Giving VS Selling - Page 2

[~PurityLake~]

Originally Posted by zenenlightened

MY DH and I have had many fights about this. He thinks that we should sell every last thing but I don't see him doing any work to sell. Even if it takes years to sell, he wants to keep items.

Same here, except, he wants to sell everything AND he wants it all gone NOW.

Talk about wishful thinking.

[pumpkin]

I tend to give. There are a two big factors for this. I generally don't need the money from selling small items. Time is my asset in shortest supply. Clutter causes me stress so there is a high cost to keeping items around until I get to selling.

I just went through the basement yesterday. I've got a huge pile for donation and DP and I agreed that I would try to sell a couple of other items. This is mainly because he doesn't actually want to get rid of them and they actually are expensive items - we just don't need them anymore.

[nikkiana]

I would say that about 98% of the time, I'm a giver. Selling just seems like way too much energy most of the time, especially since most of the items we have to declutter are so small. What I tend to do is wait till there's a bunch, then list it on Freecycle, because most people around here tend to take more than one thing.

[mommyddeville]

For me, it's about 95% giving, and 5% selling to the consignment store. I just don't ever list things on craigslist or ebay, and it's not worth the crazy amount of time it takes, anyway. The reward is in knowing that someone else really loves it, to me.

[Mihelinka]

I do both.

I take some of the kids old clothes/ to consignment shops. I try to sell pricier things I've gotten for the kids.

I used to Freecycle. Now I usually just donate to 2 different charities.

I also give stuff to my sister, aunt & mom If i know they will luse it.

[flowmom]

Selling and freecycling are both so much work :. Even dropping stuff off at the Salvation Army has gotten quite complex (have to go to a different city to drop off donations, and they quiz you on exactly what you are donating) :.

[lovebug]

i sell if it is great shape and worth something


i give if it is in great shape/worth something and im to lazy to sell it. things like clothes i normally donate because the are of MUCH use to most!

[marybethorama]

I don't sell

There are no consignment stores or secondhand book stores here either. I could sell books, I certainly have enough but I don't mind giving to Goodwill since their books are dirt cheap (cheaper than any used bookstore I've ever been to) and I get such good deals there.

I've sold one or two things on Ebay but I really don't want to be bothered.

I'm not interested in having a yard sale. Just the thought of all that stuff lying around makes me twitchy . I like to get stuff out as soon as possible.

[marybethorama]

Originally Posted by pibblestiltskin@ma

I am a giver. I have a hard enough time organizing myself to just take stuff to the thrift shop/drop box. I'd never get rid of anything if I had to go to the effort of selling it.

That's the real reason I don't sell. I could never be organized enough.

[Toady]

Both here too. Approx 30% is sold, the rest given away.

[onemoremom]

I give. Mostly because I'm too lazy/disorganized to bother selling, but I also tend to trust that what goes around, comes around. I figure I'll stop finding great stuff that I need at awesome prices at the Goodwill, if nobody donates.

Giving = good 'stuff karma'

[theretohere]

I've always had pretty good luck with being given things I need. I try to pay that forward.

[IncaMama]

hey, i'm not ashamed. i sell if i can. i'll usually try for a few weeks and then donate if it's not moving.

[Caneel]

A giver.

I had 2 years worth of baby gear and clothing that we could not part with. My idea was to sell it, thinking that money in the savings would out weigh the pain of parting with my son's baby stuff.

The nearest used kids shop is over an hour away and I took a load there once. I was shocked at how little they wanted to give me for the stuff, less than a $1 per item for nearly brand new items like infant sleepwear, winter clothing, buntings, etc. I am not going to throw out brand names but this stuff was high quality and in excellent condition. The funny thing was, when I declined to accept their offer, the saleslady acted quite put out and huffy.

I gave it all away. A newly married and pregnant couple down the street got all the gear (3 carseats, bouncy chairs, etc.) Another couple got a lot of clothes that they would not have been able to afford. The local shelter got all the sleepers and highly re-usable type of kid stuff. This was the only way I could emotionally pass it on, knowing that someone could benefit.

Household stuff I also give away. I had a yard sale once. It took me two full days to prepare and another full day to "sell" The total cash intake was about $35. Not worth the time and energy put into the process.

