In the midst of my current liquidation I remembered the other day that I have a decent stamp collection. I did a quick search to see what it might be worth. The answer made me laugh. Basically it was that it’s not worth as much as I think it is.

When you think about it, nothing has any monetary value unless you sell it, and I don’t think philately is a high-demand hobby. So the stuff I have is only worth what people would pay for it. I was all set to start selling the stamps as a craft project. I figured 100 or so for a couple bucks.

I listed 40 items on ebay last night. Most of them were relists of previous items – cds, baseball cards, NACSAR memorabilia, comics – but I decided to try the stamp thing and I listed one item.

Now I guess I expected to sell them, but already?! Out of the 40 items I have listed, the stamps got the first bite. I never would have though they would be what sold first. I guess it’s time to list more.

As of this moment, I know conclusively that my stamp collection is worth at least $.99 (plus $1.99 shipping).

-j

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I may have mentioned this before, but just before going down to Paraguay I stopped to drop off some clothes at a thrift store in town. I happened upon their book section and *went nuts*. I think they were even having half-off sale or something. I found several books by authors I really wanted to read so I ended up buying a bunch.

Fast forward to recently. I found out selling books on Amazon is a good idea. The two thoughts merged into one: what if I could sell books on Amazon using the thrift store as my supplier?

So I decided to do an experiment. Last weekend I went to the thrift store and found hundreds of hardcover books in *near mint* condition. Mostly the only defect was the price stickers they put on them. I had decided I would spend $10 on books to see if I could at least break even. I went just over $8. I got several by authors I knew and a couple by authors I didn’t and headed home.

At home I listed the books on Amazon and immediately felt I had made a poor decision. You see, if you’re a piddly seller like I am, Amazon charges you $.99 per sale plus a percentage of the sale price. They charge more for shipping that you end up paying, so in the end you get some of that in addition to the price of the book. So someone might end up paying $3.98 for a book, including shipping, but Amazon takes out enough that you get about $2.70. Then you have to ship it, so by the time you buy the envelope and mail it, you’ve made a dime. That’s how it is for books that sell for $.99.

Almost all of the books I listed have a couple hundred listings on Amazon, dozens of which were $.01. That works fine for sellers who can afford the $40 a month sort-of membership fee. I can’t, so Amazon takes $.99 per book. Maybe you see where I’m going with this.

I’m basically losing money. For example, today I sold the first one I listed from the thrift store. I paid $.99 for it and it sold for $.49. I get $2.07 from Amazon, and I still have to ship it. It’ll probably ship for $2.20, but I also need an envelope. In the end, I will have paid $2.75 for the ability to receive $2.07 from Amazon. That’s a net loss of $1.18.

Like I said, it was an experiment. Some of the books I ended up listing for more than the minimum figuring *eventually* the others would be gone, but unless I can get like 10 books for $1, I probably won’t do this again. I may end up breaking even when it’s all said and done.

http://www.amazon.com/shops/jayzilla

-j

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In my last post, I talked about different ways I’m making a little bit of extra money (stress on “little bit”). In this one I want to talk about a couple other things I’m doing to remove the clutter from my life, but I think in a more meaningful way than just throwing it out.

Paperback Swap(www.paperbackswap.com)
I came across this website probably three years ago and thought it was a brilliant idea. Quite simply, you list books you have that you wouldn’t mind giving up. In return for giving up books, you get credit to ask for books from other members. The only thing you pay is shipping on the books you send. PBS even has you print the packaging! With two sheets of paper you can generally wrap any book. The address is printed, and you can opt to have PBS figure out your shipping and you drop it in your mailbox, or you can just take it to the post office. I’ve gotten some really good books from PBS. The “paper” is a misnomer; you can also get hardcover and audiobooks. Listing your first 10 books gets you two free credits. At this point, it’s US only.

They have two sister sites, swapacd.com and swapadvd.com. The processes are slightly different, but the idea is the same.

Goodreads (www.goodreads.com)
Goodreads is like Facebook for book readers. I mention this site because they also have a swap feature. The main differences in terms of money I have noticed between this and Paperback Swap is that you don’t need any credits to request a book, and you only pay for the shipping of the books you request.

Freecycle (www.freecycle.org)
Freecycle is probably just how it sounds. Different cities have Freecycle groups, and it works pretty simply. You post something you want to get rid of but don’t want to throw out, and you get a bunch of requests. Who gets your stuff is totally determined by you. Nearly everything I’ve ever posted to Freecycle has been removed from my clutter (this came in very handy before going to Paraguay). Additionally, if you are able to keep track of the list of offers, if something comes up that you need, you can request as well.

Most cities organize their lists themselves. For example, the Richmond group uses Yahoo Groups to handle the listings and requests. Here, at least, the admins are very good and keep the riffraff out. I think it’s pretty safe, and generally the folks on Freecycle are friendly.

Goodwill
Finally, if you’ve got things you can’t get rid of, you can always take it to Goodwill. Everyone knows this; it’s no secret. What most people probably *don’t* do is keep track of what they donate to itemize on their taxes. Before I went to Paraguay, I catalogued everything I donated, and my tax preparer asked me for the list. I ended up donating over $450 worth of deductions from my taxes. That’s a win-win!

So between these several avenues, I’m successfully removing Stuff from my life and feeling good about it. Sometimes it takes a bit of effort, but if you decide it’s worth your time, then it becomes an investment in a more peaceful future.

-j

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