Sell Your Stuff To Make More Money

You can always sell your stuff.  That “stuff” differs from person to person but, for the most part, it’s that collection of things that we have accumulated over the years that was important enough at one point to keep.  We know that some people might refer to it as “junk”, but we know better.  There was a reason we kept it.  It may remind us of a certain time in our lives, been a gift from someone we loved or been something we just knew would be valuable someday.  By the time most of us reach retirement age, we have a lot of “stuff”.

So, what do you do with it?  One option is to just throw it all out.  The fashionable term for that is to declutter and it’s become something of a trend.  Getting rid of things you don’t want is usually considered a healthy thing to do and the people who have had the courage to do it point to the emotional well being that came from those actions.  They felt liberated.  You hear that all the time and I hope that it’s true.  I’m not sure I would feel better about myself if I unceremoniously filled up garbage bags with all the things I’ve collected over the years.  There is some emotional attachment to some of my finer pieces of junk.  And, believe me, I have some fine pieces of junk.

When You Sell Your Stuff,
It May Be Hard To Get Rid of Some Items

When we moved to our new retirement location, it was preceded by weeks of getting rid of stuff that had filled the basement.  We didn’t sell our stuff; we gave it away or threw it out.  We had waited too long to organize a strategy for selling it.  We are very aware that some of our collectibles might have generated a few dollars, but we just didn’t have the time or patience.  However, if you’ve got the time, you might want to explore the options to sell your stuff for money.  The old-fashioned way was to have a garage sale or yard sale and take what’s offered.  There are people who do this on a regular basis and make a fair amount of money doing it.  Some of them even build this pastime into owning an antique store and making a profession of it.

The up-to-date method is to offer these items online.  You can actually sell your stuff on the internet by leveraging some of the great websites that are enabling thousands of individuals just like you make money that can help them in their retirement.  While the online avenue might take a little bit of an investment and a bit of a learning curve, your audience is multiplied greatly.  And, if you have some pieces that are valuable for a certain market, you might be surprised at the amount of money you can make.  Those old albums, for example, are offered online by many people at prices that exceed the original purchase price.  It’s something to consider and it can be a very interesting way to learn something new, develop a new skill and make a few extra dollars in the process. We can speak from experience here.  Our daughter brought over some Christmas ornaments a friend had given her and wasn't sure about what to do with them and knew my wife made trips every so often to the local "thrift" store and thought that these might be something that could be part of her next trip.  My wife may be the least "entrepreneurial" person on the planet.  She would give away almost anything before she would try to sell it.  I am still not sure what possessed her to do this, but she searched online to see what she could find out about these orphaned Christmas ornaments.  She was quite surprised.  One of them was being offered on eBay for over $100 with some of the prices even doubling that.  What happened next is still something I have trouble believing.  My wife became an online merchant for these 14 different items and sold all but two within three weeks pocketing over $500.

Was it the beginning of a new career?  Did she take her profits and buy more merchandise to put on sale?  No.  None of those things happened but it brought home the reality that people are making a living doing this every day.  Twenty or thirty years ago people had garage sales (and many still do) but, in today's world you can have access to a worldwide marketplace.  People don't realize how powerful that is and how easy it is.  Online selling is a slick operation that anyone can do including you.

Some People Have Started Businesses Doing This

Why not see what all that junk you have laying around your house can bring you on the internet?  Why not take that idea and turn it into a business?  You’ll be amazed at the number of people, including retirees, doing this already.  Why not target them as a market?  Once you sell your stuff and gain experience, you can put together some ideas and create an e-book about the process.  It is amazing how quickly something like this can become a hobby and then a business.  This website started out as a hobby for retirement which leveraged a few things that I like to do.  I like to write, and I like to help people.  The other thing I like to do is learn new things and that’s what putting this website together did for me.  It’s very satisfying to have people give positive feedback on something they read and even better when they tell me they put something I suggested into practice.

You may find that, as you venture out to sell your stuff, you’re creating new interests and enjoying every minute of it.  Once your creative juices flow, you’ll find that you can’t wait to put your next idea to work.  It’s a great way to spend your day and your retirement.  It’s time to Enjoy Retired Life!

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