ebay - money value of time - Posted by Steve-WA

Posted by Steve-WA on March 12, 2006 at 16:52:39:

usable stuff goes to the goodwill, but its all the same to me - dump. Otherwise I’m packrattin’ and my garage ends up lookin’ like the houses I’m cleaning out!

ebay - money value of time - Posted by Steve-WA

Posted by Steve-WA on March 12, 2006 at 10:27:57:

sunday morning quiet time - ramblings . . .

We’ve all heard of the “time value of money” as it relates to the value of a dollar - I am increasingly recognizing the value of the inverse of the saying: “the money value of time”

One aspect of this:

Did another cleanout, found several 45 rpm records of 1960’s hits: I Left My Heart In San Fran, Hang On Sloopy, North To ALaska, et al . . .

Ooh! They gotta be worth something! Likewise, previous finds of WWII army foot lockers, antique (?) china pieces, electronics, various tools, clothing items, . . .

Well, in my “valuable” time surfing ebay (rolleyes), I find that this stuff isnt really worth much - buck or two for the 45s, $10 for the foot lockers, squat for grandma’s china coffee cup and saucer, etc etc

Why do I bother? I have to re-learn time and time again, that this is NOT an effective, much less PROFITABLE, use of ANY of my time. It just seems a waste, I guess, to dump this stuff, or even take it to the thrift store, because it must have some kind of value to SOMEBODY!!

But, that somebody is NOT me. So I - again - reinforce in my tiny little brain that I am not, and do not want to be, an ebay seller; the money in it is just not comparable to the time better spent finding MH or RE deals, or honing my RE smarts through review, or doing the drudgerious necessities of QB or deal analysis, or especially quality time with family - the best investment of my time for the return.

Now, once in awhile I truly DO find something of value - to ME: big screen TV, jewelry, cash, a vacuum cleaner, and in this same cleanout, a new space heater and a digital video camera, but I want to take it too far with the junk.

I guess I’m just one of those guys who needs to hit himself in the head more than once before he realizes “HEY! That hurts!!”

You know what? SOMEBODY is going to pee their pants when they find these records at the thrift store - why should I deprive them of that joy?

Re: ebay - money value of time - Posted by Joe-Ga

Posted by Joe-Ga on March 17, 2006 at 07:42:00:

Strange you mention this, I just found in a home I bought , a turn of the century fireplace decor that goes around the fireplace.Has several designs on it. I figure on e-bay should sell for around a grand… but then again, may be worth far more or $10 bucks… who knows.!

Give it to the neighbors - Posted by Jered (WA)

Posted by Jered (WA) on March 16, 2006 at 03:48:27:

On cleanout day, I knocked on a few doors and mentioned that I was clearing out the home, everything had to go, and they were welcome to take what they wanted.

The vultures didn’t leave anything.

Saved me the haul fees and made good with the neighbors.

Of course, this could boomerang if I end up buying one of their trailers down the road. :slight_smile:

Jered

Re: ebay - money value of time - Posted by IA Jeff

Posted by IA Jeff on March 14, 2006 at 12:54:19:

I too have a garage full of crap that I’ve picked up here and there…I’ve also cringed while throwing perfectly good stuff in the landfill because I don’t have time for it.

My plan, that is not yet in place, is to team up with an e-bay lover and have him come over and take all the stuff worth anything and sell it online. We would split (50/50…60/40?)the sale price and he would handle everything involved with the sale. Less stuff for me to haul to the lanfill (or my garage) and a few bucks in my pocket.

There are a couple e-bay drop sites in my town that will sell stuff that I drop off. I don’t recall what they charge but I still have to haul the stuff there. My realtor once took a coffe cup and dropped it off there, that I would have tossed, and I got a check for $100 a few weeks later.

Jeff

or… use the allure of ebay - Posted by JD (IL)

Posted by JD (IL) on March 13, 2006 at 17:43:25:

Use the junk that you find as incentives to get other people to do the cleanout. You spend your time on the deals, if they find a treasure you missed in your spot check good for them. You’ll still have to pay them, but not near as much. My little bro found a few things that wouldn’t be good to mention on a family site.

Best of luck (still jealous of you retired status)
JD

Re: ebay - money value of time - Posted by Ed C (So Ca)

Posted by Ed C (So Ca) on March 13, 2006 at 12:36:19:

Steve, your message about EBay is very timely. I am not sure why I do every thing but concenrate on business. Today I am taking a load of stuff to the Goodwill and start looking for MH’s. My rational seems to be GOTC which I do but really I am just dabbling with a few dollars. Thanks Steve for the wake up call!!!

Re: ebay - money value of time - Posted by john

Posted by john on March 12, 2006 at 14:11:08:

As a former ebayer (psyco-yard-seller) I do understand the urge. Last week i finished the cleanout of a unit where the lady had walked away and locked the doors. After three trips to the dump with truck and trailor I had narrowed the valuables down to one 4X12 trailor worth, My plan was to take this to the local auction, The week got away from me and I ran out of time and needed the trailor so yesterday I went to the dump and painfully dumped it all. ( I think I am a fully reformed ebayer) thanks to creonline.

Re: ebay - money value of time - Posted by Lin (NC)

Posted by Lin (NC) on March 12, 2006 at 11:02:09:

Hey Steve,
Maybe this is what older kids are for. Give them the stuff (records, china…) and let them mess around with ebay. They can learn how to see opportunities and use their brains to turn opportunities into money, which is the important lesson here.

I also get caught up in the idea that these things are worth something to somebody, and furthermore, it’s morally wrong to take something useful and throw it in the garbage (oops! Freudian slip - I accidentally typed “garage” the first time) because you don’t have time to match the stuff with the person who needs/wants it. The trick is to quickly find the person who has the time and desire to do the matching and does find it’s worth their while.

Lin

Re: ebay - money value of time - Posted by Berno

Posted by Berno on March 15, 2006 at 15:24:46:

At least I’m not alone! I’ve throw litterally tons of decent things away from houses that I have purchased. I have found a couple of nifty things too like a diamond ring and an old percussion-cap shotgun, but mostly just the regular stuff.
I like your idea about having an advid eBayer stop by and look through your piles. What part of Iowa are you from Jeff?

just shows - Posted by Steve-WA

Posted by Steve-WA on March 13, 2006 at 14:57:50:

you’re not alone Ed - I need to give a little more focus int he right directions sometimes, too!

Donation = tax deduction - Posted by Keith (OH)

Posted by Keith (OH) on March 12, 2006 at 14:45:55:

I too hate throwing away perfectly good property because I don’t have the time to deal with it.

Even worse is PAYING to take the stuff to the dump.
Next time you have a load of relatively valuable stuff you might consider taking it to the salvation army, VA or any othe Non-Profit center for free and take the tax deduction on your estimated value of the belongings.

If you can’t get cash for it you can at least enjoy a tax deduction.

Just a thought,
Keith