I had to share this moment with you for a second and take a break from the garage sale blogs…
There’s a feeling you get when you actually sell an item at your somewhat outrageous asking price. A thrill passes through your system and you get a bit giddy. You want to call up your best friend and tell them about your Victory and talk about how ridiculous it is that somebody paid your asking price.
I had one of those moments a few weeks ago. We had a 9″ TV/VCR that we used to use in our van on trips but since we haven’t taken a trip in a while we put it in my daughter’s room so she could watch movies. We have since upgraded her to a 13″ TV/VCR that we had. So we decided to get rid of the TV. I figured that even though VCRs are going the way of the dinosaur there still might be someone who would want it for a summer trip. Plus the TV won’t pick up a TV signal anymore since the conversion to digital, so it won’t have a lot of value. We tried to sell the TV in the garage sale in May, asking $30 for it; no takers.
I did some research on Ebay and found similar ones selling for $50 + shipping. I decided I’ll give it a shot. It only cost me 60 cents to list it. I started the bidding at $9.95 and at the last minute added a Buy It Now price of $69.99. The buyer would pay the actual shipping cost (for 22 lbs.).
I listed the TV on Ebay Sunday night around 10:30pm and went to bed. The next morning I went to read my email and was surprised to see that someone had bought the TV, 2 hours after I listed it! That’s when I got that feeling, the thrill of VICTORY!
The buyer paid a total of $87.41, which included shipping and insurance.
I netted $62.80 after Ebay and Paypal fees.
So thank you garage sale buyers for not buying my TV.
Money for stuff 
Nice work on the TV sale, and nice blog. I’ve just started following it. I have a basement full of stuff I should “set free” in some way. Maybe this is just the inspiration I need!
Chris
I’d more than willing to sit down with you sometime to discuss the best options for getting rid of your stuff. Just let me know!
Michele
Michele,
What a score! You’re so right about the shipping and handling. I found out through a LinkedIn group that I could sell my stash of fabric by the joining the Yahoo! group, SewItsForSale. I lost money on my first sale because I didn’t remember that the post office has those priority shipping boxes for $10.70 and up and you can shipp anywhere in the U.S. I didn’t charge enough for shipping and lost out. But it was nice to earn some cash and declutter. I bought dinner with earnings from one sale and a subscription to a professional magazine with the proceeds from the other sale.
I think I’ll try Half.com for selling a very nice interview suit that I bought a year ago. I was going to take to a tailor, but I know it will cost a fortune to take it down to my size and doing that might ruin the suit, plus, it’s labor intensive (which is why I don’t want to try it myself). I also don’t want to take it to a consignment shop because I need a new interview suit ASAP and don’t have the money to buy one. I’ll let you know what happens.
Yvonne
Yvonne,
Glad to hear you had luck selling some fabric. I know I definitely have a stash of jewelry making suppies and scrapbooking stuff I should go through.
You can’t sell your suit on Half.com because they only sell entertainment items like CDs, games, DVDs, books, etc. I would suggest you try Craigslist and Ebay for your suit, though I’m not sure how much luck you’ll have. There is definitely not as much of a market out there for adult clothing though there may be one for a good business suit. I would see what others are selling like it on Ebay and craigslist just to see if they are selling.
Let me know how you make out. I’m curious.
Michele
Yvonne,
Meant to mention about Big M. I have a good friend who lives in Hilton who always shows at the Big M. He rarely goes to Wegmans and he’s never been in an Aldi’s or Price Rite that I know about but he talks about the bargains he gets at Big M. Definitely someplace to try out if there’s one near you.
Michele