What's the best way to get rid of a lot of stuff quickly?

[Deja Q]

As I'm boycotting the media, I want to be rid of my DVD, CD, and VHS collections. (I'm keeping my computer lab components though, gotta study for Linux certs! Screw MS, I'd rather die than support their crap and be responsible every time their bug screws up everybody's data due to bad file system design (WinFS is a terrible joke right now and NTFS, hyped as it was, was a bit of a lie and a letdown too) or viruses/worms...

But I digress.

Especially if I have to move, I own too much stuff. I wish reality would have dawned on me 5 years ago. But even then, would it make a difference?

Especially if I have to file bankruptcy. My debt isn't appallingly large, but my monthly payments are killing me... (5 years to repay the loans, which is essentially the principal plus 40% more in interest, oh maybe it is a lot...) and given the introduction of thin client technology into my employer, I estimate I've got 3-5 years before I lose my job, though since they did renew their Microsoft Software Assurance plan for 3 years, I know I've probably got that long. At which point I'm hoping to be dead because I'll never be able to get work elsewhere doing what I love to do and Lord knows I can't get into retail...

Hurry up 2004 and I'll pray Americans wake up by then. x(

[MojoKrunch]

1. PM me your address, I'll stop by to pick up your stuff.

What I don't keep I'll give to charity.

:D

Mojo

[WeirdSceneGoldmine]

2. A stochastic mixture of oxygen and "stuff" + a lit match

Nothing left but carbon compounds and the neighbors calling the cops.

[tjdee]

3. 1)Sell it on ebay, 2)give it to shelter/school/goodwill, 3)give it to me.

If you felt like it, you could sell it on ebay. That would get you a bit of money, anyway. But, it's not so much quick--you have to write out the description, send it out....or, you could hire a trading assistant to do all that (don't know how much that is, think it varies).

The quickest way, IMO, is to call up a school or goodwill and tell them you have got something they can use--if they can't use it, they may know who can.

Or, you can just give it all to me, which is probably going to be a constant theme in this thread :) .

Or...technically you *could* just light it all on fire...but dvd players and cds...don't know what kind of flame they make.

[maggrwaggr]

4. Salvation Army. Get a receipt. Write it off on your taxes

Just load up your car and drop it off.

[amazona]

7. you can't write it off on your taxes

You have to be able to itemize to deduct charitable donations -- not an option for most of us.

[Skittles]

9. yup - another way us singles tend to get screwed

grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr

[soothsayer]

5. yard sale---faster than ebay

tho you won't make as much, but you can still make ALOT

[amazona]

6. quickly? well, that's a little more challenging

I would scan all my DVDs, CDs, and VHS tapes into half.com and see how many will sell immediately -- a little pop-up will come up and tell you if someone has that DVD or CD on a "wait list." You can sell it immediately for a certain price.

If there is no wait list for the item, move on and list it on amazon.com.

If you are in south Louisiana or Mississippi, PM me and I might be able to make you an offer or have a friend (who is a dealer) make you an offer for those items.

Three years before you lose your job is forever. Instead of being in a rush and taking our discount offer --$50 for "everything" is what my friend usually gives -- you can sell these items yourself online and you'll do fine.

For heavy items too nuisance-y to ship, find out what is the MAJOR newspaper for your greater urban area. Even if you live way out in the country. What is the nearest city? Check with that newspaper. They will probably allow you to place a free classified ad every week for an item under $100. What is so great about that? This -- you can sell one item every week, concentrating on items too heavy to ship, such as an old sofa you are just going to throw out anyway. Example: I had an old RV sofa given to me. I take out a free ad offering the old piece of crap for $35. Someone comes and pays me $35 to haul this piece of junk away. Do you see the beauty of this? With a three year time span, you can easily empty out your whole apartment and be down to nothing but a backpack of necessituies so you can take off and see the world when you get fired. :-)

Take the money you earn from selling your junk and pay down your bills a bit faster.

When you run out of things to sell, we can talk about dumpster diving. :-) Don't get scared. I am not talking about anything illegal, I am talking about people throwing away perfectly good stuff that you can just as well rescue and sell for no fee through the classified ads. Again, even if it's only an extra $20, put it toward paying down the debt with a goal of being debt-free in 3 years rather than 5 years. Also, when people know that you dumpster dive, they start saving stuff to give to you instead of just throwing it out, and your part-time hobby job of getting and selling junk eventually becomes much easier.

[BiggJawn]

8. Would it be really kosher to give you arson tips?

I don't think so, but the thought did occur to me....

[Wickerman]

10. Auction

I am probably wrong but it seems like you are in the Twin Cities. If not, every large city has an auction house. In the cities (or close by) is Shakopee (spelling?) Auction House -in, Shakopee. They take your stuff of value and sell in their next auction. You won't get a ton and have to give them a percentage (and perhaps contribute to advertising). If you have collectable stuff separate it out and let them know - I don't really know the folks in Shakopee, but most are willing to listen if you let them know that certain stuff has more value than the other stuff. Most auctioneers are ignorant of stuff that isn't toys or antiques and appreciate the heads up. Good luck - downsizing is good, but things really will improve.

[supernova]

11. 2nd the Auction idea

The beauty is they come pick up the stuff, depending on how much there is. You just have to identify what things you want them to sell for you.

They will take about 15% cut of anything they sell for you and send you a check.

If there isn't a lot, you may have to wait a couple of weeks for them to throw your stuff in with some other similar items, enough to hold an auction.

[mitchum]

12. Insurance fraud is always an option...

not that I'm encouraging you or anything