It sounds so easy, selling your stuff online. Of course eBay comes to mind first and foremost. How hard, really, could it be? Millions, if not hundreds of millions, of people have and continue to sell stuff on eBay. So we decided to give it a try.
To be exact, this isn’t the first time we have stepped into the selling side of the online site. But it has been a while, and things have changed — dramatically. Of course we have been known to buy, too. I don’t buy much. I’m still a touchy-feely kind of shopper. But for those who want, about 99 percent of anything is available. New or used. It’s like having a huge — really huge — closet you can step into and pick up anything from a stuffed Anteater to a Ziggy-shaped cake pan. Wow, what a dream closet that would be. Back to reality!
First you need to set up a sellers account. Then you move on to the gathering period of selling. Ah, here is the most interesting time of the whole world of selling. Unless you have something specific to sell (we didn’t) you need to pick and choose from your stash of treasures you are ready to unload — uh, sell. I thought this would be a snap as I’m no longer attached to much of anything except time. I really like time. I want as much time as I can possibly get from here on out in my existence. So picking a few items was to be just a matter of gathering — like eggs from the chickens.
Well, “best laid plans ...” as the saying goes. I began by looking around the living room. I guess I’m really not ready to sell the redwood carved bear with the big jelly looking belly. Or the one of many miscellaneous tins that held all matter of candy and liquid refreshments over the years. I moved on to the spare room. There must be something to sell in there — it’s a spare room after all. Okay, there’s the 1923 Gulbransen upright piano. Who in their right mind sells a piano on eBay? How would it get moved, shipped, delivered? Nope, too big. Maybe the collection of tiny bottles of liquor I have collected over the years. Must be a hundred of them. I find I don’t dust them as much as I did before they were moved from the grandeur of the living room to the spare room. Nope, I don’t think I can sell liquor online. It’ll take a better drinker than me to drink all those concoctions. Then I opened the closet.
As I stood there shaking my head at the mountain of stored canned goods, cat food, paper goods, cleaning supplies, I felt this overwhelming urge to just have an auction. Have someone come in room by room shouting, Abadaba, what do ya bid, here-de-there-de, whaja bid ...” Nope, online is what we’re trying first.
There in the corner, a speck caught my eye. It was a Pyrex round bread tube thingy. Still in the box. Still has the packing stuff, too. Yeah, I can do without that. So I have started my pile. Whew!
One down and two to go. I dug deeper and came up with a couple of four packs of Polaroid instant film from a camera that’s no longer made and the film is no longer made. Surely someone out there needs this film. So two things on my meager pile. Now it’s getting not only easier, but kind of fun, too. Next I come up with a — well, would you believe when I was done my pile was bigger than a bread box, and included an old bread box, but smaller than that piano? Maybe I’ll give the piano a try.
One of the first things we had to realize is we will probably not get the price we paid for our stuff. But for the old stuff and the cool stuff the sky may be the limit. When selling it’s so important to remember you can put any price on anything, but each item is only worth what someone else is willing to pay for it. Kind of like knowing someone who you would like to buy for what they are worth, and then be able to sell them for what they think they are worth! Think about it!
It’s an ongoing saga in our house, this selling of stuff. Shipping treasures to new owners all over the country. Our UPS guy is going to get a real workout. Hopefully our PayPal account grows enough to buy more time. I understand time is a precious commodity and in short supply as we get older.
Oh, and FYI, I do have a Ziggy-shaped cake pan if anyone is interested. And a piano, too.
Trina Lives in Eureka, Nevada. Her book ITY BITS can be found on Kindle. Share your thoughts with her at itybytrina@yahoo.com.