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How to Make Money on Your Next Move

Written by Posted On Friday, 05 July 2019 18:19
How to Make Money on Your Next Move

Moving interstate to California is not only hard work; it can also be costly work. A successful move requires more than simply packing up and leaving. For homeowners, it often requires the purchase of packing materials, the cost of landscaping and basic fixes to the home. It also includes the costs involved in setting up at the other end and having everything you own transported to your new location.

Most people tend to pack and move haphazardly and hurriedly. As a result, they missed the opportunity to actually make some money on the move as well as prevent the cost of replacing damaged goods.

A well-planned and a well-timed house move can actually be done in such a way that costs are reduced to a minimum, and you can make a few dollars on the side.

Before you start cramming everything into a box in preparation for your next move, consider these practical an insight for ways of being able to make some money as a result of your moving.

Organize a Yard Sale

California is a haven for yard sales. Though you may not make a lot of money per item, the amount of things you can sell not only brings in some fast cash but also potentially reduces your shipping and moving expenses.

Why pack a whole lot of unwanted appliances, furniture and other items and then decide what to do with them? Why not simply move them on out for cash and reduce the amount of packing you have to do in the first place.

If you're going to run a yard sale, be sure to advertise in the Los Angeles or California neighborhood closest to your own community and be sure to price your items reasonably and be willing to negotiate.

Make it easy for people to move around the objects you're trying to sell and be attentive so that you can answer questions and push the sales through. If you simply sit back with a coffee in your hand watching from your deck chair, you're not likely to move nearly as much stuff.

The ideal yard sale is a yard sale in which everything you have to sell goes one way or another.

Make Cash from Furniture and White Goods

Hiring a moving company is expensive and it’s best to sell any furniture or belongings that are not essential for your new place. Consider using an online “buy/swap and sell” website that's local and can bring about a quick turn-around.

You'll be surprised at the number of people in your neighborhood who are up for a second-hand fridge, washing machine or tumble dryer. People are also always interested in buying second-hand furniture in order to improve or make more useful the space in their own homes.

Many of these “buy/swap and sell” type sites in your local area will be free to advertise on or have minimal costs involved. They have a regular run of qualified local visitors to their website, which makes the sale quick and painless. 

Of course, if you are going to have people to your home to examine your goods or you're planning to deliver them locally, act wisely and cautiously and be sure to get the details you need to identify the people you're making the sale with.

Clothes, Clothes, and More Clothes

Your old and unused clothes are a perennial seller on sites like Gumtree. People are always on the lookout to save money on good quality second-hand clothes, and so it's worth the effort to separate those clothes that have been sitting around forever and which could now be converted to cash.

Brands that sell well include St John's, Eileen Fisher, Ralph Lauren, Anthropologie, Country Road, Levi and a wide range of children's niche brands.

If you're not in too much of a hurry, then establishments like Buffalo Exchange also agree to sell your clothes on consignment.

Women and children's clothes and accessories tend to do the best but boots, jeans and collared shirts also do well in the men's category.

Even that old, dusty tweed jacket that's been sitting in your closet forever can fetch an excellent price if you sell it in the right location and to the right audience.

Books are Still Big Business

Tired of packing and unpacking that unused set of encyclopaedias or your Anne of Green Gables collection? These are highly sought after items. Before you consider tossing these in the bin or giving them away to a thrift shop, a quick browse online will give you an idea of their relative worth and the best place to sell them.

Abebooks Has been doing fantastic business for years in second-hand online books as have another a number of other outlets.

The temptation is always to throw away our old books and magazines but a couple of hours studying the market and setting aside those books you no longer need can easily make you a couple of hundred of extra dollars depending on the size of your unwanted collection of books.

Your local used bookstore is a nice, quick solution. Though the payout will be typically lower than online, it's a great way to deal with a significant number of books quickly.

Amazon is still a good place to sell your books, so you have to look after the shipping & payment yourself. I've not used them myself, but sites like We Buy Books might also be worth looking into.

Unearthing Your Old Electronics

If you've lived in one location for a while, there's a good chance you've gathered a dust pile of old electronic devices. From game consoles to Smartphones, a lot of these things tend to be stored in drawers and cupboards never to be seen again. When the move happens is tempting to simply throw them all away.

However, you're all electronics may still hold someday. For parts and for the device themselves, quick sales and quick cash can be made.

Online services such as Gazelle or TradeMore are big business in the smartphone buy and sell space. Simply describe your phone's model and conditions, and you'll be offered a price estimate.

In the case of Gazelle, If you agree to the terms, they will ship you a patent box in which to send your mobile phone to their location. If you decide to make the exchange for an Amazon gift voucher instead of cash to increase the sale or purchase price by another 3%.

Other electronic items such as game consoles can often fetch a reasonable price on sites like eBay and tend to sell quickly.

These ideas can bring in anywhere from a few hundred to a few thousand dollars and potentially pay for two-thirds of your moving expenses in the process. All it takes is a little planning and some patients.

Image, Pixabay, CC0 License

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David Trounce

David is a freelance writer and publisher living in New South Wales, Australia. David writes on a wide range of topics affecting the property, e-commerce and real estate investment market.

realestate.com.au/

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