthly), create a Word document, and describe the suit, made by X designer, size X, $200 new, etc. I'll do a new paragraph for each photo, and if there are several things in the photo, I price them each and add them up next to the photo. Anyway, put down the thrift store or eBay value when you state the value. Maybe you know it is reasonable, based upon research, to sell this for $45 on eBay. So list it as a $45 donation, and I usually take the photo and reduce it and add it to the side of the description in that document. I print it out every month and if I donated all to the same place I attach one receipt and just list it as March 2009 donations. The metadata on your photo, if you have a digital camera, can back up when you took the photo and help jog your memory if you wait a while to do the donation sheet.

I had a little over $2000 in donations to two main organizations based upon the thrift store, garage sale, or eBay price of things. I've been sorting out estate stuff for years, and I have a lot more ahead of me. This is one way to at least keep your taxes down, or avoid paying each year, by donating stuff you don't need but that retains value.

This is long, and I'll leave this as a stand-alone post, because if you want to print it for yourself as an idea of how to deal with these items, it's here and ready to go.

SRS