She used to use a posting site called Auctiva which earned their money through advertising, allowed you to set up posts with unlimited photos, and schedule the start date of the auction for free. But now they charge for the privilege - only $3 a month for a maximum of 15 items, or something like $9 a month for unlimited items. Well, no big cheese, I guess.
Alternatively I could pay 6p to schedule a post directly on eBay, choose from a variety of prices for a single post (depending on whether I choose 'Buy It Now', 'Best Offer' or stick it in the 99p price range), then I would have to pay commission to eBay and a percentage to PayPal if used. Is it really worth the effort?
She asked me how much I had to sell. I said "about seven for eBay".
"Seven items? Oh, that's easy".
"No", I replied, "Seven boxes".
There was a moments silence followed by a deep sigh "I told you that you should have started this months ago".
And she did. But way back when she told me, I didn't really have that much to sell. I thought that, somehow, most of my crap would squeeze in to a single room in a shared house. Now, looking at the number of boxes (and counting) I wonder how on earth I made that estimation. In fact, I am wondering where on earth it lived before I started filling up the boxes. The house is such a Tardis that it wouldn't surprise me to find David Tennant hiding in the cupboard under the stairs (oh shit - I haven't even tackled under the stairs yet - but if he's hiding there he can help me lift some boxes. Or transport me back through time so that I can undo all of my purchases).
It's a daunting task, and I have a plan. Well, kind of a plan. You see, I've left it so late and want to get rid of so many items that the temptation to hire a skip (sorry, dumpster) is almost overwhelming. So, I'm going to have one car boot sale, post selected items on eBay, and post other items on the 'Trading Post' database at the eBay Queen's place of work.
If there is anything of value left over, I will try to post again. The rest will be split between the Charity Shop, the Tip (Dump?) and some unlucky friends and close relatives who will be receiving seconds for Christmas. High quality seconds, I might add.
Sonic Screwdriver, anyone?
Would you believe I have never been to the ebay site!
ReplyDeleteI know, I'm so last century!
What are you worried about? Between the "skip" the "boot" and the "tip" you should be clutter free in no time.
ReplyDeleteOh My Goddess, Oh My Goodness! Really? It's amazing what you can find on eBay. But then again, that only applies if you need something! Hoarders like me can fill up their houses for half the price...
ReplyDeleteIB: I think 'skip, boot and tip' is the dance move that I use when I am sorting through my stuff. Or if it isn't, it probably will be from now on..
What you need to do is to launch a Christmas competition on the blog. It matters not, what it is .... guess the weight of your Christmas Turkey, compose lyrics to the tune of the Titanic Theme or whatever. Then you offer a range of fabulous prizes, Now, do you get my drift? (and notice how I worked the Titanic in there).
ReplyDeleteAlan, thanks for the references to the Titanic. I hadn't heard a mention of it for, oooo, one whole day? I was starting to feel a bit 'all at sea'.....
ReplyDeleteThe competition is a great idea, but it will be 'winner collects'!
That's a great idea from Alan, Kabbalah...
ReplyDeleteIn answer to your question, I do indeed still like to arrive early whenever possible...
My grandparents used to say it was my way of making up for the time I lost in learning to walk...
Of course, now I mostly roll, so perhaps that part of my life story is a bit outdated.
Good luck with the skip, boot and tip!