[~Nikki~]

Originally Posted by Ruthla

I also believe that what goes around comes around. When I've been truly in need of stuff, it's come to me anyway.

Oooh, I wish that were the case for us!! We're desperatly in need of a bunk bed. I was hoping for a half-height one (they sell them at Ikea, the lower mattress sits on the floor so that the higher bunk doesn't have to be scary high). We're stuck in a 2 bdr apartment for the time being, and our kids have to share a room. Unfortunatly, we only have one single bed...

We gave away two beds before we moved. A queen sized and a double sized - neither of which would have fit in the kids' room, anyway. It's so teensy. My argument to DH about giving them away instead of selling them was: "Don't worry, somebody will be giving away a bunk bed by the time we need to move." It's been nearly 6 months, bleh. I saw ONE bunk bed on Craigslist, being sold for $100. A little out of our price range, so I tried to talk him down a bit. No luck. Poor kiddo is still bedless.

[CortLong]

Generally I'm a giver. If it's something that is going to bring in the big bucks if I sell it on e-bay or the like then I'll do it- otherwise- I give.

[LilWin]

I'm a giver myself, but married to a HUGE seller. If I mention I want to get rid of something and/or give it to someone, he quickly checks out EBay or other auction sites to see if it will sell first, and will only let me give when it's not "worth something". I must admit that his way of doing things has made us some nice pocket money at times, but I just like make people happy by giving them something. But I'll admit that the times I tried to give my sister some nice clothes (like recently a DKNY skirt, for example, so no junk) and she refused them, I was kinda insulted. So the giving only feels good when people appreciate it. Is that weird/selfish or normal?

[celestialdreamer]

I chose both. Most of the time I'm a giver because I don't have time to sell things and I usually want them out RIGHT NOW Also, I live right down the street from Goodwill which is super convienent to drop stuff off. Usually I try to give things to friends first. I like the feeling of giving un-needed possessions out there into to the universe without asking for anything in return.

With that said, I do occasionally sell things. Typically they have to be items that I know will sell easily and I've probably already tried to give them away to friends first. Usually this is things like cloth diapers, slings, nice toys, etc. I usually only do this if I am trying to raise money for something specific. I just sold a bunch of our cloth diapers on the TP and took a ton of nice toys to a kids consignment store. The cloth diapers I purposedly listed for less than they were worth to give another mama a good deal. I just wanted to raise enough money for me to buy my kids a specific toy to replace a made in China toy that we purged. The nice toys gave us a credit at my fav kids consignment store, so I can get the kids clothes as needed. In these cases it was really worth a little effort for me to sell it.

[Ruthla]

Originally Posted by ~Nikki~

Oooh, I wish that were the case for us!! We're desperatly in need of a bunk bed. I was hoping for a half-height one (they sell them at Ikea, the lower mattress sits on the floor so that the higher bunk doesn't have to be scary high). We're stuck in a 2 bdr apartment for the time being, and our kids have to share a room. Unfortunatly, we only have one single bed...

We gave away two beds before we moved. A queen sized and a double sized - neither of which would have fit in the kids' room, anyway. It's so teensy. My argument to DH about giving them away instead of selling them was: "Don't worry, somebody will be giving away a bunk bed by the time we need to move." It's been nearly 6 months, bleh. I saw ONE bunk bed on Craigslist, being sold for $100. A little out of our price range, so I tried to talk him down a bit. No luck. Poor kiddo is still bedless.

Ah, but that's a very specific item you're looking for- that's hard to find even if you had the money to purchase new.

I'm thinking about things like "I lost weight and couldnt' afford clothes that fit" and somebody offered me 4 nearly-new blouses in the right size. They're not the exact style I would have chosen, but they serve the purpose. I gave away outgrown clothing and somebody else offers me a bag of hand-me-downs that fit my kids. Again, not exactly the styles I would have selected but it meets our basic needs.

For the bunk bed, I'd look for a "platform bed" and put a mattress on the floor underneath. If the legs are too long, they can be cut.

[~Nikki~]

Hmm, you DID just give me a grand idea, Ruthla, with your comment about cutting legs off. Thank you. I'm going to have my husband look into the cost of wood to BUILD a freaking bed. He is a carpenter, after all. Duh.