The UnHoarder Dynasty

[CrimsonFox]

I've come to the conclusion that I have too much stuff. Too much this too much that, too much stuff packing the shelves, too much stuff on the floor, too much stuff in the closet, too much stuff in storage, too much of everything.

And I want it gone. The problem, I am also a procrastinator. Another problem, I never want to part with anything. Another problem, I want to get something for everything (as in not get rid of it without getting something in return.

But I'm slowly but surely trying to change. To back up a little, I am NOT a Hoarder. I don't keep rooms of cat feces and I don't buy tons of things at garage sales and I don't buy 50 of everything and I don't let things deterioriate do much they are health hazards. I just have too much stuff and therefore cannot enjoy the stuff I have, nor can enjoy anything else I get.

So why this thread? An account to keep tabs on myself for getting rid of things and the making a game out of it might help me stay on track with it. (As that is something that always happens). Also if people get use out of some of the methods I find myself, then maybe it will help them rid their own clutter.

Edit: I'm going to go back through and highlight the tips I've come up for myself in nice safe boldface blue

So let's hit it...

[CrimsonFox]

First: The stuff I know... and the stuff I've tried:

1) craigslist

craigslist used to be great for furniture and big things. LIttle things however I've never been able to sell anything. Just chairs and mattresses and computer monitors and such. Anything that is big and crappy, someone will want.

Recently they have been implementing a fail system of phone authentication for every post. It doesn't work. Neither does their customer service. Then again it's not a huge loss considering that most people that reply to craigslist ads flake out an d you never hear from them again.

Tip: What I have found is that large furniture items sold very cheaply sell better on craiglist than small media items, but you'll probably get 5-10 emails from no-shows before you connect with 1 who actually comes to buy.

2) ebay - I've been scared of ebay for a long long long time even though I've said to myself. I need to sell this on ebay. I just never really knew the methos to use and especially was scared of the postage and mailing of stuff. I have finally figured that out.

Tip: Don't be scared of ebay. It's got lots of help online now and does the postage for you EXCEPT for weighing. COnnect it to paypal to make things supereasy. Just be prepared for two facts. Ebay charges you a final selling fee AND paypal charges you a use fee. And paypal is owned by ebay. Neat huh? (Luckily you don't have a listing fee. You get 50 free lists a month if they are auction style bids. Buy it now types are not free unless they are both auction AND BUY IT NOW.


3) well this is just "other places", mainly specialty stores. That is a tougher nut to crack. More research needed everyday.

[CrimsonFox]

4) Charity - The "give something away" thing. There are plenty of these but some are not actually charities...some give you something and some do not but make you feel better about where you give it.

Half price books - A place I used to frequent but have stopped taking my books there. They will give you "money" for books. Which is actually like 50 cents for a box of books. THey also give you a box of excuses about why they can't take an item, won't look at an item, why they are giving you nothing for an item, why they are making a single offer without looking at each piece, why theywon't itemize nor tell you what they think a single item is worth. Heck I was asking just today if they take video game accessories even though they have old xboxes and gamecubes for sale. He said they don't take things like that because it's too hard to set up a console on their TV and prove that it's working. It's just toooooo harrrrrrd,
Interesting. Yeah, they are so rude and worthless I"ve just stopped doing any shopping there. And their prices really aren't that good compared to other used book stores and thrift stores

Value Village - A thrift store chain. Awesome place. If you take enough stuff there they give you a tax donation form AND a coupon for shopping there. This is NOT a charity but a business. They make money for themselves. But for stuff that is totally crap to you (and that won't sell) it's great to take things here especially for the coupon.

Used book stores - one in particular nearby is awesome and run by sweet old ladies. THey give you credit for your books. And a LOT of it. And the catch, you can't use your credit to just get a free book. They will only let you use 65% of a book's price as credit. But that's still great. If the used book is half price, say 10 dollars. Then you can use your credit 6.50 worth and only pay 3.50 for it. Mainly they do this so they can stay open and I find them worth supporting. However, this means that I'm just getting rid of books to get MORE books and paying for that privilege. NOt a great solution.

Tip: If you want to get something for really bad items, sometimes just getting a coupon or credit is as good as you are going to get. Credit for books is always good and a 10-20% off coupon for clothes is nothing to sneeze at.

Goodwill and Salvation Army - Not places I really want to go. Goodwill isn't really charity as they goodwill stores simply pay their people's wages with the profits they get. Salvation Army pays for um....things which are not charities but rather thigns that aren't the kinds of things I like to support.

Tip: Research charities to make sure they are actually charities. Some aren't and the money does not in fact go to what you think it should.

Children's Hospital Thrift Store - A local thrift store I found that seems to be the first actual charity I've found. All of their sales goes to help pay medical bills for children. That's it. NO coupon, but a tax form. So all in all, at least you get the warm fuzzies that your stuff is actually doing some good.

[CrimsonFox]

The stuff I have - A lot of media stuff, books galore, dvds, vhs, computer games, things like that...but a LOT of them. Some things I've never watched, read, played and probably never will

And vhs...why do I even bother...Well some things are impossible to find otherwise but other stuff I could find elsewhere.

OTher stuff includes costumes and props. Being an actor, director, and event runner for things like haunted houses and such, I tend to accumulate costumes of various sorts from things I"ve helped put on. ebay is really bad if you can't stop buying.

[CrimsonFox]

The Eureka moments - My Eureka moments in ebay came when I finally figured it out (yes there is a point coming). This was last year when I went to several conventions and got lots of SWAG

Origins - I attended Origins Game fair in Columbus and worked there. This gave me access to the SWAG room for helping volunteer. I got 2 bags of stuff. (books and games). I could not possibly take this stuff back with me on the plane so I left it with a friend so that I could sell it at Gencon.


