The Fresh Start-Help me do it!

educere

Right so heres the story.

New year new start...stuck in a rut too long (years)and broke & heart broken..... but not going to complain about it any more.

I have been inspired by this story
http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/weekend/2010/1127/1224284232197.html

Not emigrating or think we are too negative...though thats the only difference. Basically I am surrounded by stuff from an old relationship and memories I don't need anymore so I want to sell it all.The whole lot.My old life. This means glassware, dvds, books, cutlery, you name it...and loads more besides. This is all good stuff from the dear old boom days so would be tasteful etc. Would a flea market be a bad idea? Don't want to give the stuff away and if it covered some of my debts then that would be super.
I think putting it on a website does not appeal...too much organising and posting and answering questions to and fro...postage etc.
You all seem like a fairly independent bunch of ladies here so give me some experience of 'starting over...A to Z' How to Spring-clean him out of your life & make a few quid while you are at it. Will travel anywhere..
If I can do this...it would do so much to restore my self-worth and feeling that I can make it on my own. Thanks for reading.:D

MagicMarker

Well if you don't want any hassle then just give it all away. Other than that, you will have hassle no matter what. So I suggest eBay or Adverts, the former you have to worry about postage, the latter you don't.

educere

Thanks. I have given alot to charity shops already. The rest is nice substantial stuff..household/bike/garden stuff etc. Would the likes of the Dublin Flea market be a good idea I wonder. I have sort of ruled out internet sales. I thought more like a weekend job but not a car boot sale....am afraid of them.
Any more ideas....how to...pricing etc. No clue how to do this but NEED to do it.

missrandomer

really like your thinking fair play to you.

how about them swap sites, as you could swap some of your things for something usefull that you always wanted or would like.

I think your best bet is to do a car boot sale thing, you could check out some hotels though, they would have events on say a saturday or a sunday where you rent a table and sell or advertise your business or the likes of tarot readers etc, think everyones been to these kinda days. You dont have to be a business as such.

You still have to price everything, pack and set up so mayb ebay or done deal is way to go. Its easy just pick five things and put them up each nite or something. Best of luck though

Catari Jaguar

Ebay. Put a reserve price on it and then let people bid to their hearts content. One woman had a retro video game listed. She found it unopened in her attic. She prob would have sold it for 20 quid at a car boot sale. A bunch of collectors saw it on ebay and realising it's rarity and value started a price war. She sold it for $40,000! :cool:

n0irin

I think it's a wonderful idea! Car Boot Sales and such seem to have been getting a lot more common lately, I guess a lot of people are willing to part with things for some cash.

I thought the article was really inspiring and is making me think about what I would sell if I decided to sell a lot of my things...what I could part with. My initial reaction is - no, not my books and my DVDs - guess it shows that I am somewhat attached to certain objects...The very Best of luck with it all though! I hope you get that fresh start you've been chasing!

dashboard_hula

This has given me the push I needed to sell off 2 boxes of magazines that I've hoarded since I was 18 - it's all the old sci-fi/fantasy stuff I used to be mad into so even if I give them away it'll make someone happy and be one less thing to move with me!

Before I moved to Australia I was a horrible hoarder - I kept everything, no matter how old or useless. But living out of a backpack for a year teaches you to be ruthless and make sacrifices. When I came home I did a massive clearout, and the whole aim was to be able to pile your entire life into the boot of a car and go. I now have a couple of huge scrapbooks that I keep any ticket stubs, photos, notes etc that I want to keep in and they're handy to look at when you want to but they're not in your face.

My company announced redundancies last week, and even though I'm not sure where I stand, I deal with pressure like that by going home and scrubbing/organising/moving/clearing - typical displacement behaviour. I completely reorganised the front room - the "Fire it in there" room over the past 3 days, and I moved 3 refuse sacks of crap out. I'm now left with the bare essentials, and a 4 foot high pile of paperwork that I've been avoiding for the past 2 years. It's sitting on my desk in front of my computer so I'll have to deal with it to shift it.

Bit of a ramble, but I definitely know where you're coming from!

briscotti

I've done the same with my stuff; did the flea market, was very successful though in hindsight i sold everything far too cheap; in saying that also though, i don't think I would have done so well if I hadn't sold so cheap. Made about 250 euro selling stuff i didnt even see as having any value anymore.

I have sold on Ebay, and i agree it is a bit of hassle but if you find yourself on the laptop late at night it can be a nice productive way of spending that time - its nice havin a couple of quid in the paypal account as well! It might be worth it for a few of the smaller items, that would definetly sell, and you might not get what you want for at the flea market.

If you have any questions about the markets or anything I will try and help, i've also done a couple of car boot sales - i find the crowd literally expect to pay next to nothing for things, and I reckon you'd be better off at the flea market.

p.s.: mega kudos for not sitting around in stewing in your own **** like i've seen so many other people do - it's so liberating to get rid of all the stuff and start fresh!!!!

educere

Well,

Thanks for the replies:)

Spent ages researching ebay/adverts/donedeal/flea markets etc....then went up and started looking.


......just down from the attic.


I have so many goods in their packages...dusty...slightly cold..lots of spiders...Miss havisham-like if you will....like the old me

Then I found programmes...and articles..and so much stuff.

So I decided I will put the 'memory' stuff into 1 box. And close it. Until another time. Spread all over the floor for now though. Too hard.

But the rest is simply too good to give away. So I will post some on E-bay..compared the recent posts with stuff upstairs and I know that they can find good unbiased homes.

To summarise:
The best on E-bay I think? The useful on adverts and the rest to the flea for a fun -'not bringing anything back day'.

So now the real task begins: am going to have to get an understanding but tough gutsy friend to help me catalogue and sell. Have I mentioned how hard this is? (Need more people to say 'yep I did it...it hurt,,this is how I did it and now I feel feckin brilliant!!!!) I mean do I take out a clipboard...do I ask the super for spare boxes....what/how/???

Is this a plan? Remember I am doing this to unburden myself of a broken heart and make some cash. Not like the article where the person has a loving supportive crew. (Thats what has held me back so long)

S**t- why didn't I do this sooner?...still scary though and some tears were shed.

So toughen up readers and give it to me straight!!

confuseddotcom

O.P. are you asking Boardsies if they will buy stuff off you?!?! Just asking as I thought that wasn't allowed .....

Good luck with the Fresh Start!