There’s a simple way to turn dusty possessions into shiny money. Dom Welstead shows you how.
“Junk” is an ugly word. It implies that your unused belongings are worthless. Nothing could be further from the truth. Virtually everything has its price. The clothes you’ll never wear again, the books you’ve read and the Christmas gifts that you didn’t ever want in the first place all have a loving home waiting for them. All you need to do is find the right buyer, and the internet has made that process much simpler.
Use your head to maximise your profit
Online auctions are a great way of converting your unwanted items into cash, and a few golden rules will make the difference between picking up small change or big bucks. Be creative with your listings to make them stand out from the crowd. Include a picture wherever possible. This will cost you a few extra pence but is worth the investment. Set your auctions to end at around 8pm – 9pm on a Saturday or Sunday when most people are at home – a late finish time also allows for the difference between time zones and gives you more chance of picking up custom from abroad, particularly America. Last year I sold a record that I no longer wanted to a buyer in the States for $80. A couple of weeks later I noticed another seller had listed an identical item with the auction due to end on a Tuesday afternoon. I got it for $8, re-listed it and sold it for $70 the following Sunday.
Music to your ears
DVDs, CDs and even old vinyl can still bring in money instead of sitting around taking up storage space. Music buyers in particular are extremely passionate and will pay top money if you have something that they desperately want. If you haven’t got the time or patience to list all of your discs individually on auction sites, there are companies online who will buy them from you in bulk. All you have to do is enter the details and you get an instant valuation and quick payment. There are still a lot of second-hand record shops around so do some research, find your nearest one and get negotiating.
Year-round entertainment – for little or nothing
Once you have cashed in and created valuable shelf space, don’t rush out to fill the gaps with more films, music or books. There are hundreds of online clubs you can hire them from these days. Best of all, your local library has a wide range of movies, music that you can borrow very cheaply – and books of course, that are absolutely free.
Remember be ruthless with your possessions. If you’ve not used it in the last six months or so, the chances are you never will. Clear out your clutter and watch the cash come rolling in.