The Saturday Seven - #14
the late, late edition
ACK! How did it get to be Monday already?
Clearly, I'm behind. And I don't even have photos this time, to try to jazz this place up.
And, I'm going to fudge this week's Seven. I have been so worn out from last week's big sale, and food poisoning, and work responsibilities, that I just didn't get organized to get rid of 7 separate things. I did, however, get my check and receipts for what I did sell at the Clothing Sale last weekend. 19 things. For a total of $33.25. This is out of about 100 things that I sorted and labeled.
With the crib and changing table, that makes 21 things for this week and last. That's great, in terms of getting stuff out of my life. It's not so great in terms of making sales. With the $55 I made for the crib and table, I grossed $88.25. Deduct a seller's fee, a parking charge, and childcare, and I netted $52.25. That looks pretty good, until I factor in that I spent 13 hours on the sale itself and another hour delivering the crib and changing table to the people who bought it. Less than $4/hr. Not much of a return on my investment, eh?
And that's the thing I'm starting to realize about stuff. Unless you are selling a car or a house or an antique (and in my case, not even with an antique), you are almost never going to get what you think the thing is worth. It takes so much time and energy to sell things that the payoff doesn't really justify it. It makes me wonder if I'd just be better off giving my things away. Granted, I could make more on some of this stuff if I sold it on eBay. But that takes time, too. Time for pictures and listing, and time for packing and shipping.
I realize now why I have received so many boxes of hand-me-down baby and toddler clothes. It really seems to make more sense to pass the stuff on. If we all do that, then maybe in some karmic sense it all works out.
Monday morning ramblings. Get 'em here for free!
Total for this week and last = 21.
ACK! How did it get to be Monday already?
Clearly, I'm behind. And I don't even have photos this time, to try to jazz this place up.
And, I'm going to fudge this week's Seven. I have been so worn out from last week's big sale, and food poisoning, and work responsibilities, that I just didn't get organized to get rid of 7 separate things. I did, however, get my check and receipts for what I did sell at the Clothing Sale last weekend. 19 things. For a total of $33.25. This is out of about 100 things that I sorted and labeled.
With the crib and changing table, that makes 21 things for this week and last. That's great, in terms of getting stuff out of my life. It's not so great in terms of making sales. With the $55 I made for the crib and table, I grossed $88.25. Deduct a seller's fee, a parking charge, and childcare, and I netted $52.25. That looks pretty good, until I factor in that I spent 13 hours on the sale itself and another hour delivering the crib and changing table to the people who bought it. Less than $4/hr. Not much of a return on my investment, eh?
And that's the thing I'm starting to realize about stuff. Unless you are selling a car or a house or an antique (and in my case, not even with an antique), you are almost never going to get what you think the thing is worth. It takes so much time and energy to sell things that the payoff doesn't really justify it. It makes me wonder if I'd just be better off giving my things away. Granted, I could make more on some of this stuff if I sold it on eBay. But that takes time, too. Time for pictures and listing, and time for packing and shipping.
I realize now why I have received so many boxes of hand-me-down baby and toddler clothes. It really seems to make more sense to pass the stuff on. If we all do that, then maybe in some karmic sense it all works out.
Monday morning ramblings. Get 'em here for free!
Total for this week and last = 21.
posted by earthchick at 6:45 AM
2 Comments:
I've pretty much given up on selling things. I'm trying to tell myself that money in my pocket is just more potential stuff I have to get rid of, so it's really quicker and more effective if I just give the stuff away directly.
This is why my father doesn't trust me with money. ;)
I have also stopped trying to sell things. I freecycle, I drop off at Goodwill, I pass on to friends. It feels good and it's much quicker and easier.
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