Make Money Selling Other People’s “Stuff”

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Americans are awash in a sea of “stuff”.  They have packed basements, spare bedrooms, and closets. Sure they know they could make money selling their stuff on eBay and Craigslist.  Or they could have a garage sale.

The trouble is that most people are busy, and they just don’t want to bother.  So the stuff collects dust.  Most people don’t realize they are sitting on hundreds, perhaps thousands, of dollars.

If you have more time than money, you might want to consider helping people sell their stuff, for a cut of the profit, of course.

There are plenty of things people have that could make good money:

1.  Gift cards.  Most people have a few gift cards lying around that they have no intentions of using.  Either the store is too far away or they just don’t shop or eat at the place where they have the gift card.  If you are a shrewd seller and know what gift card buy back services nets the most money, you can sell those gift cards for others; they’ll get the majority of the money, and you will get a small cut for your services.  Both of you are happy.

2.  Clothing.  If someone has nice, preferably designer, clothes, you could sell them on eBay or at resale or consignment shops.  On eBay, you will get money fairly quickly, but you also have the hassle of shipping and paying seller’s fees.  If you would prefer to avoid that, you can go to a resale shop where you will get the money immediately, though usually it is only a few dollars per item.  Consignment shops might be a better choice.  According to The Washington Post, “Consignment stores usually cut you a check only after your items have sold.  You’ll have to wait, but you also stand to earn a fair amount:  on average, 50 percent of the selling price.”

3.  Exercise equipment.  Most people have succumbed, at one time or another, to the urge to get fit and have bought exercise equipment or DVDs that they don’t use–ever.  These items can be sold on Craigslist for the right price.  Sell monstrosities like a treadmill and an exercise bike, and your customer will be grateful for all of the extra room they now have.

4.  Video games.  Video games can garner big bucks on eBay.  Even old Nintendo systems from the 1980s and 1990s can earn a hundred dollars or more, depending on the games that you have with the system and the condition of the system.

Most people have “stuff” that they wish they could get rid of but just don’t know where to sell it, or they just don’t have the time.  You could offer a service to sell the stuff for them.  If you take a 20% cut and sell $1,000 worth of stuff, you have just made $200, and your client has a clearer living area and $800 in their pocket.  That is a service I would gladly sign up for, as would many others.

Remember that there are numerous services online where you can both buy and sell your products. Take The Store, for example. This site not only lets you sell all of the possessions that you or someone else might have lying around, but it also gives you an opportunity to buy new and innovative products like the Fred Batterfinger Spatula as well as trending clothes and small furniture. Really, all it takes is a few moments online and a little patience for you to earn a significant sum of cash by helping someone else sell their “stuff” online.

This guest post is by ThePennyHoarder.com, a blog that teaches people weird and wacky ways to make extra money.

About Jen Perkins

Likes: saving money, being debt free (aside from our house), zombies, travel, getting money, blogging and dogs. Dislikes: debt, being broke, bunnies, wasting money, not having enough money to travel the world and paying interest. Facebook  ♥  Twitter  ♥  Google+  ♥  RSS

Comments

Make Money Selling Other People’s “Stuff” — 10 Comments

    • Hi Marty –

      A lot of it is going to depend on the type of a gift card. Popular retailers like Target, Itunes, Starbucks have a high resale value on giftcard buyback sites (like north of 90%), so it’s easy to take a 5% commission on each gift card you sell for someone. Now smaller stores, niche stores, and local gift cards are a different story – they get a pretty small return (50-75%), so someone might not want to give you a commission on top of that…

      Kyle
      Kyle @ The Penny Hoarder recently posted..How to Score Discounts for Daily SavingsMy Profile

  1. It’s funny you bring it up, I was one of the first in my family to “understand” computers so from day 1 I’ve been the resident eBay lister. I usually only take a small fee (like $20 for my time if its a lot of stuff) but still, it’s worth my time and I help my friends/family shed the unneeded stuff.
    Listen Money Matters recently posted..How I Save a Ton on Travel ExpensesMy Profile

  2. I sell stuff on eBay but it’s not as simple as it seems. Meaning not everyone wants to buy your stuff all the time! That’s unfortunate.

    In January I put a bunch of things up on ebay. I made $80 but had to relist a few times and ended up spending about $20 on the fees.

    I guess it’s good because I still managed to take in about $60 but it’s interesting because I have to tell myself not to get caught up in it and just stop re-listing the things that continuously don’t sell. Or make a big change to the price or the item. Or wait a few months before putting it up again!
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