Last month I was determined to make some extra cash to help increase my income and give me a little more flexibility in my budget. Here’s how I was able to rake in $400 (what!?) in just 4 short days.
Day 1
I took a mental (and somewhat physical) inventory of my belongings. I had been considering selling my smartwatch for some time, but wanted to make sure it was the right decision, since it was fairly expensive when I bought it. I spent most of April and May not wearing it, just to see if I preferred wearing the watch or not. Turns out, I didn’t really miss it. So it was easy for me to choose to let it go. I decided to try the app LetGo, and it took me a matter of minutes (like, literally two, probably) to post my smartwatch for sale.
I spent another hour or two digging through my closet. Clothes are always something that I have an abundance of, and I usually do a hearty closet clean-out every season. I have a routine process when I sell my clothes. First, I looked through each item. With every piece, I asked my self one question “would I wear this out right now?” If the answer was yes, it stays. If the answer was no, it went. If the answer was “ehhhh” I quickly tried to think of an outfit. How would I wear it? If I didn’t have all the pieces I needed to make this one item a success, I got rid of it. This includes everything from shoes to accessories to apparel. Of course, I have exceptions to this rule: formal attire does not count, nor does office attire (or what I would call “job interview clothes”). I didn’t spend a lot of time on this decision-making process – most of my choices came from my gut, which is a skill (seriously!) I refined over several years.
Next, I took photos of my clothes, shoes, etc. that were in good condition. I put all of my photos into an album on imgur, and posted my items for sale on the Reddit forum WardrobePurge.
How it works: I choose my own prices for my goods, and other users look at my pictures and make offers/purchase items. It’s all done through messaging on the site and is a fairly informal process. I use paypal to collect payments from buyers, and I charge for shipping (this is optional). I take the item(s) to the post office and ship them out. Easy! There are other sites you can list your clothes on as well, like eBay or Tradesy, but I find those take too much time to make a sale, plus those sites take a commission or fee(s) off of your sale amount.
Day 2
I’ve posted my goods in two different places. I made sure I priced my stuff to move – I want that money, honey!
It only took about 24 hours to find a buyer for my smartwatch. I planned to meet up with her the next day to make the exchange. Additionally, I had two hits on my clothes I listed online! Two different buyers wanted to buy two items. I used paypal to send requests for their payments.
Day 3
I headed to the post office after work, and dropped off the two clothing items I sold online. Then, I took my smartwatch with me and meet up with the buyer. The transaction was quick and friendly, and I left $150 richer (and she was thrilled to have a new gadget! Yay!).
Day 4
I hadn’t had any more bites online, so I bagged up my clothes and headed to my local Crossroads Trading Co. to sell what I could. It was a Saturday, so I was able to allow myself extra time, since the process can sometimes take over an hour. They offered to buy about a fourth of my items and offered $98 store credit (or $65 cash). I opted for the credit and walked away with a handful of new pieces (yay!) and the leftovers in cash, about $2.
I took the rest of my stuff straight to Plato’s Closet. I tend to visit Crossroads first, because they typically offer more money for the same stuff. I had great success at Plato’s – they offered to buy about two-thirds of what was left for $88 store credit (or about $60 cash). I opted for store credit again, and got some more exciting additions to my closet, and took the leftovers in cash, again, about $2.
Final numbers:
- Sold smartwatch – $150
- Sold Clothing Online – $68.61 (after shipping)
- Sold Clothing in Stores (for trade) – $186 value
Total value income: $404.61
I’m really proud of this number, because it’s higher than I usually end up with when I try to make a little extra cash. If I had just taken the cash when I sold my clothes instead of the trade value, I would’ve ended at $343.61, which is still a fantastic number. I decided to use the trade because I had great luck finding some secondhand pieces that I needed to complete my summer wardrobe (was low on shorts and dresses this year – but no more!).
You will also notice my process starts with a more labor-intensive option – I started with the option that provided opportunity for the most income, and work my way down as I go. I was able to make $68 on just two items online. To make that cash value at Crossroads, I unloaded probably 15-20 items there. I unloaded well over 30 items at Plato’s for a lesser cash value.
While I do recommend all of these outlets, you will have varying luck based on what kinds of items you are selling. If you have high-quality designer goods, I definitely recommend the online route. I have a few items that I am not willing to sell to a store because I know they wouldn’t give me the kind of cash I could get online for those items. But mid- to lower-end goods are perfect for those outlets.
How do you make extra cash on the side?
