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.
Article comments
1 - Matt Paprocki
Believe it or not, Circuit City will be doing the same thing. I don't have a link or anything and I don't know the details, but I could see this as a trend. I wonder how they will all handle idiot bidders??
2 - Rico
Personally I'd rather just give it away free to a friend than to pay a complete stranger excessive fees to sell something that could be done on your own very easily. I feel that $450 in my pocket can do a lot of good, and I'd try to find another solution/option for selling your junk where you maximize your profit. (Check out craigslist.org, there is a link for most major cities to sell your items.) Even if you sell your $1000 in junk for $550 on your own, you'll feel better knowing that someone somewhere got a good deal and a high commission company didn't get a chance to stick it to you.