Gencon - And sell I did. I sold most of it in the auction, mostly in the auction store. Most of it sold. The games that did not sell, I sold to friends. The books that didn't sell I sold to a passer by for a buck apiece.
Helped pay for my trip for sure.


This was the inspiration I needed and working at the auction also taught me a lot about how to price things.

[CrimsonFox]

PAX - Working at PAX I again got SWAG...and the thing is I didn't really want it. It was just crappy Tshirts of horrible quality and some masks and hats. Just crap. Well when I got home and looked on ebay I found that wow this stuff was selling....and I had most of the hot items.

I sold the Twisted Metal Latex mask for around 70 dollars (it went anywhere from 50-100). This not only was a rare con item but it was now also the week of Halloween. I also sold a werewolf mask I had this same week for more than I thought it would sell.

Tip: Sell Holiday-related items right before the holidays. As for Christmas, that's a buying free-for-all.

I sold the various Tshirts sometime for 15 sometimes for 15 for 3. It depended on whether they would sell as solos or not. Eventually Tshirts were going down and I found grouping them worked.

The Skyrim hat. Skyrim gave a "helmet" looking thing. The horns were kind of stiff and plush. But again it wasn't a great thing. It sold for 80 bucks.

Tip: Sell Con swag IMMEDIATELY! I waited on the Tshirts too long and they were already going down. The Skyrim hat started going down AFTER I Sold it. But went back up a month later when another event happened...the release of the game. So TIMING CAN BE EVERYTHING.

So selling this stuff really taught me the basic principles of just taking a picture (a must), pricing hot items and setting up ebay items in general. And of course, postage. (which was the thing that scared me so). Postage is easy if you use priority mail. It just depends on whether you think priority mail postage prices will detract bidders or not.

Tip: The World of Postage!

1) The best option is Priority Mail boxes. These have a set rate. When you print the postage from your computer at home it is cheaper too. If you want you can arrange a pickup. AND tracking and confirmation is included.

The problem is this.
An envelope is 4.90. And it has to be flat or not too thick booklike to fit.
A small box is 5.20. I have gotten ONE T-Shirt and things like that to squeeze into these. That's about it.
Medium box is what I used most and they come in 2 sizes. Big RPG books and stacks of things fit well in them. BUT it is 10.85. That can be a turnoff to people as shipping...unless the item normally skyrockets (like D&D 3.5 books below) or it's something unique like clothes (where it seems the bidders bid helterskelter not caring how much shipping is). Anyway all big things go in here. But like a single book in here? Forget it. Sometimes though just saying FREE shipping will help you get more bids. BUT that means you are paying shipping (ie out of your profits ) so you might increase the starting bid. It's tricky...
Large box is $15.20. So hopefully it's worth it.

2) Media Mail. I send all books via Mediamail. Media Mail is allowed for only certain items...there are:
- any book
- any recorded item (DVD, Tape, CD, VHS)
BUT...
- It CANNOT be a blank media (blank disc)
- It CANNOT be a computer or video game
- It CANNOT be a magazine
But the great thing about mediamail is it's *(#^^ing cheap! They measure by the pound. It's like $2.50 for a pound. And like 3 pounds is $3.83. Anything from 5-10 pounds is all the same and a little over 5. So it is a must for books. But you don't get confirmation or tracking. One last thing. You must not seal it until you are at the post office. Usually they don't want to see but it IS a rule saying they must be able to inspect it to make sure it's mediamail.

3) Parcel Post - Expensive. Be careful. They really have increased the rates. You are probably better off using a Priority Mail box instead of this. If it's over 13 ounces, you are pretty fucked.

[CrimsonFox]

So anyway that gave me confidence and led me to start selling other things, especially D&D books I didn't want. I noticed around November that 3.5 was hot as few people likesd 4.0 anymore and wanted to play old stuff. So sine I had 2 sets of the core books I sold one set for I think 75 bucks. Not bad for something out of date that is heavy and takes up LOADS of space. I sold a bunch of other thigns and took pictures of them inspired to get rid of them. Even jumped into costumes and such too that take up a TON of space. But was less sure of those. Once the holidays hit I got too busy and ended up just getting lazy again.

Which brings me to NOW>>>>>>>>>>February. And I want it all gone. ALL of it! I don't want to be tied down by stuff anymore so let it go...

[CrimsonFox]

The first day's batch of stuff, that ended 2/5:
item #1: A collection of R.A Salvatore books - One thing I have realized on ebay. Books don't sell. Helfprice teaches me that only companies profit off of books. thrift stores would be a last resort I think. But one thing that seems to work...LOTS. putting together a LOT of like items really attracts collectors. So I put these unread new books together in a lot I got as gencon swag along with two preview chapters of two of his books (not really colelctor's items. Just basically the first publish chapters of books. THey were free. The lot of 3 actual books and these 2 previews went for 5 bucks. A dollar each. I"ll take it.
Status: Awaiting payment

item #2: A white sweater with large wooden buttons - This took research. I had to figure out how to word it. Got it years ago in a thrift store because it was neat looking but it was too small. Found that the stitching actually had a name: ARAN or fisherman's stitch. Yes playing the "how many key search words can I put into the title" is fun. And it is definitely the type of thing ebay recommends. I've decided to go against the notion that it's good to sell for a dollar because that gets people bidding sooner. Until of course only one person bids... I just don't want to spend the time with packages for a buck. So I'm mostly starting things at 4.99. This one I started at 7.99. It got 14 watchers (a watcher is someone that wants to folllow your bid and the item shows up on their front page), but damnit only 1 bid in the end. Still...getting 7.99 for something I would have taken BACK to a thrift store is money.

