selling excess suff - what an eye opener

[theconcierge]

So I am embarking on selling my excess stuff (stuff that I bought before I found MMM) and what an eye opener it has been. I have tons of books that I probably paid $30-$40 each that I would be lucky to get $5 for (that I only read once). Play station games that cost me $60-$80 that again I am lucky to get $5.

Getting ready for garage sale and it's sad to look at all the "stuff" i have and how much I would have paid for it. Like a lot of things, as soon as you buy something, it's almost worthless

Good news is I am also getting rid of some bigger items, like my second car, second fridge, new Apple Imac

It's slowly adding up and I am not missing one thing so far.

[Grant Q]

You'll have a huge wad of cash afterwards...now go put it toward your goal!

[limeandpepper]

Well done - I'm in the midst of a "moving out sale" and while I don't have that much stuff, it's still illuminating.

Oh and you're definitely not alone, plenty of us here: http://forum.mrmoneymustache.com/throw-down-the-gauntlet/getting-rid-of-stuff-clearing-out-clutter!/

[EarlyRetirementGuy]

I have tons of books that I probably paid $30-$40 each that I would be lucky to get $5 for (that I only read once). Play station games that cost me $60-$80 that again I am lucky to get $5.

This is the problem with selling 2nd hand stuff and the huge value depreciation. More encouragement to try and live a fairly minimalist life and avoid making such purchases in the first place?

On the other hand, if you've had and enjoyed these items for years then you will have almost certainly consumed the value from them so shouldn't feed bad that they are now worth alot less.

[theconcierge]

total agree on the encouragement to live a fairly minimalist life (exactly where I am headed) . Don't get me wrong there are some stuff (even books) that I have got a lot of use out of - it's just the mountain of other crap that I bought cause I had money, and thought that's what you do in life -that is now worth a faction of the original value that disappoints me.   

[SDREMNGR]

Good job!  And when moving, you don't have to move as much stuff.  Reduction of clothes has been difficult but nice.  I accumulated 2 closetful of stuff and cutting down to just 50 or so of items total that I actually wear has been nice.  Extra suits, wool pants, bro shirts, etc. that I don't wear anymore, has been uplifting. 

[Noodle]

The other lesson to take away is that if there's something you do need/strongly want to purchase, look to see if it's available used first (for me, long books that would be difficult to read before the library return date.) It's great to give something second life that would otherwise be trashed or gathering dust somewhere.

[eostache]

When I go to yard sales I think about how much they paid for all that stuff only to be selling it for next to nothing now. It's kind of sad.

I try to buy most things very cheap second hand (or do without). Most of our furniture is dumpster or curb finds. When we are done with it it can go back out next to the dumpster. I rarely purchase new books. I get them from the library or sometimes pay 25c for one at a yard sale (donate to library when I'm done with it.)

[Ashyukun]

Yup- there can be a considerable shock at how little (and rarely how much...) things you've not considered the value of in a long time are worth now. When we moved into the new house from our respective two old residences we both pared down everything we thought wouldn't be worth the space it would require to put it, which in my case included upwards of 400 DVDs that I figured realistically I'd never watch again. Probably a third of those were not worth enough to list up on Amazon (fees and shipping costs were more than sale price)- which was probably a lot higher a percentage of stuff that would at least sell for a few bucks given it's all relatively niche stuff.

[horsepoor]

It does make you think twice about purchasing any new stuff, doesn't it?  OTOH, sometimes things are actually worth a bit of money - my husband's mother unloaded a couple boxes of his crap on us, and he discovered last night that the 20 or so books from his college French classes are worth anywhere from $10-40 apiece.  The Texas Instruments graphing calculator ... $5 ...  It's weird, she also had his old toy tool set, which was worth like $8, whereas I sold my old toy sewing machine a couple months ago for $100.  Good luck with the decrapification process - it can be addictive.

[golden1]

The other lesson to take away is that if there's something you do need/strongly want to purchase, look to see if it's available used first

+1

[hybrid]

You can only keep so many balls in the air. When you get the next new (or used) thing, whether it be book, PS game, whatever, ask yourself is there something that has run its course since you are now making time in your life for something new. If so, get rid of it. Folks really struggle with stuff continuously coming in but not going back out. Forget the money, the peace of mind from not having a house full of clutter is liberating.

Most books are read once and never again. Get these pieces of detritus out of your house once you are done with them. If you ever feel compelled to read them again, that's what the library is for. People don't keep magazines or newspapers, so the vast majority of books - just another form of printed word - should be treated no differently.

