Wednesday, September 7, 2016

Selling Your Stuff - Part 2

Please feel free to post comments and questions at the bottom of this post. 
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Where the heck to I begin?

As you begin to categorize the things you no long need you will have to make some decisions on how to get rid of them.  For us it's easier because for the last five years we have been paring down for the final purge.  However, when you think you are ready you may still have too much stuff. What to do with it?

Identify items that will be incorporated into your RV

The first step is to identify what you need for use in your RV. Do you need an electric frying pan, blender, toaster, specific electronics, warm weather clothing, rain gear, etc.? Keep the list for when you sort things for sale.

Identify items that you want to sell that are the more valuable items 

Make a list of what you know is good enough and valuable enough to sell and bring top dollar. Our list includes the following items.

42" Flat screen TV
Pots and pans
Glassware
Flatware
Dishes
Lots of storage type shelving
Work Bench
Weed eater
Unused tools
Art and portraits
Home style Propane Grill
Kitchen table and chairs
Water cooler
Extra Appliances

Items for storage, or not?

Consider your upcoming RV life. Will you be gone for six months, a year or forever.  Do you want to try the lifestyle and then make a decision whether it fits you permanently?  Do you want to eventually get off the road and go back to sticks and bricks?

The following are items that you will want to store if you aren't sure what your RV life will be like.

Bedroom and living room furniture
Keepsakes
Important papers that do not need to be on your RV
Garage items that could be useful if you go back to living in a house or condo
Organizing shelving
Book shelving
Office furniture
Important memorabilia
Extra clothing

How to sell these items

Consider the following ways of selling items

Ebay - Sell more valuable things here. Either use "Buy it Now" or place a reserve on the item (if it is valuable enough) and then auction it. Protect yourself and open a PayPal account.

What do you do about all of that extra clothing? 

Sell them or give them away

Craigslist - You can sell all sorts of stuff here. Beware of scammers, don't take checks, money orders or promises. Cash only and make the buyer pay the postage on large, heavy or bulky items.

Garage Sale - Sell your knick knacky stuff, outdated or ill fitting clothing, extra glassware, flatware and dishes. If you advertise it right you may do quite well. Expect to be bargained with. Expect the people that visit to be quite cheap and wanting things for pennies.

Give them away - Offer them to friends and family first.  If that isn't fruitful there are all kinds of community venues such as Good Will etc. This is a worthy cause and if you have a LOT of stuff you can ask them for a receipt so you can use it at tax time.

If you know of other venues to get rid of your stuff please leave a comment.

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