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Sunday, March 20, 2011

Buh-Bye Baby Stuff!

I have finally gotten motivated to list on Craigslist a big layer of baby gear (toys, strollers) that we no longer use and will have no need for in the future.  Jeff and I came to the decision a long time ago that two kids were enough and with the recent behavior of Sam, I am now fully convinced that we are done, done, done.

I sometimes feel that listing items on Craigslist is a big pain in the butt and would rather just donate everything to a worthy charity.  Especially if it is an organization like Purple Heart where they will come to you for pick-up.  What can be easier than leaving all your unwanted stuff on the front porch and not even needing to be home when they drive by on a pre-determined day? 

However, I realized that we had some really valuable items in fantastic, like-new condition that I could make the family a few extra bucks.  These things were just taking up space in our shed (anywhere from a few months to several years) and I was ready to clean house!

Over the course of one particular day I listed 8 items.  I looked up online what a brand new one would cost and then compared it to see what other people were listing their used items for on Craigslist.  I priced my stuff appropriately (usually at 50%) off the brand new cost and included pictures.  Including pictures I found to be key! 

I successfully sold everything listed and no one tried to negotiate the price!  It was amazing.  And in a few of these transactions, I was given $10 more than what I was asking and when I tried to give back change, I was told, no it was not necessary.  The guy who came to get my bookshelves (I know, this is not baby gear, but I had these bookshelves sitting in my shed for 5 years now and they weren't ever going to see the light of day), not only gave me more than money than I was asking, but also threw in his business card for a free pizza!  He apparently just opened a new pizza place in Falls Church and said the kids would love it there.

Now that I've cleared out these items, I am working on a new list of stuff to sell.  I find it easier to advertise a bunch of items all at once, then having to keep up the momentum of answering questions and replying back to emails over a longer period of time.

To the parental units reading this:  Don't worry, I am being safe!  In almost all cases, I am dealing with stay-at-home moms or I try to arrange pick-up on the weekend when Jeff is home too.  In the case of the guy with bookshelves, I had googled him beforehand, read his FB page, and told Heather exactly when he was coming over. Um, maybe this guy should've been worried about me...I turned into a cyber-stalker!! Heather and I spoke right before and right after he left  (yeah, I know, no big surprise there!).  And I always make sure to have whatever the item is right by the front door so there is no need to come through the house.

Watch out world, I am on a mission!  If the kids haven't played with it in the last 8 months or it has been sitting in our shed for more than a year, I am cleaning house.  :)

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