Things You'll Need:
- Phone Book
- Internet access
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Step 1
Take inventory of the items you already have. Chances are you already have things in your home that you don't need or are not using. Go through your house with a pen and paper and write down all the things you can do without or you don't need anymore, ie. old CD's, movies, clothing, furniture, appliances, ornamental items, clothing that doesn't fit anymore. As you go through the house set the items aside that you are willing to dispose.
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Step 2
All those items you found and set aside are going to make you some money! You can go through the phone book and find companies who buy your used items. For instance, there are many companies who buy and sell used CD's/DVD's/VHS movies. We took in some of our old CD's and were paid about $96.00 for them. There are many resale clothing stores for children's clothing and adult clothing. We use the money we receive toward the next year's school clothes. There are also resale and consignment furniture stores that buy and sell used furniture. You can find a resale shop for just about anything you own, including used sports equipment, furniture, clothing, CD's and more.
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Step 3
Listing on the computer is another great way to sell used items. EBay is famous for selling used items for people. However, you do have to pay fees for listing and shipping costs. Another great avenue to use is Craig's list. It is a free way to list items for sale, from cars and boats to household goods. You can also post listings for garage sales there. Craig's list has local listings if you don't want to have to pay for shipping charges to ship it somewhere farther away. They also have a "trade" section if you have something and are willing to take something else in trade for it.
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Step 4
Another great way to get "new" items and get rid of unwanted old items is to have a trading party. This is terrific for anything but we will use clothing as an example here. You invite 10 - 15 friends and acquaintances, making sure that there are at least two of each dress size (although we all have things in our closet that are one size bigger and one size smaller!) Everyone agrees to bring in items that they no longer want but that are in good condition. You hang them all on a rack for everyone to look at and draw numbers to go have a look and pick an item from the rack. Everyone goes home with something new and everyone has disposed of something they could not use. You can all agree ahead of time to take any unpicked clothing to a resale shop after the party and split the proceeds, or you can simply donate the unwanted clothing to goodwill or another charitable organization.
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Step 5
Then there is always the old standby of the garage sale. Remember to always have your items "priced to sell". You can look up used item prices on the internet if you are unsure of what price to mark them. Do not forget to advertise your sale with BIG easy to read signs in both directions from your house.
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Step 6
All it really takes is a little time and ingenuity and you will be surprised at the money that you probably have sitting in your house waiting to be discovered!
Comments
CBPope said
on 11/20/2008 I'm gonna try this. I have tons of kid vhs videos that my daughter has outgrown. Thanks for the advice:)