What to do With Your Stuff After a Junk Cleanout
Now that we are making way for summer you more than likely have a pile of stuff left over from this year’s Spring cleaning. Whether you sorted out your basement, attic, garage, or did a whole estate cleanout, it can be difficult to know what in your ‘keep’ pile is actually worth hanging on to. Luckily, there are several ways to not only assess what you have but to make a little extra money while doing so.
1. Finding Diamonds in the Rough
Whatever is left over after spring cleaning is likely something that you have already identified as having some value. The real work is finding out whether each item is a fun keepsake or a potentially valuable item. There are a few common “junk” categories that often have sought after items. Nostalgia is always popular, and any vintage toys that are in reasonably good condition can fetch a few dollars. Along those lines, vintage computers or computer accessories have become hugely popular as they become out-modeled, and can be even more expensive now than when they were first produced. Furniture is about as timeless as it gets when it comes to resale value; people always need places to sit down after all.
2. Know What You Have
Once you have earmarked a few pieces as promising, the next step is the easiest: evaluating what each is worth. Look each item over for brand names and year of manufacture and simply plug the details into your search engine of choice. If it has an interested buyership there will certainly be some traces on the internet. eBay is a great place to get an idea of what people are actually willing to pay for something because of its buyer-driven bidding system (though you should look at a few listings to make sure you don’t overprice your item). If you can’t find anything about your specific item, see if the brand has a forum on their website or on a third party social media like Reddit and post a couple pictures of the item and a request for a price check. Sometimes the people helping you out may even offer to buy the item outright which can be a great way to quickly get rid of something that is taking up a lot of space.
3. Selling the Item
Now that you have an idea of what is really worth something you just have to find the right place to list. The forums that you may have used to find the price are great places to get pricing information, but can be overwhelming places to sell an item due t