Status: Awaiting payment

[CrimsonFox]

item #3: Wizard of Oz book lot: More books I don't read. There were like 18 books or something like that in the wizard of oz series. These were 4 from the middle. NOt colelctor's items but from the mid 80s. But the covers were immaculate and really good covers too. Things that look good AND are in good condition do very well. I debated putting the wizard of oz popup book in with it...but pulled it and retook the picture. That thing is just too cool (and isn't worth much anyway in its condition...would just add to the shipping). Got 5 bucks for this lot. (the starting price which was bid the last day)
Status: Packaged and unsealed. Addressed. Ready for media mail

Item #4: Intellivision Game Lot - I have tried to sell this on ebay like oh...5 times maybe. Have had it for years and years. I never even ever owned an intellivision but had been trying to get one. These things don't go for much at all. But FINALLY someone bid 5 bucks. SOLD! 6 of them, 3 from the IMAGIC series: Dragonfire, Atlantis and Beauty and the Beast. Growing up I vividly rembmer the worlds that intellivision games (and atari) created for their games (when the games themaselves were really crappy.

Ah the power of marketing...




I think watching those takes care of my reminiscing.

Status: Packaged in a box. Awaiting trip to the PO.

[CrimsonFox]

Oh, another word on books. I've had trouble getting rid of them, which is odd because I don't read that much. I have certain memories about some and the art on many is what I like the most. So here's a trick I did for myself. I created a folder on my computer called "library". I then downloaded the book covers of books I know I will never read and put them in this folder. NOw I have the covers and therefore don't need the book anymore. Yes I sound like a mental case. How long have you known me? Anyway it's working.

[CrimsonFox]

Item #5: D&D 4e book lot. MOre past gencon swag that was useless to me. The D&D 4th edition MOnster Manual and eberron player's guide. I had tried selling them individually before to get high prices but that just didn't work. SO instead I batched them together and started the price at 9.99. THe bidding went up to 16. A little disappointing considering how many watchers it had but ehhh...more space yay.

Status: Awaiting payment

[CrimsonFox]

Failure to Let Go

This has not been without waffling. I have gotten things ready for sale and then put them back on the shelf several times. SOmetimes it's just to get them out of the way but other times it's the ole "I don't want to sell that after all". I'm waffling on a group of Marion ZImmer Bradley Darkover novels. 7 of them, all first editions. This is the thing. MOst fantasy really is worth nothing. THere's so much of it. And it isn't that good. But maybe it is. Anyway the counterargument is well this is what I SHOULD be selling. A collection of 1st editions! That should make serious cash! (but it probably won't). I've taken its picture.

VHS was the other issue. I still had a lot of it. So Last month I started going through the box and watching them all one last time. Movies, that's easy. Chuck it! Cause I can get the DVD if I don't already have it. OTher things I wanted to make sure I didn't like it enough to keep it. Luckily I found youtube had versions of some of these so there was no loss. The exceptions here...I pulled out groups...pair of Jim Henson Storyteller episodes...pair of Red Dwarf episodes...and all of the anime I owned. I have a feeling I can find a buyer for the anime. Somewhere. Have started posting in forums of anime groups.
So the other day I finally took the remainer of the box of VHS to the Children's Hospital Thrift Store and they gladly accepted it. They strangely didn't have any for sale but had some (not many) DVDs. They seem to be onboard with selling and accepting whatever they can.
And VHS do sell. But only for like a dollar a piece. And I don't wanna waste time with one a piece, nor do I want to get 8 bucks for 30 VHS. I'll give the charity the profits. Warm and fuzzy feeling. Ahhhhhhhhhhh.

[CrimsonFox]

Today's auction ender's: The items of 2/6

2/6, Item 1: Leftover from PAX, a SWAG Tshirt for the game Prey2. I loved the original Prey but the sequel demo looked nothing like it the original and the tshirt was somewhat uninspired. But it netted me 9.99! (the opening bid)
Status: Packaged and postaged. WIll ship tomorrow.

2/6 Item #2: Long sweater - from some costume closet somewhere. Who knows how I end up with things. This one was in better condition than the other one so put it up for 9.99. Didn't get as many watchers as the other but boy did it finish with a bidwar! Went up to 19.50! women like to fight over clothes for sure. But they alwso like to wait for the last day it seems. And most seem to forget to bid as seen from the first sweater.
Status: Awaiting payment

Item #3: My favorite item...my other full set of Core 3.5 D&D books. started them at 14.99. I also have been setting the shipping cost at 9.99 instead of the full 10.20 it will take to mail them. I can suck the 21 cents. I have found people do this. Go a higher price and say free shipping. Or some brave souls even start low AND say free shipping. I am not that brave... I guess there indeed HAS to be a market for the stuff to be sure. But I've also gotten stuck not getting a lot of profits cause half goes to shiping if it doesn't sell well. And I DON"T like that.
The final was a LITTLE disappointing...Started at 14.99 and it went up to....$65.10. Lotsa bidders and 11 total bids.
Was hoping the last few hours would have been the ultrabidwar happen.

