I'm distinctly relieved to report that I made my sales goal for July. It wasn't an amazing month, but at least there are 6 fewer items in my home that have now been connected with others who have a use for them.
It wasn't until halfway through the month that I was able to focus on selling some items. I was getting ready to go out of town and didn't have a lot of time to work with, so I decided to do what has become easiest for me: selling on Ebay. To make things work with my schedule, I reduced my auctions to be 5 days long instead of the standard 7 days. I also started all 5 of my auctions at $.99 to attract as much interest as possible.
There seems to be a psychology to starting auctions at $.99 which makes items attract bids more than other items that have a higher starting price. People can't resist a great deal, apparently, and bid on the items, which increases the perceived demand for the item, or some such. At least I've noticed that my $.99 items get a lot of attention and sometimes sell for higher than identical items' Buy it Now prices. (Also, Ebay collects lower fees on $.99 auctions, so it's win-win unless the item isn't in demand and the item ends up selling for $.99!)
My total sales amount on Ebay (after shipping, fees, etc.) was $119.28. I also sold a book on Half.com (even easier than listing items on Ebay!) and made $6.05, bringing my total for July to $125.33!
All of my buyers paid promptly except for one, so I had to haul that package along to the beach while waiting for payment. I prepared the package and used the Wifi connection at the beach house to obtain the address--and the location of the nearest post office. It was a bit of a pain, but I'm glad I took the trouble to make the sales despite being crunched for time.
Maybe one of these days I will actually sell something on Craigslist. I haven't figured out the secret yet, but I hope to make some attempts in August.
August is Toy Purge Month in our household, due to upcoming birthdays. I don't know if I will actually get around to selling many of the toys, but I hope to get a good supply together to sell/donate/get out of my house this fall!
Another area I need to focus more on is recycling. I have various appliances and other random items that need a new home one way or another that I hope to get to in the coming weeks/months.
Visit The Finer Things in Life to fine more decluttering inspiration!
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