Now I see why Prince does this: kind of fun.

UPS and eBay have just made a wonderful deal, which has instantly monetized stuff in our attics and basements.

What they've done is take the aggravation out of selling stuff on eBay.

Sure, nearly half-a-million people make all or most of their living by selling on eBay, but for the great majority of us, it's way too much trouble to prepare stuff for auction and go through all the stuff you have to do to sell on eBay.

The new partnership is elegantly simple: you take your stuff to any UPS store (there are now 3,400 around the country, since UPS bought Mail Boxes Etc. in 2001 and renamed the stores).

You give your stuff to the people at the UPS store, who will then photograph, list, sell, and collect the money for it, in return for a commission on the purchase price.

Sure, the commission's hefty - between 20% and 40% of the ultimate selling price, plus eBay's commission, another 5.25% of the sales price.

But so what?

Your old TV, computer, printer, all that stuff, is gonna have 0 value by the time you throw it out, so who gives a shit if they get $450 and you get $550 for the $1,000 your stuff brings on eBay?

You get nothing if you don't sell it but instead throw it away, as you know you will.

Be smart about this.

The pie's big enough for everyone to eat well.

Maybe I'll stop giving so much stuff away, now that I can just as easily take it over to the UPS store and get serious cash back.