I suspect the winner owns a gaming store with a name like Dragoncards and 2304 points worth of feedback (you get 1 feedback per sale/buy IF they give you one...so he's probably sold even more than that).
Status: Awaiting payment

[CrimsonFox]

Things ending tomorrow:

2/7 Items

#1: Dictionary of Dream Symbols - a book. I must have been crazy to list a single book. But I think I just needed to get myself listing something that day. And I knew how to market to the hippeedippeegothstonecrystalrubbers. But even 3.50 price didn't get a bite. Maybe I"ll find some other like things to sell...Ooooh I have an incense burner! perfect! ANyway no bids, no watchers and only 4 views of the item. Probably won't sell.

#2: Collection of Grateful Dead LPs. I do have a nice record collection and actually got rid of a third when I moved. But I kept these. Why? I don't like the Dead much except for their hits. A little background. Many years ago I knew a stoner guy and he just gave me a box of records he didnt' want anymore. Okay. great. records. I got rid of many of them but kept these for one reason: "someone might want them and buy them". This is where when I watch Hoarders, that dangerous part of my personality I see. Keeping something just to keep it because I can sell it....I've even got a box dedicated to things I should sell that I've had for years. Well I'm tired of that box and everything in it. It's time to actually ....ahem...nut up or shut up.

So These albums. It's funny. Some have no hackets some have no sleeves. I looked some up. Some are studio albums some are concert albums (zzzzzzzzzzzzzz....the dead are known for long boring jam sessions on stage. I think you HAVE to be stoned to appreciate them because musically...p.u.)
And the funny thing is it is hodgepodge. Many of their albums are 2-4 record sets. Though I have like 1 record here of a 4 rec set and 1 of a rec set there...all over the place. Even have two copies of the same album. SO I list them that way on ebay. Even told the story of my stoner friend. It seems to work better for you if you are totally upfront about the condition of things and let THEM jduge whether they want to risk it. lps from a stoner friend Cant be in that good of condition. I price these to move. Started at 5 bucks.
It is up to $11.33. Go stoners!

Tip: There is a market for LPs. Group them together by artist to get bids, but start low enough. But as with all items, describe the condition. Telling a story of how you got an item is a fun way to present an item and sometimes they are bidding on the story.
#3: Jim Henson VHS - The Storyteller - This was the series with John Hurt. Kickass stuff. real classics. Muppets was great comedy but this was great drama (with muppets). But I have the dvds so what do i need these for. No one is buying these much on vhs but the occasional sale is made i notice. (ALWAYS research whether people are actually buying something that you are about to sell and price accordingly or don't bother if it won't be worth it....time your sale around others you see with the advanced time feature!). And then I get a watcher... But problem. My brother's birthday is coming up and I'm thinking he and his family would love these so now I don't want to sell them. I would just rather give them to him (along with the red dwarf vhs and a worthless lord of the rings glossary book and all but destoryed D&D books to give to his daughter (she wants to learn to play)) So now that I don't want to sell them I basically went in and edited the item (you can do that as often as you wish but you really should only do it before you have ANY bidders otherwise they can unbid with a valid reason) and I raised the price so they won't bid on it. I think I might see if they'll bid the high bid after all before mailing it out to my brother tho. heh.

#4: An original survivor T-shirt. From the show. Well it isn't from the show. But it was one of the original tshirts sold in stores during the 1st season of the show. Have never worn it and was in the "want to sell" box.
Strangely no watchers but 21 views which is a lot. HOping someone will jump in. Priced at 5.99. Maybe high I guess. Will try again if it doesn't sell.

[CrimsonFox]

Items for 2/8:

#1: A pair of books by and about Pope JOhn Paul II. No bites yet.

#2: A triplet set of MOnty Python VHS. Biographies and such from A&E. 2 views, no bids.

#3: An unopened sealed NOKIA headset for an old cellphone. 12 views so far. Hopefully people want it. I hear technology sells even old tech.

#4: D&D 3.5 Eberron books: The Eberron Campaign book and the Eberron Sharn book. My opening bid of 9.99 has been met and it looks like the guy upped his original bid too to make sure he wins it. Hopefully by the end someone will up it more or at least make him pay for it. (Something I occasionally do if I'm pretty sure someone has bid a high price on something is to keep upping my bid until I'm just under the round number. That makes them pay more). Anyway, I'm happy with 10. HOping for more. Those thick RPG manuals are just shelf hogs and worse when you have to move them. Ugh heavy! Someone else give them a nice home.

#5: A wolf tapestry pillow panel. A small square with a nice wolf on it. Has to be sewn onto a pillow though. LIke I want to do that ....right. Anyway. Priced to sell at 4.95. One watcher.

[CrimsonFox]

The unsold:

only 2 items have gone unsold so far. Not a bad record.

1) A magic the gathering book : The planeswalker's guide to ashara or something. more swag. VERY nice art really. WIll think about this. Maybe I'll keep it or trade with friends.

2) Another small tapestry...this one of a british foxhunt from the 1700s (I looked it up!) LIke the wolf this came from...wait for it....my "Tapestry phase". A time in my life where I was making lots of dough and spending it on crap on ebay...like tapestries! (I don't understand it either...) They've colelcted in a box and now I'm going through them. Already gave my mom a blanket and a nice orange embroidered tablecloth and my brother another blanket that I didn't want as much as I thought. ebay can be a good place for gifts years later

[CrimsonFox]

Items for 2/9:

#1: A teal sports jacket I got a long time ago. Barely ever worn. My best freind 's wife picked it out for me. Well...that was a mistake. And I should just get rid of it. Starting price 5.99 and 2 watchers. Hopefully they are just waiting to the end.

#2: A polyester dracula cape I've used in various haunted houses. It's actually great for outdoors, but I've got better stuff since then. $5.99 no watchers yet.

