Net yourself cash with an online clear-out
MOST of us have old stuff lying around the home that we no longer use or even like, and if that applies to you, it could be time for a clear-out. As an extra incentive, you might be able to generate some extra cash as well, as it can be simple, fun and rewarding to sell old items online.
Research from Gumtree suggests the average British household has 22 unwanted or unused items they could sell to new owners, worth a potential £880 in total.
Buyers are actively seeking secondhand bargains, spending almost £1,300 on “pre-loved” items each year, with clothing and fashion items in first place, followed by used cars, books, CDS and DVDS, then collectables and antiques.
Gumtree has also seen a surge in people looking to kit out their homes with “upcycled” furniture, with almost two million searches a month for terms such as “sofa”, “wardrobe” and “chest of drawers”.
SELLING UP
International advertising and PR agency director Sean Feast discovered how much cash he had in his attic when he decided to sell his boyhood Action Man collection at the age of 52: “I was struggling to justify to my wife of nearly 30 years why I had half a dozen boxes in the loft packed with Action Men.”
His friends mocked him but Sean had the last laugh: “I decided to sell, but only if I could achieve a value approaching their true worth.”
An online toy dealer offered £400 for the lot, but he decided they were worth more and chose to sell his collection through ebay.
Rather than offloading them as a job lot, he sold every figure, uniform, vehicle and accessory separately, five at a time to spread the effort of packing and sending each item to the successful bidder.
“Most buyers were enthusiasts, and since I had many rare items, such as miniature medals that usually end up lost or in the vacuum cleaner, they sold well.”
The most expensive item was an amphibious vehicle in its original box, which sold for more than £120.
“Even the original manuals and instructions had a value, and in total I realised some £1,210 for my old toys, more than three times the toy dealer’s first offer,” he said.
Sean could not completely let go of his old memories, and kept two figures in hiswatford home, a reminder of his very happy childhood.
OLD MONEY
Storage expertvlatka Lake said to take care when decluttering as you could end up throwing money away: “Old books, stuffed toys, board games and ancient tech could earn you thousands of pounds if you know what to look out for.”
Beanie Babies were all the rage in the 1990s, and if you have any vintage or rare figures lying around in your loft, you could be quids in.
“First editions of Peanut the Elephant and Peace Garcia can attract fourfigure sums online, while a 1997 bear commemorating Princess Diana once sold for £350,000,” she said.
Original versions of the Harry Potter books can sell for between £200 and £40,000, though it helps if you have the complete set.
Rarity value is always a good selling point, even for Lego, with the 2007 edition of the Starwars Millennium Falcon spotted on Amazon for more than £7,000, around 20 times its original value.
Lake said classic games consoles and music devices can attract big money: “The Super Nintendo Entertainment System or Nintendo 64 can sell for several hundreds of pounds.”
Older Apple products may also be worth selling on. For example, an ipod Classic in mint condition could fetch more than £200.
Some modern items may increase value in future, such as first edition books and tech. “The Da Vinci Code and Game Of Thrones are tipped to rise in value.an original version of the Amazon Echo could net you a fortune if you hold onto it, likewise first edition Playstations and Xboxes,”
Lake added.
NEW FOR OLD GO GREEN
Matthew Moreton, managing director at mobile phone resale site Compare and Recycle, said recycling your old phone is a greener way to upgrade, as well as making some extra cash: “Compare trade-in prices online for your old devices, for example, iphone 6 can earn you up to £65, iphone 7 up to £180, and the Galaxy S7 Edge around £100.”
The sooner you recycle your phone, the more money you will make, as mobiles are a depreciating commodity. Moreton added: “It’s better than letting old tech sit idle in a drawer.”
The better the condition, the more money you will get.
You can sell your old stuff on ebay and Amazon, or a host of websites specialising in items such as books, coins, clothes and tech, or even try an old-school method such as a local car boot sale.
Watch out for fraud when selling online.tom Clementson, director of consumer at Shieldpay, said sellers can be conned out of their belongings in what they think is a legitimate transaction. “Avoid buyers with incomplete or poorlyreviewed profiles,” he said.
‘Old books, stuffed toys, board games and ancient tech could earn you thousands of pounds’