Your Junk is Another Persons Gold

Saving money can be quite hard to do if you are on a tight budget, but all of us can do it very simply by selling the things that are cluttering up our homes and which we no longer need. I am fairly sure that most of us, if asked, would like some extra cash to help pay off a loan or other debt, or to put towards something nice like a holiday or something else that you would like to save up for.

What Can I Sell to Save?

The answer to this question is almost anything. You would be surprised what people are willing to buy if they like one particular thing you own or if they are interested in collecting certain things. Below is a list of things that you might find in your home and could sell, but this is by no means a complete list. Use your imagination and have a good look around the cupboard under the stairs and the garage! You can also have a look on the Internet at sites specialising in collectables and memorabilia ? these will give you an idea of what people are interested in buying and most importantly for you, how much you can charge.

Advertising and packaging ? This can be much sought after by collectors if they are in good condition. Certain types are more popular than other for example cigarettes, food and cosmetics products. They do not always necessarily have to be old ? I recently sold a tin that contained candies, which I bought about a month ago. I sold it to a woman who paid 10 dollars for it because she was collecting tins from this particular brand of candy and my one had a famous cartoon character on the side of it.

Autographs ? Do have an old autograph hanging around from someone you admired when you were a child? These could bring in anything from around 10 dollars to 7000 dollars if it is from someone really famous and there are few others around.

Baby care accessories ? these can be incredibly expensive to buy new these days and many first-time parents look for second-hand items that they can pick up at a reduced price.

Books ? Rare books and first editions can bring in significant sums of money. We've all checked our kid's Harry Potter books to see if they are a first edition haven't we!

Bottles ? Yes bottles! Old and rare bottles are extremely collectable and can earn you anything from 5 dollars to 5000 dollars. These could include stoneware beer bottles or 19th Century poison bottles.

Records ? Old and rare records in good condition can earn you a few dollars, if you are old enough to remember what records are!

Toys and games ? Old and rare toys and games are a particular collector's favorite, as are newer ones that are connected with popular films and TV series. The latter need to be in really good condition. 20 years ago, as a kid in his mid-teens, my cousin was buying Star Wars figures and keeping them sealed in their packets. They are now worth up to 250 dollars each! You can still get around 20 dollars for figures that are no longer boxed but are in good condition.

As you can see, the phrase "in good condition" keeps coming up and this is the key to making money from your unwanted belongings. A damaged item will sell for far less than one that is in good condition and may not even make you any money at all.

How and where can I sell?

Once you have something that you want to sell, there are many ways of doing it. The following are just a few ideas. To start with you could ask your friends, neighbours and work colleagues if they are interested in what you have. Many companies have an internal newsletter or Intranet where "items for sale" can be advertised for free. You could use classified ads in local newspapers and on the Internet ? many of these are also free. Garage sales and car boot sales are other options if you have quite a few things to sell. You may also wish to consider using Internet auction web sites such as Ebay. These are now hugely popular with millions of items being bought and sold at any one time, all over the world. You are certain to find that items similar to that which you intend to sell are already being sold by someone else on the Internet, so you can see what sort of purchase values they attract. This will help you decide on a suitable starting price for your own items. Sites like Ebay make their money by charging you a small listing fee and by taking a small percentage of the final selling price.

Emmanuel Mendonca is the webmaster and publisher of Debt Genius at http://www.debtgenius.com - a free source of information and advice on debt consolidation, getting out of debt and on saving money. Submit articles free.

In The News:


Minneapolis Star Tribune

President Ronald Reagan's blood for sale on auction site
Washington Post
An online auction site is hoping to find out by selling a vial that it claims was used to draw President Ronald Reagan's blood as he recovered from the gunshot wound that nearly killed him in 1981. To top it off, the auction site says, “dried blood ...
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CBS News

Disputed dinosaur fossil auctioned for $1M in NYC
BusinessWeek
By JENNIFER PELTZ A dinosaur dispute is brewing between the Mongolian government and an American auction house, which sold a fossil of a fearsome T. Rex relative despite a court order not to. The 8-foot-tall, 24-foot-long skeleton of a Tyannosaurus ...
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Hamden police auction rids department of old items while adding to town's ...
New Haven Register
By Ann DeMatteo, Register Staff HAMDEN — Some chairs and desks, three coat racks, six doors, three telephones, a chalk board and an electric pencil sharpener are no longer town property as a result of an auction held at the old detective bureau ...
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Bloomberg

Treasurys fall as stocks gain; auction on tap
MarketWatch
Last month's auction came at a yield of 0.27%. Yields on shorter-dated securities haven't fallen as much as longer-dated ones in recent weeks because they are more closely connected to interest-rate expectations — and the Federal Reserve has given no ...
Treasuries Fall Third Day Before European Summit, Note AuctionsSan Francisco Chronicle
Treasury Auctions Set for This WeekNew York Times
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Spanish, Dutch Funding Costs Move Opposite At Auctions
Wall Street Journal
By Emese Bartha Spain's borrowing costs rose further at Tuesday's Treasury bill auction, underlying the market's unease with the country's funding sustainability as bank recapitalization needs, frail finances in some of its regions and an upwardly ...

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New York Daily News

Babe Ruth jersey fetches a 'Ruthian' $4.4 million at auction
Chicago Sun-Times
By MIKE FITZPATRICK AP Sports Writer May 21, 2012 9:58AM This undated photo provided by SCP Auctions shows a circa 1920 New York Yankees baseball jersey worn by Babe Ruth that sold for more than $4.4 million at auction, Sunday, May 20, 2012.
Babe Ruth's jersey sold at auction: Piece of Yankees' history has mighty price tagnewjerseynewsroom.com
Babe Ruth's Yankees jersey sells for record-setting $4.4M at auction; Lawrence ...New York Daily News
Babe Ruth jersey sells for a record $4.4 million at auctionFox News
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African Markets - Factors to watch on May 23
Reuters
EVENTS: KENYA - 5-year treasury bond auction worth 3 billion shillings, 182-day T-bill auction UGANDA - Auctions of 2-year, 5-year bonds worth 100 billion shillings SOUTH AFRICA - April CPI data MOZAMBIQUE - C.bank on growth/inflation outlook GLOBAL ...

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Pocklington to auction off Edmonton Oilers' Stanley Cup rings
Edmonton Journal
EDMONTON — Peter Pocklington, former owner of the Edmonton Oilers, is once again putting his Stanley Cup rings up for online auction, meaning some deep-pocketed fans get another shot at buying the last remnants of the Oilers' glory days.

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Brazil Central Bank Calls Foreign Exchange Swap Auction
Wall Street Journal
SAO PAULO (Dow Jones)--The Central Bank of Brazil on Tuesday called a foreign exchange swap auction, offering contracts valued at the equivalent of $2.47 billion. The auction offers investors the opportunity to exchange paper linked to interest rates ...
Brazil Rate Futures Yields Rise on Stimulus; Real Extends DropBloomberg

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Music Center sells time with Gehry and Domingo in online auction
Los Angeles Times
Its first-ever online auction is going on right now, with 36 items up for bid. They range from what you might expect — living it up at the Los Angeles Opera's opening night gala on Sept. 15, then capping the evening by getting to hobnob briefly with ...

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