#3: A white and black robe. Bought from ebay a long time ago. DOesn't fit me. looks very homemade goth larp type. That's the fun thing about making the subject/tag line. putting all the buzzwords in to attract everybody. I put: BLACK WHITE ROBE Wizard Steampunk Witch WICCA LARP Ghost Vampire Goth Gothic
Will see which of these types of geeks it attracts.

#4: A cat figurine made of wicker and fluff. I sense this is destined for the thrift store.

#5: One Smoking Jacket. One of 2 smoking jackets I own (from past ebay buys) I like this one less. I like the belt on it though so I think I'll keep the belt. 2 watchers, 28 views

[CrimsonFox]

Items for 2/10:

only one lot...I've been bad.

#1: Edward Gorey book lot. I have 5 of the small books from Gorey. Great cartoonist. If you've ever seen "Mystery" on PBS, the animation at the beginning is from him. His most famous book is The Ghashleycrumb Tineys which feature 26 kids (of alphabetical name) who die in various ways that rhyme. (My favorite is Edith who died of enniu). Yes hard to part with something I actually like...but I am keeping Amphigorey which is a collection of them. And I'm up to 4 watchers, 2 bidders and $11.11. This was a good item.

[CrimsonFox]

I didn't list anything yesterday or today. But now that things are selling I am packaging and printing out addresses and postage. The nice thing is that you can print and pay for the postage at home. You can also arrange to have them picked up but I have to go down there to weigh some items. I said before you can scare people away with high postage rates. But books (and anything that's a recording EXCEPT a computer game) can go in media mail. That's REALLY cheap. I use that for books cause books are ridiculous weight/pricewise. Except when I know they are hot items that will sell high like the D&D books. THose I am sending priority cause I know the price won't scare people away.

Packaging So far...
packaged up and addressed the Intellivision games, the Prey2 shirt and have the oz books in an envelope. You have to keep media mail open so that the mail people can inspect the items. THey won't let you mail it media mail otherwise.

I realize I need more bubble envelopes. Must find a cheap source. I recall Target being the cheapest for bulk envelopes. but didn't have much selection. I don't recall office max or depot being anything but too expensive.

[CrimsonFox]

At this point I am waiting really. I'm not packaging up stuff until the people pay for their stuff. Cause I may need to relist otherwise (and leave nastigrams).

[CrimsonFox]

In case you're curious. Yes I did play World of Warcraft and would spend hours at the Auctionhouse alone. So at least I"m making real money now instead of fake money. And don't let my rambling hog all the thread. If anyone has their own tips or stories of things they've sold or trying to sell or even questions about how or where to sell something, feel free to chime in.

[Izulde]

This dynasty inspires me to want to try my own eBay selling, although I don't have much, if anything, here in Las Vegas I'd want to move. Pretty much all of the stuff except a train set I had that I got rid of when I helped my parents clean last summer we gave away to Goodwill.

Interesting thing about Value Village - the one in the city I grew up in is awful. Smells bad, overpriced and very sketchy. So like most places, it's a case by case basis.

[Autumn]

Good stuff. I had to really work to convince myself to offload a lot of books and CDsand movies yeras ago when we moved. It can be more difficult than it seems sometimes, but once you start doing it, it gets easier. Taking pictures of stuff was a great way to let some of it go.

I really recommend Amazon for selling books. We made a lot of money selling books there, paid for our whole move. It's really shocking what some books are going for, and not usually the ones you think would be expensive.

We also made, and make, big use of Paperbackswap.com and its affiliated sites for CDs and DVDs. You send books or movies or CDs to people who have them on their list, and get credit. We now almost exclusively get "new" stuff through these, I haven't bought a book or movie or CD in forever. If you want to declutter, you can let the credits build up, but you'll know that you can always use them to pick up something new that you wanted. I found it was much much easier to get rid of things knowing that in return I could get something I want more. And in the end there's not all that much stuff I want now.

[CrimsonFox]

Wow! I'll have to check that out thanks! Because Books and VHS were the two toughest things that I have a lot of. Books just don't go for anything. Even giving them to the charity thrift store, THEY don't even charge much at all for them so they aren't really making anything much either. (although I suppose every little bit helps). I just have so many books that it seems a waste to just give them all away and get nothing for them.

[CrimsonFox]

So how does the amazon thing work and what kind of success have you have with stuff there. My reluctance to even TRY to use amazon is that so many people are selling the same copy of the book you have. And oftentimes for less than a dollar. And going through books one at a time seems like a drag.

[CrimsonFox]

Autumn, what's your username at swapacd and swapadvd? I will put your name under referral. Maybe they'll give you points or something.

[CrimsonFox]

Payment update....

The first to pay was...The intellivision guy.

Then the wizard of oz collector (whose name was actually something like "ozbooks". Guess he liked what he saw even though the editions are nothing special.

Then the prey2 tshirt. Finally the first priorty box where I can just pay for the postage and slap it on. The other two I have to package and weigh at the post office. And the books I can't even close the package yet. Because if you mail media mail, it has to be open in case they want to inspect it. Anyway the PO lady didn't raelly care. She just wanted me to be finished.

Overnight came the long sweater (not the fisherman tho)...and finally early this afternoon...the Core 3.5 D&D books! The big haul.

So I packaged all these up, taped the addresses to them and hauled them to the post office.

Along with all the extra stuff including the Storyteller VHS I'm sending to my brother. I set the VHS there to 25 bucks up from 10, so that thing isn't going to get any bids.

Still waiting for payments for..


The fisherman sweater...
the 4e D&D books...
the salvatore/drizzt books...

