Saving money can be quite hard to do if you are on a tight
budget, but all of us can do it very simply by selling the
things that are cluttering up our homes and which we no
longer need. I am fairly sure that most of us, if asked,
would like some extra cash to help pay off a loan or other
debt, or to put towards something nice like a holiday or
something else that you would like to save up for.
What Can I Sell to Save?
The answer to this question is almost anything. You would be
surprised what people are willing to buy if they like one
particular thing you own or if they are interested in
collecting certain things. Below is a list of things that
you might find in your home and could sell, but this is by
no means a complete list. Use your imagination and have a
good look around the cupboard under the stairs and the
garage! You can also have a look on the Internet at sites
specialising in collectables and memorabilia – these will
give you an idea of what people are interested in buying and
most importantly for you, how much you can charge.
Advertising and packaging – This can be much sought after by
collectors if they are in good condition. Certain types are
more popular than other for example cigarettes, food and
cosmetics products. They do not always necessarily have to
be old – I recently sold a tin that contained candies, which
I bought about a month ago. I sold it to a woman who paid 10
dollars for it because she was collecting tins from this
particular brand of candy and my one had a famous cartoon
character on the side of it.
Autographs – Do have an old autograph hanging around from
someone you admired when you were a child? These could bring
in anything from around 10 dollars to 7000 dollars if it is
from someone really famous and there are few others around.
Baby care accessories – these can be incredibly expensive to
buy new these days and many first-time parents look for
second-hand items that they can pick up at a reduced price.
Books – Rare books and first editions can bring in
significant sums of money. We've all checked our kid's Harry
Potter books to see if they are a first edition haven't we!
Bottles – Yes I did say bottles! Old and rare bottles are
extremely collectable and can earn you anything from 5
dollars to 5000 dollars. These could include stoneware beer
bottles or 19th Century poison bottles.
Records – Old and rare records in good condition can earn
you a few dollars, if you are old enough to remember what
records are!
Toys and games – Old and rare toys and games are a
particular collector's favorite, as are newer ones that are
connected with popular films and TV series. The latter need
to be in really good condition. 20 years ago, as a kid in
his mid-teens, my cousin was buying Star Wars figures and
keeping them sealed in their packets. They are now worth up
to 250 dollars each! You can still get around 20 dollars for
figures that are no longer boxed but are in good condition.
As you can see, the phrase "in good condition" keeps coming
up and this is the key to making money from your unwanted
belongings. A damaged item will sell for far less than one
that is in good condition and may not even make you any
money at all.
How and where can I sell?
Once you have something that you want to sell, there are
many ways of doing it. The following are just a few ideas.
To start with you could ask your friends, neighbours and
work colleagues if they are interested in what you have.
Many companies have an internal newsletter or Intranet where
"items for sale" can be advertised for free. You could use
classified ads in local newspapers and on the Internet –
many of these are also free. Garage sales and car boot sales
are other options if you have quite a few things to sell.
You may also wish to consider using Internet auction web
sites such as Ebay. These are now hugely popular with
millions of items being bought and sold at any one time, all
over the world. You are certain to find that items similar
to that which you intend to sell are already being sold by
someone else on the Internet, so you can see what sort of
purchase values they attract. This will help you decide on a
suitable starting price for your own items. Sites like Ebay
make their money by charging you a small listing fee and by
taking a small percentage of the final selling price.
About the Author: Emmanuel Mendonca is the webmaster and
publisher of Debt Genius at http://www.debtgenius.com - a
free source of information and advice on debt consolidation,
getting out of debt and on saving money. Debt Genius also
accepts articles for publication from expert authors.