Time Wasters? Selling stuff on Craigslist vs. Donating it....

[JaneV2.0]

...

We have a 1950s bamboo framed sofa with original cushions sitting in my cousin's basement--these sell for over $300 if someone is willing to pay that. ...

Oh, I would snatch that up in a heartbeat! I think we had one when I was a child. I guess you wouldn't deliver to the west coast...

Mostly, I donate without a backward glance; I have a few collectible items I'll probably sell on eBay or Yahoo, but very few. I've used Freecycle, too.

[pinkytoe]

We are cleaning out our shed since the city's "bulky pickup" is next week. I found three large boxes of miscellaneous colorful tins that I used to collect - tea, cookies, pasta etc. At one time, they were displayed in the space over the kitchen cabinets. I don't have a clue what to do with them now since they may have some value to someone. Additionally, found quite a few boxes of Avon stuff that MIL used to give us every Christmas. As they say, ugghh!

[rodeosweetheart]

We are cleaning out our shed since the city's "bulky pickup" is next week. I found three large boxes of miscellaneous colorful tins that I used to collect - tea, cookies, pasta etc. At one time, they were displayed in the space over the kitchen cabinets. I don't have a clue what to do with them now since they may have some value to someone. Additionally, found quite a few boxes of Avon stuff that MIL used to give us every Christmas. As they say, ugghh!

Those tins are a hot item right now at goodwill because people like to use them to give homemade candy.

[Teacher Terry]

Something has to be at least $30.00 for me to bother. It also depends on my mood. Sometimes I just put it for free in front of my house since we live on a street with a fair amount of traffic.

[kally]

I have 3 auctions ending in the next few days. A bath rack which should fetch $18 or so, a Le Crueset pot which will probably get $30 - 40 and a book, that will only get about $9, but will have a good home. It doesn't take me long to sell these things. It all helps me declutter and get some money for treats.

My dh has some finishing this week too, a watch at $30, a backgammon game at $14 and something else at about $20. All money in the bank as far as I am concerned.

I think the trick is to take a lot of photos at once so they are all on the camera. Then put the items up for auction 3 at a time (the limit - so dh and I 6 at a time) and just keep tabs on them. Not a lot of work if you are retired, semi-retired or well organized.

[SteveinMN]

Maybe the folks who have sold on both craigslist and ebay can set me straight on this, but I think selling on ebay is a couple of orders of magnitude more complicated than selling on craigslist. There are many more pictures to stage/take (yeah, I know I'm a photographer, but I don't have a studio set up), tending the listing, packaging and shipping... Am I way off base?

[sweetana3]

Steve, you are totally correct. You need to be able to take and download good pictures, develop a good clear and complete description with terms of sale. You should understand the postal system, payment system (paypal) and have the appropriate materials available. You need to be available for questions and ready to process all sales ASAP.

It is important you know your product, set a realistic price, and provide the necessary info for buyers to make a correct buying decision to eliminate as many post sale problems as possible.

We have almost 5000 positive feedback and it is a lot of work. We always figure between 20/25% as our cost of selling on Ebay. But it exposes the product to the geographic area you choose. For years we sold all around the world. Right now, I am limiting the few sales we do the the US only.

[kally]

local facebook swap and shop or auction or buy and sell seems easy to me and it will be all local people.

[sylvia]

Thank you for the awesome replies. I went into the crawl space and donate three boxes of Christmas decorations. Mostly things from my mom's old store she closed and sent it to me with lots of outdated Hawaiian clothes in very small sizes and handpainted ornaments with strange tacky flowers. So I tought I would resell it years ago which I did, sooo much effort and time wasted to make like $20 at the end. This year because we now have a new baby and the things he will get for first Christmas it will get cluttered again. So it was time to go and it was extremely liberating! Literally closing the chapter on the distraction of selling something "one day". Closure is beautiful! I learned to not start "projects". I used to believe we had to stay busy with "projects"

[sylvia]

Sorry I posted this last one accidentally to soon. ......I used to believe we had to stay busy with "projects" as a way of making progress or achieving some kind of hollow success. Now it's to have a clear head and enjoy now.Those were truly distractions. Life is meant to be lived and enjoyed. Relax whenever you can and smile.