I picked up some more bubble mailers too at target. (they have them in bunches of 6 for med sized and 4 for big ones). These are mostly for media mail books. That's the only way to go for that stuff.

[CrimsonFox]

Now to leave feedback and mark the ones shipped that need to be (priority packages you print out postage for automatically include tracking and delivery confirmation...so ebay takes care of that for you)

[CrimsonFox]

Originally Posted by Izulde

This dynasty inspires me to want to try my own eBay selling, although I don't have much, if anything, here in Las Vegas I'd want to move. Pretty much all of the stuff except a train set I had that I got rid of when I helped my parents clean last summer we gave away to Goodwill.

Interesting thing about Value Village - the one in the city I grew up in is awful. Smells bad, overpriced and very sketchy. So like most places, it's a case by case basis.

That's a very common name tho. It does not mean it's all from the same chain. I don't even know if this one is national. But the ones here are usually quite huge and have a lot of stuff, really good quality too. Although you have to wash clothes as they are always caked in strange smelling dust. Maybe mothballs?

[Autumn]

Originally Posted by CrimsonFox

So how does the amazon thing work and what kind of success have you have with stuff there. My reluctance to even TRY to use amazon is that so many people are selling the same copy of the book you have. And oftentimes for less than a dollar. And going through books one at a time seems like a drag.

Basically what we did is look up a book. If it's going for a buck, forget it, we would post it on paperback swap. If it was going for a reasonable amount, we'd post it on Amazon. We almost always charged just under the lowest price on there, or lowest price for the same condition. It varies wildly, and we found it was worth shooting for the moon. There'd be some lame ass book on there for $70. We'd say "They're crazy" and post it for $10 or something iand it would sell in one minute. We started putting those kind of books up for $60 and it would actually sell!

A lot of stuff won't sell, but within a few months we made $1,000 just posting random ass books on there.

[Autumn]

Originally Posted by CrimsonFox

Wow! I'll have to check that out thanks! Because Books and VHS were the two toughest things that I have a lot of. Books just don't go for anything. Even giving them to the charity thrift store, THEY don't even charge much at all for them so they aren't really making anything much either. (although I suppose every little bit helps). I just have so many books that it seems a waste to just give them all away and get nothing for them.

Yeah, anything we couldn't sell we'd put on there. That way you know someone who wants it is getting it, and in the meantime we were able to pick up books or CDs or movies that we really wanted instead. It's a nice tradeoff, you can end up getting some special edition DVD you wanted, in exchange for a few dusty paperbacks.

Now the thing is you do pay postage when you send stuff out on there. So there's a sort of investment ahead of time as you bank credits. I've found it worth it though.

[CrimsonFox]

Posting update...

Item #1 for today: overnight I gathered up and posted a bunch of magazines and prayer books from an old church I used to go to. Wondering how well religious items fair nowadays. NOt even any views yet. I may definitely change its category. If they are a bust I'll probably just throw them away if they are in bad shape and good shape ones I'll just drop off at the charity place.

I think it's better if I do this from posting date instead of finishing date from now on. But I didn't start this until I was way into the ebaying so I did some backlog.

[CrimsonFox]

Items ending 2/7 update.

9 PM: as of now.
The dream Dictionary doesn't look like it will go at all. I found some stuff to group with it perhaps. LIke a yoga book. And something else I forgot. Or maybe I'll use Autumn's paperback swap thing.

The Grateful Dead records will sell. They are at $11.44 with 3 bids and 4 watchers. The westcoasters have an advantage here. I need to time my items right in the future and use the future posting feature (where you can determine exactly when your auction items start) That way more people can be around at the buzzer.

The Storyteller VHS will not sell hopefully. I upped the price to 24 bucks. There are others available of the same type for much cheaper.

The Survivor T-Shirt got a bid today! At last! 25 biews but no watchers, but I'm happy to sell it at $5.99!

[CrimsonFox]

If you would like to follow along on my ebay page, go here:
http://myworld.ebay.com/sircrimsonfox

[CrimsonFox]

And the teal Sportscoat gets a bid Woooot!

[CrimsonFox]

I saw more views on the Storyteller VHS and got nervous, but then found that you can end the item early from the My Ebay seller page. Just right click and end item. You then give the reason. My reason was "item broken". WHich one of the VHS was cracked. It worked for me but well, I'm not lying at least. There were no bids on it though so I don't feel guilty.

[CrimsonFox]

Originally Posted by Izulde

This dynasty inspires me to want to try my own eBay selling, although I don't have much, if anything, here in Las Vegas I'd want to move. Pretty much all of the stuff except a train set I had that I got rid of when I helped my parents clean last summer we gave away to Goodwill.

Interesting thing about Value Village - the one in the city I grew up in is awful. Smells bad, overpriced and very sketchy. So like most places, it's a case by case basis.

Looked up from the Value Village site Las Vegas:
http://www.valuevillage.com/Find-A-Store.aspx

I see they are all called Savers now there although maybe they used to be Value Villages too. Anyway thinking of your description. Yeah depends on the neighborhood. I mean usually thrift stores don't attract all the best people. But the ones up here are very organized. They do kinda have that odor though. I really think it's mothballs or something like that cause every VV smells the same. But it's not like a "someone pooped" smell. They are pretty clean. Overpriced? um...well it's better to go during the week. THey have a colortag sale, granted it's hard to find the right color tag for things you like though. Takes a little time. But I guess yeah. A pair of good pants or a good shirt usually costs like 7-12 bucks. Cheaper if on sale or slightly not perfect. But they don't put out things that are dirty or ratty.
So maybe LV is just full of scum.

