Tuesday, July 26, 2011

Old School Ebay

wallyg from Flikr. Not totally relevant to this post but a great message anyway

My overall experience with eBay is that you spend several hours photographing, posting, and following your item, and you end up earning around $8 for your trouble. Has anyone had a different outcome? I don't have unrealistic expectations about how much money I will get from stuff I don't really want or need myself, but I feel like the process of getting rid of it can be pretty cumbersome.

I did a little more decluttering last week, and I had a handful of things to get rid of that had some potential value, but were too big and heavy to be easily shipped. Since I'm the kind of girl who knows people, or actually maybe the kind who doesn't know people but does know people who know people, I knew just what to do.

So that's how I had my first pawnshop experience. Chris, a former co-worker from my cubicle days, is now the CFO of TB Goods, a couple of pawnshops in Gainesville and Alachua. Chris is a totally stand up guy and someone with whom I once took a business trip to Delaware (if you've been to Delaware you'll understand), so I knew exactly where to take my stuff!

To make a long story short (do you notice that by the time people say that it's already too late?), I walked out with less clutter and some green in my pocket. It's possible I could have ended up with more money if I had tried the eBay route, but my in person transaction took 45 minutes total, including catching up with Chris, and I think I saved myself a lot of hassle. Lately I value simplicity over dollars, so I am pretty satisfied with the outcome.

I am taking one more shot at eBay sometime soon with a handful of things that are popular brands and easy to fit in a box. I'll let you know how it works out. However, if you're looking for some great advice about selling your crap, I refer you to the expert in the field- Baker from Man Vs. Debt.  If you have any experience with or advice about selling on eBay, help a sister out. Or, you know, start your own blog.

Speaking of simplicity over dollars, I have ended my coupon quest. I think I am the kind of person who ends up spending more using coupons, because reading all of those sale adds just makes me see things and think I need to buy them. Instead, I am going to work on saving money by not buying as much stuff. Some days are more successful than others.

See you soon and don't forget to KISS (keep it simple stupid), even if it means you get less money than you hoped to for your Foreman Grill.

2 comments:

  1. I've pretty much quit the coupon thing with a couple exceptions...Paper towels and razors. Patrick just goes through sooooo many razors! Even, then it's more likely to be a fb coupon than anything else.

    ReplyDelete
  2. I heard a great razor tip recently- dry it really well right after using and store it somewhere dry. The blade really does last longer (even in high humidity).
    Glad to hear from you- hope you're still enjoying the new gig!

    ReplyDelete

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