One of my goals for 2012 is to simplify my life by getting rid of clutter. I have a lot of clutter. For years I’ve collected DVD’s, CD’s and books to the point where I actually need an entire house to hold the overflow. I hate to think of how much money I’ve spent over the years on media that I no longer use. I watch movies online, all of my music is on my iPod and I’ve read the books several times. I decided that I could actually combine my removal of clutter with another goal, improving my finances.
Naturally the first thing I though of was Ebay. Strangely enough the problem with Ebay is that it’s so commercial that it’s no longer a great choice. When you factor in the listing fees, the final value fees and then, of course, the paypal fees, there isn’t much left over. I have a business degree; the Ebay model is great for them but not so great for me.
I considered a garage sale but the amount of work involved for the return when it comes to what I’m selling isn’t worth it. I even considered combining my stuff with a friend and having a joint garage sale but decided against it when I stumbled upon a hidden gem.
I’m admittedly an Amazon.com junkie. I love the site. I’ve been a big fan since they started because I lived in a rural area without bookstores and I love books. In fact, most of my collection was originally bought from Amazon. If you pay attention, on many pages there is a link where you can sell your item back to Amazon. They take books, DVD’s, games and various electronics. Of course you can also set up a store and sell that way as well. For the record, their fee structure is much friendlier to the customer than Ebay. I chose to try the Amazon Trade In program. It was quick and easy. I typed in my DVD’s and books and selected their condition. I hit the submit button and printed off a free mailing label, postage included. Boxed up the stuff, slapped the label on the box and the post office picked it up. No listing fees, no shipping fees and no gas to drive to the post office. Amazon verified the items and credited my account. I found what Amazon offered for the items to be on par with what I could have gotten either through Ebay or a garage sale.
You are probably thinking that this sounded great up until the final part where it’s a credit to your Amazon account. For me, I do most of my shopping there anyway, so it’s not an issue. If it’s an issue for you, just purchase a gift card to the store of your choice, they have most of them.
I found this method to be the most cost effective means of getting rid of much of my clutter. Even if you aren’t reducing clutter, it’s a great way to make room on your shelves for new movies and books and to get the money for buying them.