What is trash and what is cash. You know the saying, “One man’s trash is another man’s treasure.” That still holds true.
Let’s say you bought a 10×20 storage unit stacked from floor to ceiling. Boxes, containers, all 200 sq ft. packed so tight that it took you quite a bit of time to clean the locker. Transport your goods home and get ready for the dig.
Open one box and it’s full of paperback and hard cover books. You mutter, “ugh.” Toss the book box aside. Grab a container and inside frilly, girly items such costume jewelry. No gold. No silver. Ugh. Open another box and it’s full of small kitchen appliances. UGH!
Hold on a second.
What you have are items that resell. If you buy storage units because of the hoopla of incredible $$$ treasures you saw on shows like Storage Wars and Auction Hunters, you’re in the wrong business and wrong hobby.
You may stumble across a great find that will cash in thousands of dollars for you, one day. However, storage unit auctions are a not a get rich quick scheme. You buy low and sell high. In order to do that you must separate what’s trash from what’s cash.
Small appliances and large appliances sell well. Just because you didn’t find gold or silver jewelry, costume jewelry is what most girls, teens, ladies and women wear. Show the sparkle and she will show you the cash.
Try not to snub books either. Not everyone has an e-book reader. Romance novels, biographies and especially textbooks resell well. Tools, furniture in decent condition, toys, sports gear, and electronics (newer) sell.
Let’s define trash: Anything worthless, useless, or discarded.
A box full of books is not necessarily trash. If you don’t want to go through the trouble of selling each book individually, sell in bulk. I sold 77 CDs from the 90s as a bulk item. Buyer paid $71 for them. The CDs were old but they were not trash.
Broken equipment. Ripped furniture. Toys with missing parts. Torn or stained clothing. Recycle. You’ll get some cash from the items at least.
Consider what you can sell as an individual item. What you can sell in bulk. And what you believe you could not donate to the poor. Now that’s trash.
Examine your items. Research them online. But most of all use common sense before you throw away part of your profit margin.
Please leave your creative thoughts in the comment box below.
steve
August 19, 2014 at 3:03 PM
In looking at waste as an entirely modern man-made idea, I stopped viewing garbage as garbage and instead slowly started to see it as a commodity.