Do you know what your stuff is worth? There’s a video circulating by the great Gary Vaynerchuk about making a profit from other people’s stuff by buying their yard sale items and flipping them for profit. And here’s another where he shows you just how easy it is to do:
And yes, you could do as Gary says/does and easily make $1000 off of someone else’s stuff. People make careers of other people’s stuff! Auction Hunters and Pawn Stars are two shows I know of that help prove my (and Gary’s) point.
So that brings up a rather important piece of advice worthy of discussion – again – because it’s something I’ve mentioned in all three Sell All Your Stuff books. And that piece of advice is:
Know What Your Stuff is Worth!
Got a stash of baseball cards and have no clue who that Honus Wagner character is? Check out Beckett.com and look up the value of that vintage card. Not sure what your Franklin Mint cars or Royal Daulton plates or are worth? Check them on eBay. Better yet, google your items and you’ll find even more places to find your stuff’s net worth.
The summer when we sold all our stuff we had a guy stop by every yard sale we had (we had at least four) asking if we were selling old video games. We asked the guy what the deal was with old video games. He said video games and consoles are a HUGE market and that he scores “big-time” at yard sales. So if you have some dusty versions of Donkey Kong, you may want to check the price on eBay before tossing it in the $1 bin at your yard sale.
Back in the early spring we helped a relative with an estate sale. She had a booth at an antique mall in Florida, so she had A LOT of stuff. One of her little treasures was a case full of old padlocks, skeleton keys, lighters, and other stuff most people wouldn’t even glance at. Well, before the sale I did a quick search on eBay for some of the locks she had and they ranged from $30-$50. Some guy ended up coming in and buying the whole case for a few hundred dollars. He likely got a good deal, too. And who knows, maybe he was going to turn around and sell them in his store or on eBay himself. Heck, maybe it was Gary Vaynerchuk in disguise!
One thing I didn’t dare touch at our relative’s sale was artwork. I know nothing about it and I can’t price it (unless it’s clearly a reprint). We’ve all heard a tale of the person who found a Rembrandt or a Monet at a flea market or yard sale and became an instant millionaire. I doubt I’ll ever be the guy who accidentally buys one, but I also won’t be the guy who sells one, for that matter. If you have artwork, you may want to do some research before you sell it, because you don’t want to be that person either, do you?
My point is that when you’re selling your stuff you should know know what your stuff is worth. Sure, it’s just stuff in the end and you just want to get rid of it, I get it. But if you can fund some travels, a life experience or two, or maybe a much needed night out on the town, a few extra bucks would be better in your pocket than someone like Gary Vaynerchuk’s – and I’m sure he’d agree!
Now go sell all your stuff at the right price before Gary Vaynerchuk comes and buys your stuff and quadruples his profits!
Very interesting article! I bet a lot of people don’t really know how much their stuff is worth! I used to collect stamps when I was little. Luckily I did some research before I sold my things (and stamp collection) and yes, this collection helped me finance my very expensive ticket to Australia 🙂
Good for you for doing the research. Stamp collections can pull in a lot of money. Glad to hear you have also embraced a life with less!
Great tips for finding value in anything and everything! I thought I found some valuable artwork in my basement once, but it turns out it was drawn by my 3-year-old. I still framed it and put it on the wall 🙂
Kevin, hang on to that artwork, you never know! That’s also one thing I mention in our eBooks; you don’t need to buy expensive prints, just frame your kids artwork!
Great tips! I sold some of my things to help fund our move to Los Angeles. It was so helpful!
That’s awesome Carlie! You must have had some nice stuff, I hear LA is expensive!
I have no idea but need to find out. Big plans to eliminate a storage building and get our house AirBNB ready by the end of the year! Thanks for all the legwork you provided 😉
Anytime Melody! AirBnB, sounds like a fun adventure right there!
That’s so true. When my parents had their house in the North of France, they had a lot of stuff, especially from the previous owner, some old books from my mum, old key holders of my grandfather etc. They sold it for nothing at the antique market of our village. And the guys were very happy to dig in our old attic for these treasures. Of course, they were collectors and resellers…
As the saying goes…one man’s trash is another man’s treasure!
When you guys are here this fall, let’s have a day of selling our stuff… especially all of the baseball cards. Too often we’re giving stuff away that we could garage sale away.
We’ll put your most valuable cards on your kids bicycle spokes so they make fun noises when they ride them 🙂
Great tip to hang onto artwork. I don’t do a lot of garage sales (buying or selling), but I’m always curious about the possibility of becoming a millionaire if I went to the right one.
And I love that Gary Vee did this video, btw.
It’s not that one needs to hang on to artwork, they just need to know its worth…something we know nothing about! In cases like that we’d seek a more professional valuation.
It is indeed imperative to do some research and know the worth of the stuff you want to sell, after all what you deem as of no use could turn out to be invaluable to someone else. Nice perspective here on this, thanks for sharing.
It sure is Voyager. A few minutes researching can lead to a pirate-like bounty!
It’s like anything you may find in your house you didn’t know you had that could be worth money. I found an old train I had at my parents house darn thing was worth about $150. Not Bad, but you just have to put in a little effort I suppose. Thanks for the Read
What if my stuff is a tree log that was “supposed to be a table” ?
Well Tish, that would depend on where you’re located. If on the Pacific Northwest side of North America, tree logs are pretty easy to come by, so might be less than what it could fetch inland. Always an idea to do a search on Craigslist to see if anyone else is selling tree logs that are “supposed to be a table”.
wow, so cool, hopefully a good find. I’m getting ready to sell, things. I love goodwill, salvation army and yard sales. Other folks unwanted stuff!!!!! be blessed and believe
Thanks for commenting Brian, with an i. Agreed, one person’s trash is another person’s treasure!