National Post (National Edition)
Convert your stuff to cash
the line between clutter and sentimentality is narrow.
I’ve set myself — and the rest of my family — a goal of creating more space in our house and generating cash. I think I can generate at least $2,000 from stuff I no longer use.
I’m taking to eBay, Kijiji, Craigslist, Facebook, everywhere to get rid of the stuff I don’t need. I’ve had success selling before. I sold my wife’s copy of Madonna’s infamous coffee table book, Sex, for $100. Kijiji Canada estimates the average person has about $425 of stuff sitting in their closet that is sellable. It’s a tough emotional exercise. It finally started with the sale of my beloved Pachinko game — a Japanese arcade/slot machine that was given to me for my Bar Mitzvah. It was a present from an aunt and uncle who mean very much to me, the uncle having passed away recently making it that much harder to give it up.
It’s a relic from my past. A time when I could sit in my room and play games with no worries. A time when I even had hair. I emailed my aunt and she noted there are times when you have to purge and say goodbye. It was time.
My first move was to try and price the thing; you want to make sure you are not getting ripped off when selling anything. Maybe it’s too much Antiques Roadshow but we all think we are sitting on gold.
A Google search indicated I was not. The most I could expect was $150. The thing was too hard to ship because of weight so someone would have to come get it.
I placed an ad on Kijiji, got a few responses and finally a young man from Kitchener said he would drive to Toronto and give me $60. We met at a neutral location, something Kijiji warns you to do.
Considering the cost of his time and gas, it seemed like a decent deal for both of us. Plus, he said he was a real enthusiast for Pachinko games which, for some reason, remained important to me.
It’s hard to completely rid yourself of sentiment but I did manage to clear some space and have $60 in my pocket for my trouble.