Turning Your Trash Into Cash

Junk. We all have some of it lying around the house. Whether it's boxed items cluttering the attic or everyday items that just don't fit with the room's decorating theme anymore, many of us have more than we need. At some point it all gets to be too much and in a fit of energy we decide that our place needs to be cleaned. Then the junk gets moved, typically to the nearest trash can. But wait. Before you throw out all that stuff, it pays to take head of the saying "one person's junk is another person's treasure."

If you are about to throw out something because you think it has little value, you may come to regret it later. Those things that you consider to be trash many times have great value to collectors. If you have an item and have no idea if it has any worth, a quick first step is to head to the online auction sites like eBay. Input the item you have into their search engine. If similar items come up and there are bids on them, then someone out there thinks that the item you were about to trash has some worth.

If you are trying to get rid of a few select items, the online auction sites may be the perfect place. Simply place the item on auction for a minimum price and let others bid away on it. This is where you may find that old, ugly toy you could no longer stand the sight of looks like a perfect jewel to somebody else. You don't even have to know how to list the items yourself anymore since sites like eBay offer services that will match you with someone who will list the auction for you for a small fee.

Even if the item doesn't sell at auction, it still may be worth some money to you. If you have a large number of items that didn't manage to sell on the online auctions, having a garage sale or heading off to sell at a local flea market for a day may bring in some extra cash. This is also a good way of getting rid of those everyday items that still have life, but you are certain are not worth a lot of money.

If you have an item that you suspect has some value, it pays to do a little research before placing it on auction. While the auction sites are a good place to see if something may have worth, they are not a good place to determine what the true value of something. Auctions can easily turn more emotional than sensible, and items may go for far more than their true worth. In the same vein, unique items that may not be familiar to those frequenting the online auctions may sell for far less than their true worth.

If you want to find the general true worth of something, the least expensive alternative is to head to your local library and check out collectible books and price guides on the subject. You can also search for Internet sites dedicated to the particular item in hand that can give you a good approximation of what the item may be worth. Another low cost alternative for those who don't want to take the time researching is to take it to a pawn shop and see if, and how much, the shop would be willing to give you for it. Pawn shops will buy the item for a fraction of it's true worth, so if you are offered a decent amount, you know that you have something of value.

For items that you believe may be worth quite a bit such as antiques or if you have a lot of items and want to make sure the gems don't get accidentally placed with the ordinary items, it may be worthwhile to hire an appraiser. Appraisers charge between $150 and $300 an hour and you want to make sure that you get an independent appraiser that has no interest in purchasing the items you are having appraised (if the appraiser is interested in the items, he or she will be tempted to lowball their true worth in order to get them for a good price). You can get references for appraisers from organizations like the Appraisers Association of America: http://www.appraisersassoc.org

Even if you are not willing to put in the time and effort for any these events, there is always a better place than the trash can for most items. Simply load them up in your car and take them to a local charitable organization or the larger nationwide organizations like Goodwill and the Salvation Army. Not only will you be extending the life of the item, your donation will entitle you to receive a tax deduction for it if you itemize your tax return, and that's certainly better than getting nothing at all.

Copyright (c) 2004, by Jeffrey Strain

This article may be freely distributed so long as the copyright, author's information and an active link (where possible) are included.

A complimentary copy of any newsletter or a link to the site where the article is posted would be greatly appreciated.

About The Author

Jeffrey Strain has published hundreds of money saving articles and the creator of the Daily Money Saving Challenge Program. He is the co-owner of http://www.savingadvice.com -- a website dedicated to saving you money. savingadvice@gmail.com

 The Secret To Real eBay Success

Q. I hear so much about people who started selling on eBay and eventually turned it into their full time business. Is it really possible to build a profitable business just selling junk on eBay? -- Alex K.

ANSWER:

If Fred Sanford were alive today, Alex, I’m sure he’d be earning his ripple money by selling quality junk on eBay. While it’s also true that one man’s junk is another man’s treasure (I have a garage full of treasure to prove this point), your chances of building a profitable business selling “junk” on eBay (or anywhere else, for that matter) are slim to none. While there is a lot of junk/treasure for sale on eBay, it is typically sold by individuals who have “I break for yardsales!” bumper stickers on their cars and not serious business people.

For serious en. . . .
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 Taxing eBay Part Deux

When my column on paying income tax on eBay profits ran it brought a wave of emails on whether you were required to report income earned from eBay sales to the IRS sparked a number of additional questions and comments from eBay sellers who were hoping that I could somehow validate that their eBay activities were mere hobbies instead of actual businesses and therefore not susceptible to IRS taxation.

Several folks argued that just because their little eBay hobby generated a little cash, that didn’t make it a full blown business. It seems they consider the income from their little hobby to be financial manna from Heaven and thereby not taxable by earthly tax collectors. I’ve always been amused by folks who try to impress me with talk about their “little side business” but when the s. . . .
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 The Business of Identity Theft

Q: I use PayPal to accept credit cards for my online collectibles business. I recently received an email that my PayPal account was going to expire in five days if I didn't click a link in the email and give them my PayPal account information. Being naturally paranoid I decided not to give this information and I'm happy to say that my PayPal account did not expire. Was this a scam? -- Brenda A.

A: Be thankful that your paranoia kicked in, Brenda, because you were about to fall victim to the scam of the week, this one aimed at the 35 million merchants and individuals who use Paypal.com as their online payment processor.

The email you received was not from PayPal, but from an Internet bad guy behind a forged email address using the PayPal.com domain. You should understand that. . . .
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 eBay's Latest Fee Increases--Is this the beginning of the end?

On January 13, eBay sellers received an unwelcome announcement from eBay. Fees were going up.

Partly due to our tendency to "skim" messages and partly due to the way in which the announcement was worded, the result was widespread panic and threats of mutiny.

Many sellers started to "boycott" eBay, and began taking their business to places like Yahoo auctions, and Overstock.com. After issuing another email "clarifying" the price increases, eBay finally sent everyone a "Message from Bill Cobb" on February 6.

Bill Cobb, who became President of eBay North America in December of 1004, stated that he'd been "taking it all in" and "thinking hard about how we can make sure eBay remains a fun, safe place to trade, and a prosperous home for our many dedicated sellers."

Cob. . . .
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 Top 10 Free Online Wholesale Resources

By the time that a product has made it to your local retail store, it’s probably changed at least three people’s hands, possibly even more than that. And each one of those people had to mark up the cost of the item to cover their investment and make a profit. That means that by the time it makes it to your hand, even if it was on the clearance rack, it’s been marked up. A LOT!

But, if you have a business license and a tax ID number and want to get your hands on products long before they make it to the retail segment, you need to know all about buying wholesale, which is trickier than it may sound. Especially since retail stores aren’t just going to volunteer where they got the products you’re buying. They don’t WANT you to eliminate the middle man.

But, I do. Because I’ve be. . . .
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