I Love Craigslist

I pulled out a bunch of stuff I was not using and snapped some pictues and posted them on Craigslist yesterday. I have already got one buy (a set of baking pans for $5.00) and three more potential buys. Isn't it fun? Most things were small, but I also had a couple of pieces of furniture that I don't really need. I think the key is to post pictures on there too.

I've had a couple of no-spend days in the past week. My challenge of cooking at eating at home is working fine. I made some parsley-oregano pesto last night and tossed it into some rotini pasta with some garlic, olives, artichokes, dried pepper flakes and romano cheese. It was delightful. But today and tomorrow, I am lunching out with friends. My budget is looking awful right now.... all negative numbers.

My Yard Sale...

... was a complete washout. I sold a few things on Friday which just covered the advertising cost. But on Saturday, once I had set everything out and was ready to do some business, it rained cats and dogs and a lot of my stuff got wet, and no one came to buy anything. I'll list a few items on Craigslist and freecycle, but am terribly disappointed in how the whole thing turned out. On the plus side, I met a few interesting people who came browsing. I also got a free advertisement coupon when I placed my ad, but I don't think I am going to place another ad for a garage sale since I am not sure I want to have one anymore.

PayPerPost Paid!

I got my first payment from PayPerPost. $18.92. I don't think I am getting any more payments from them though, because I don't seem to qualify for any of their opportunities. If I had a non-blogger URL, I might. We'll see.

Other news... I'm holding a yard sale this weekend. I spent $20 on advertizing it and getting the signs, labels etc. I hope to take $100 bringing my profit to $80. That is the goal, at least - we'll see what happens. Wish me luck.

Money All Around

Once you start looking around for money, it seems to be remarkably easy to come by. Since yesterday, I have made $202.87!!! Amazon is wonderful – I love it. I sold 4 books and 3 DVDs in one day! And these are books that I don’t read anymore, and DVDs that I don’t watch anymore. That totaled $147.87. I’ll have spend money to mail the stuff out, but it’ll all be media mail and so not very expensive anyway. I have more listings on Amazon – so hopefully I’ll sell more. Amazon has high commissions – but the speed and the consumer base is stupendous. Also, unlike eBay and PayPal transactions, you can cash-out free of charge.

This is finals week at my school and graduate students often have to proctor exams for undergraduates. Now, a friend of mine who was scheduled to invigilate had some studying of her own to do and I subbed for her. She gave me $30 for an hour and a half. I also cashed out my $25 sign-in bonus on Revolution Money Exchange. (You can sign on too and get $25 free just for signing on – check the link on the right sidebar). And all that is a total of $202.87. Not bad for one day! Now why didn't I think of doing this before???

Selling Stuff Online

I began making a list of items to sell online today. Books mainly - I have a lot of them. It's the academic books that people usually buy at high prices - I have fewer of these that I want to sell off than my fiction books which are much harder to move. Most people when raising money sell on eBay. I thought of that, but I've had bad experiences both selling and buying on eBay and am a bit eBay-shy. However, I am in the process of trying to conquer that fear in order to raise money. I began by listing ten books on amazon.com. Amazon has wonderful guidelines and standards and I have always had good experiences with it. So I will start there for now. I also have a lot of other unwanted junk that I believe people online are eager to buy.

At some point this summer I also plan on having a garage sale. Hopefully I will raise some money through that as well. But again, I don’t think I have the sort of stuff that sells at high prices – it’s the kid’s clothes and toys that sell for good money. I also listed a charcoal grill on Craigslist. I listed it at $15.00, all of which will be a profit since the grill was handed down to me by the previous renter of my apartment. No bites yet. I’m hoping and praying that people will soon want to take some stuff off my hands and lighten their wallets a little in my favor.

Update - 2 hrs later: That was fast! I sold one book already on Amazon - $31.39 after estimated shipping costs and Amazon commission. This is wonderful. I also listed 5 DVDs. I hope lots of people buy stuff from me. :-)