[CrimsonFox]

Autumn, questions. Is the Amazon book thing just a "Buy It Now" kind of deal? It looks it. Instead of it being an auction.

Also, the bookswap thing. Still not sure i understand it. But I have put a book on my "shelf". So if someone wants it I have to send it to them and that's that? I'm losing money on this though if I'm paying shipping.
So what happens now? I collect points and trade points in for something?

If that's true wouldn't it be easier just to go buy the thing now without paying shipping costs? Cause I don't see this as trading. I think I'm interpretting this wrong.

[CrimsonFox]

2 more additions to unsold:

The Storyteller VHS (which I ended early and which are already on their way to st louis heh) and the Dream book.

The Dead LPs went up to 13.50 at the last minute thanks to someone from Russia bidding. Whew! glad he didn't win.

And in an hour the Survivor shirt will sell.

The 4e books have now been paid for so I have to get them ready to ship.
Did these media mail (as I wasn't certain if people would bid on them really)

[Autumn]

Originally Posted by CrimsonFox

Autumn, questions. Is the Amazon book thing just a "Buy It Now" kind of deal? It looks it. Instead of it being an auction.

Also, the bookswap thing. Still not sure i understand it. But I have put a book on my "shelf". So if someone wants it I have to send it to them and that's that? I'm losing money on this though if I'm paying shipping.
So what happens now? I collect points and trade points in for something?

If that's true wouldn't it be easier just to go buy the thing now without paying shipping costs? Cause I don't see this as trading. I think I'm interpreting this wrong.

Amazon is not an auction right. If you buy stuff on Amazon, you know how they have a "Buy it New or Used for $X.XX"? Your stuff would be listed there. You would list it at a condition and a price. They give you shipping, I think it's 3.99 for books, and then take a fee if you sell it. There's no cost to list stuff so you can just leave it up there 'til it sells.

With PBSwap, yeah, you do pay the shipping up front when people request things, and then you build up credits. If you request something with a credit it costs nothing, since they're paying the shipping to you. And you can transfer credits between sites, so you can use a book credit to order a CD or DVD (though DVD credits transfer at like a 3:2 ratio I think).

So it's not a moneymaker, especially if you don't use credits (though if you use them wisely it can be. I got stuff like the Special Edition Lord of the Rings DVDs in exchange for mailing out old paperbacks). But if there's stuff you might want in the future, or stuff that you're having a hard time deciding whether to get rid of, it's a good choice. I found I could rid myself of stuff if A) I knew someone who wanted it was getting it and B) it meant I could get something even cooler or more relevant. Like I had a hard time just getting rid of music, even stuff I don't really listen to. but if I could swap it for new music, at least theoretically, I was able to get rid of it.

[CrimsonFox]

Update:

Mailed out my second big batch of packages today. Half priority boxes and half mediamail.

Included in this batch were:
The Survivor shirt (Priority smallbox)
Teal suitcoat (Pri Med)
Fisherman's sweater (sinally paid for)
d&d 4e (media mail)
d&d 3.5 eberron (mediamail)
and
the grateful dead lps

The d&d eberron books got a boost at the end to 15.50
The suitcoat went up to 8.37 and he paid right after the auction ended
Survivor shirt only got the one bid but I'll take it
Grateful Dead LPs had a minibidwar to 13.50
4e books went up to 16.00

I've found it so much easier to deal with the priority mailings. Just print the postage, enclose the box and drop it off. Media mail is a little of a pain.
I might go back to using more priority and just taking a dollar off the shipping cost just to entice more bids, but no one bids on books much IS the problem.

The LPs were kind of funny. There are no real record packages although maybe in a specialty box store there is.

So I took a long medium priority box and slid the albums into it without opening it (and they perfectly fit that way). snipped the ends off. Used the self adhesive to close one end. I had to leave the other end open so the post office could inspect it since it's media. Then I sawed too panels of another box and Put those panels another the other one. Taped all the edges together and insetrted more cardboard to stiffen it. Still had to leave one side open. Once I got to the post office I then went in and taped both edges shut. Nothing like homemade boxes for LPs.

Tip: Make your own boxes for LPs and use lotsa of cardboard to stiffen. Don't forget to write "Do Not Bend" and "Fragile". Then send them Media Mail as they are so heavy.

[CrimsonFox]

Things that didn't sell:

Books that weren't in a LOT.
Books that WERE in a LOT
VHS even in a lot.
The old tech NOKIA phone headset
Tapestries.

The VHS I'm not going to try again unless it's a lot and some really good items. Books I think I'll just try the Amazon and swap sites that autumn suggested plus going to my favorite local bookstore like I did today just feels great. They have expanded and the place just is awesome to browse and more awesome to support. The tapestries I thiknk I'll just relist. It got views and watchers, just no bids. I will try better timing.

[Izulde]

Originally Posted by CrimsonFox

Looked up from the Value Village site Las Vegas:
http://www.valuevillage.com/Find-A-Store.aspx

I see they are all called Savers now there although maybe they used to be Value Villages too. Anyway thinking of your description. Yeah depends on the neighborhood. I mean usually thrift stores don't attract all the best people. But the ones up here are very organized. They do kinda have that odor though. I really think it's mothballs or something like that cause every VV smells the same. But it's not like a "someone pooped" smell. They are pretty clean. Overpriced? um...well it's better to go during the week. THey have a colortag sale, granted it's hard to find the right color tag for things you like though. Takes a little time. But I guess yeah. A pair of good pants or a good shirt usually costs like 7-12 bucks. Cheaper if on sale or slightly not perfect. But they don't put out things that are dirty or ratty.
So maybe LV is just full of scum.

