I think you used to empty them, and say vendor redeed, or maybe vendor dismiss did it too. I can't remember fully. But you could redeed them.
Colored ore, granting karma, and combat changes Feb 2 1999 10:57AM
Miscellaneous
- Redeeded vendor deeds will now weigh 90 stones. They can now be looted as well (they will drop to your corpse). Vendors must now be emptied before they can be redeeded.