Skip the dump. Give it a second life.
Avoid dump fees and keep landfills empty. Bring reusables to our receiving docks — or have our truck come to you.
Four steps to a lighter garage.
Check the list
Items should be sellable as-is and sturdy enough to survive the sales floor. Review what we can’t take below.
Pick the right dock
General Store items: 927 Folger Ave. Building materials: enter the Murray St lot, turn left, stop at the sign.
Arrive by 4:30pm
Receiving opens 8:30am Mon–Sat and 10am Sunday. Please arrive before 4:30 for large loads — we close promptly at 5.
Get paid (sometimes)
For good furniture, antiques, doors and windows we may pay cash or trade credit — typically 10–20% of expected sale price.
What we take — and what we can’t.
Updated March 18, 2026. Receiving staff make all final decisions.
✓Usually accepted
- Solid wood furniture
- Doors & windows
- Cabinets & vanities
- Sinks, tubs & toilets
- Lumber, tile & stone
- Hardware & tools
- Lighting
- Prints, paintings & sculpture
- Musical instruments & records
- Books & media
- Housewares & kitchenware
- Clean adult clothing
- Rugs (clean, rolled)
- Bicycles & sports gear
- Small appliances (working)
- Metals for recycling
✕Please don’t bring
- Household hazardous waste
- Aerosol cans
- Air conditioner units
- Ammunition & explosives
- Batteries
- Bedding & mattresses
- Blinds & curtains
- Cardboard & packing materials
- Chemicals, paint & liquids
- Child items (cribs, car seats, etc.)
- Dirty clothing, undergarments, socks
- Compressed gas & propane tanks
- Disassembled furniture (unless metal)
- Encyclopedias & damaged textbooks
- Flares, extinguishers, smoke detectors
- Freon-containing appliances
- Lead-paint furniture
- Light bulbs (most)
- Mercury devices & microwaves
- Particle board (most)
- Personal care products
- Pesticides & herbicides
- Old or abused plastic
- Sharps & tires
Residential hazmat can go to the Alameda County HHW Facility and many hardware stores. Other items not on this list may be turned away.
Appliance & fixture fees.
Charged at the Receiving Department’s discretion to cover cleaning, dismantling and recycling.
Get ~10% more in store credit.
Selling reusables to Urban Ore and planning to shop? Ask to be paid in trade credit — you’ll receive about 10% more than cash for the same items.
- More value in trade credit than in cash
- Trade credits can’t be converted to cash
- Lost trade credits can’t be replaced
- Sellers of higher-end items must show a California ID
We make house calls.
Free pickups of reusable goods throughout the Bay Area — focused on larger, in-demand items like furniture, cabinets, doors, windows and larger batches of building materials.
- Email photos, your phone number and city to pickup@urbanore.com
- Replies usually within 24 hours, Mon–Fri
- Pickups near Berkeley usually within a week
- High-end items: up to 10% of resale by check or 20% in store credit
Request a pickup
Photos help us say yes faster.
Bought something big?
Tell the cashier and they’ll mark your items for delivery. Fees are paid by cash or check on delivery.
Urban Ore is a mission-based for-profit company, not a 501(c)(3), so we can’t offer tax-deduction receipts.
Have a truckload?
Arrive before 4:30pm for large loads, or email photos to schedule a free pickup.