No, the VV I meant was the one in my hometown in WI.

It's interesting that Savers is linked with VV, because the Savers near my house here in LV is pretty decent and one that I like browsing through stuff from time to time.

[CrimsonFox]

Okay all packages from the 3 rounds of mailing sent out. Only things left were the Edward Gorey lot of book which sold for a nice 16.50 (5 Gorey books) and the lot of magazines which hasn't ended but has a watcher.

Getting a little feedback back but not much. Several items have now been delivered to happy customers (as I can see the tracking on the Priority items). The media mail items probably won't get there until Monday at the earliest, or midweek.

All the VHS and most of the books didn't sell. THe tapestries and 2 of the costumes. I relisted the Foxhunt tapestry, the costumes, the Nokia HEadset and the cat figurine (which has a watcher now).

Need to get back into picture taking. I have taken several trips to the storage facility this week (it's just down the street) and found many things that could be lumped into good lots like computer/video games and similar style books.

I also visited my favorite used bookstore. They have expanded into another room and the place looks great. I browsed for quite awhile and bought something with my credit. Am thinking I will probably take a bunch of my crappier single books there as I like supporting them and them really won't sell for much. A good way to just get a bunch out of the way.

I experiemented with the 2 sties Autumn spoke of. So I listed a hardback on Amazon and a paperback on paperback swap. NO action for either but they aren't great choices but I'm just starting slow just to figure it out. I'm still not sure how much Amazon will take out of all the final prices. I saw a number that seemed really high but was not totally sure what I was looking at.

[CrimsonFox]

Oh yeah, I've had one stiff so far on the very first item I listed in this recent session. The RA Salvatore book lot. Sold for a measly 5 bucks for 3 books + 2 rare book previews. No pay. HAve sent him 2 invoices and another message. Nothing. So I just now opened a case against him so he'll pay. Otherwise I will relist. I'm kind of hoping for that. I think I'll add another D&D book to the mix if I do.

[CrimsonFox]

Ah yes and the total so far that I've made from "crap I don't want anymore" is $187.42

[CrimsonFox]

Okay I've figured out Amazon a bit more and confirmed with Autumn my findings (Thanks Autumn!) So I listed 9 hardbacks and oversized trade paperbacks. I guess I just wait until someone buys.
And if I get impatient, either lower the price or group them for amazon.

I do see a need for patience for this.
There IS the old addage that it's better to just sell a big group of things that way you clear out your space faster and the overall price goes up higher.
Granted I don't know if I agree with it for books. Have to be really specialized. But if this works, you're right Autumn, it will be a TON more money that using ebay or used bookstores.

[MacroGuru]

Originally Posted by CrimsonFox

Oh yeah, I've had one stiff so far on the very first item I listed in this recent session. The RA Salvatore book lot. Sold for a measly 5 bucks for 3 books + 2 rare book previews. No pay. HAve sent him 2 invoices and another message. Nothing. So I just now opened a case against him so he'll pay. Otherwise I will relist. I'm kind of hoping for that. I think I'll add another D&D book to the mix if I do.

Which books

You might have a take here...

[CrimsonFox]

um....
new copies of
The Orc King
The Pirate King
(by Saalvatore)

and
Shadowstorm by Paul S Kemp

all those are paperback

also have a hardback of DragonFOrge by James Wyatt...

[CrimsonFox]

Okay heading into unknown waters yet again, here is my amazon booklist with some crazy prices....but where you see a crazy price, it's also the lowest of that exact year/date/kind/cover/blahblahblah

RPG Stuff:
Star Wars Revised Core: 61.99
Star Wars Core (Orig): 14.75
D&D 3.5 Epic Level Handbook: 27.95
D&D 2.0 Castle Sites Accessory Book: 22.00
D&D 3.0 Forge of Fury Module: 9.99
Doloreaux Ironclaw Accessory: 39.50
Home Before the Sky Falls Gamma WOrld Module: 42.00
Gamma WOrld Mutants and Machines HB d20 MOnster Manual: 27.00
D&D 2.0 Dungeon Masters Guide (Black Cover): 19.95
D&D 3.5 Eberron Campaign Setting: 19.95


Misc HB/Trade PB Books:
Santa's Twin: 5.50
The Pope's Rhinoceros: 5.50
Talking to Dragons (unique HB orig cover): 49.95
Daggerfall Strategy Guide: 21.95
The private world of Katharine Hepburn (Giant coffeetable photo book): 39.95
In the language of kings (Mayan poetry/prose HB book): 19.95
Great Looney Tunes Colelction (Music score/sheet music book): 25.00
Dragon FOrge HB (D&D based fiction): 14.95

I'm glad I typed these out. It makes me realize how stupid those starting bids are. But as Autumn said, you never know. But none of this would go anywhere NEAR these numbers on ebay. Usually why I group several things together and start at say $6-10.

I'll no doubt be lowering these prices I think. But at least I got them into the system as a first step.

There were some books I came across that I didn't even bother entering because their average price was under 5.

I've only done hardbacks and big/thick pb. Want to get rid of those first.
CLoser leaning towards taking a big box down to the used bookstore for more credit (even though I don't really need it...but they HAVE started carrying lots of DVDs there now so that credit could run out quickly. )

Will think about the swap shop. Indeed as autumn said it seems more of a place where books go to die meaning only bother putting things there that won't go on amazon because of book condition.
The part about having to pay to ship books still is a little weird especially when to get something I have to then order something. I think I'll try it a couple times and see if it's worth it.