[horsepoor]

You can only keep so many balls in the air. When you get the next new (or used) thing, whether it be book, PS game, whatever, ask yourself is there something that has run its course since you are now making time in your life for something new. If so, get rid of it. Folks really struggle with stuff continuously coming in but not going back out. Forget the money, the peace of mind from not having a house full of clutter is liberating.

Most books are read once and never again. Get these pieces of detritus out of your house once you are done with them. If you ever feel compelled to read them again, that's what the library is for. People don't keep magazines or newspapers, so the vast majority of books - just another form of printed word - should be treated no differently.

This is what makes a Kindle such a beautiful thing.  I don't use the library as much as I should because I have a hard time predicting what/how much I'll read.  At least with the Kindle there's no contribution to clutter, or need to buy additional book shelves.

[hybrid]

You can only keep so many balls in the air. When you get the next new (or used) thing, whether it be book, PS game, whatever, ask yourself is there something that has run its course since you are now making time in your life for something new. If so, get rid of it. Folks really struggle with stuff continuously coming in but not going back out. Forget the money, the peace of mind from not having a house full of clutter is liberating.

Most books are read once and never again. Get these pieces of detritus out of your house once you are done with them. If you ever feel compelled to read them again, that's what the library is for. People don't keep magazines or newspapers, so the vast majority of books - just another form of printed word - should be treated no differently.

This is what makes a Kindle such a beautiful thing.  I don't use the library as much as I should because I have a hard time predicting what/how much I'll read.  At least with the Kindle there's no contribution to clutter, or need to buy additional book shelves.

Agreed. I have a subscription to The Economist. I used to get the print version, now I get the digital. I get it faster, have access to multiple magazines, and it's always there for me on my iPad. I don't miss the magazine clutter a bit.

[MikeBear]

So I am embarking on selling my excess stuff (stuff that I bought before I found MMM) and what an eye opener it has been. I have tons of books that I probably paid $30-$40 each that I would be lucky to get $5 for (that I only read once). Play station games that cost me $60-$80 that again I am lucky to get $5.

Getting ready for garage sale and it's sad to look at all the "stuff" i have and how much I would have paid for it. Like a lot of things, as soon as you buy something, it's almost worthless

Good news is I am also getting rid of some bigger items, like my second car, second fridge, new Apple Imac

It's slowly adding up and I am not missing one thing so far.

That's why you sell them at higher prices with creative auctions on Ebay, or separate ads on Craigslist for the big stuff you don't want to ship. Garage sales don't make money, because people know they can get the stuff for nothing. Just look up what you have in the COMPLETED auctions on Ebay, and see what it's selling for. You might be very surprised to see what people will pay.

After I discovered MMM about 4-5 months ago and got financially "re-orientated", I started selling stuff myself starting on May 10th. So far to date (2 months) I have made: $6,911.37 and paid off my wife's and my cars years early. That allowed me to UP my 401k deduction, so I will max out this year at $23,000. I might even have enough to do a Roth at $7,500.

I still have MUCH more stuff to sell, and it's been fun. I CAN'T wait to see what sells next, and for how much. Ebay has free listings through the Summer, though they take a cut when it sells. I'm thinking I'll quit just before I get to the $20k limit where they send you a tax form.

[horsepoor]

Wow, that is amazing, MikeBear!

[MikeBear]

Wow, that is amazing, MikeBear!

I've been amazed myself, as I didn't want the hassle of dealing with Ebay. However, I'm 55 and have little time left to get my stash up where it needs to be.

The biggest "secret" for a little less hassle is to try to sell each thing or group for over $100. For instance, if you have a "desirable" game cartridge as determined by Ebay's completed auctions, they go for bigger bucks. Maybe throw in a couple less desirable cartridges in that same auction. It gives it a little higher worth, and might be better than a separate auction for every single item.

If somebody has already sold the same item, click on their auction, and there will be a "Have one to sell? Sell now" button right under the photos. If you click that button, it'll pre-fill out some of the stuff, and place your auction in the same category. That saves time.

GOOD photos, and GOOD auction titles is what grabs them to look at your auction in the first place. I have an older Olympus 4mp camera that takes BETTER photos than my sons 10mp Sony camera. If you don't do those right, figure out how to, or you won't make any money. Studying those "complete" auctions will really teach you what you need to do, and what sells.

[socaso]

Sometimes you can turn decluttering into repurposing. I took some beat up old towels and cut them into rags which we use all the time for cleaning since we have a messy little kid. We've saved a lot on paper towels since putting the rags into action.