Best way to liquidate

[weims]

I am thinking of selling off hte majority of my stamping/papercrafting stuff. It's been sitting in my craft room, unused for over a year. I've got over 100 stamp sets (mostly SU, wood mounted), paper, punches, inks, etc. I am not using any of it and would love the space. What is the best way to get rid of a big collection? On here? CL? eBay? Individually, in lots or as a whole?

[Copperkids]

I wish I could buy it all!! I think the fastest way would be in lots on Craigslist. But then people will be in your home looking and picking it up. If you don't mind packaging it up and mailing - then ebay would be More private. Also really consider keeping the essentials such as round punches - white cardstock, etc. Limited quantities of basics. So if you have a need to make a quick card - small project - you will have the basics.

[biblesistersmom]

Hi Diana,
I'm in a similar situation. I have a bunch of stamp sets to sell and am a bit intimidated on how to do it. I'm especially looking for tips on older sets from SU. So, hopefully, some of our SCS friends will give us some good tips. Thanks for starting the thread!

[RJP111]

I have not had much luck lately in selling stamp sets on EBay. The things I have listed are priced pretty low, but they aren't selling. My last three listings expire this afternoon; I'm going to try listing what doesn't sell here in the BST forums.

I have done "OK" in the past by selling things here.

[Illinois Marge]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Copperkids

I think the fastest way would be in lots on Craigslist. But then people will be in your home looking and picking it up. If you don't mind packaging it up and mailing - then ebay would be More private.

A huge caution -- don't let Craigslist strangers in to your home. Email them lots of photos. If they want to see it in person, put it in your car and meet at a public place. Most police stations let you do Craigslist transactions in their building (for safety). I would not let strangers look around in my house.

[lesliespringer]

I have found the older the stamps sets are the less likely they will sell.

I would try to sell here on SCS first, for the convince. But I don't know if people will buy a grouped lot.
I have never had enough items to sell on ebay. So I don't know about that.

I have used a consignment store. There I had about 50/50 success. But then again the older stamps did not sell here either.

I have had 2 yard sales were I put stamp sets in to sell. Not a one sold.

Used stamping items just do not have a resell value that they did 5 or so years ago.

Oh, I forgot. If you have a local Stamp/Scrap store, they might have a yearly yard sell that you can join. I have heard that some of these places either repay you back in cash for you items that sold, or a store credit. Since you want to sell to get rid of your supplies, make sure your payment will be in cash. There is no use selling for a store credit if you want to purge your stash

[biblesistersmom]

So, if the older sets don't sell, what do you do with them? I guess I could donate, but I really would want them to go to someone who would love them. Also, I'm trying to earn a little cash as well as clean out my stash, so I guess I need to think about it some more. My MIL stamps, so maybe I could just send them to her. She has more space than I do!

[jeaniebean55]

As a buyer, I can tell you I'm a CL girl and go right past the 'lots'. So far, I buy local and meet up with people in a very public place. As a seller, if you're wanting to get a good price, I have a feeling patience needs to factor into your equation. If you just want it out of your hair to free up your space, you're likely going to need to compromise on price. For newbies, the bargains will be great. For stampers adding to their collections, lots are unappealing. (The BST here on SCS is a great place for some. For me, there's too much sorting and sifting to make it worth it.)

[lesliespringer]

Quote:

Originally Posted by biblesistersmom

So, if the older sets don't sell, what do you do with them? I guess I could donate, but I really would want them to go to someone who would love them. Also, I'm trying to earn a little cash as well as clean out my stash, so I guess I need to think about it some more. My MIL stamps, so maybe I could just send them to her. She has more space than I do!

All the stamp sets that I bought to the consignment shop, that did not sell in the period I had consigned them for I just left them there. To take an item off of consignment I would have to pay a fee of .25-.50 cents for each item.

I did not want to bother paying a fee for each item, taking the tags and markings off, just to drop them off some place else for donation.

Try selling here on SCS in the Buy/Sell thread. You never know what will happen.

I just found the old SU sets I had, never really selled. Resale of old stamp sets was good about 6-8 years ago. I did very well when I sold old sets back then.

I have been having a problem selling stamp sets the past 5 years. Not necessarily SU, I have tried to sell Close to my heart and The Angle Company stamps too. These companies I had difficulties selling to.

In the past two years I have left at least 20 stamp sets at the consignment shop that did not sell....If not more.

You can always check ebay for the stamp sets you want to sell. See what price they sell at, how many sets are for sell and so forth. Ebay is good for research on pricing.

[SophieLaFontaine]

I was in a hurry to get rid of some stamp sets that I didn't care for. I packed them all up as tightly as possible; I tried to cram them all into one box, but couldn't. I packed them into two boxes and listed them on Ebay, for bidding, NOT for a set price. They sold, and that was that. Not for much, but they were gone.

[biblesistersmom]

I just listed a bunch on the BST forum here. I was looking at some other posts and mine are much less expensive, but they are old sets. We don't have a consignment shop here for anything but clothes, so that isn't an option for me. If nothing goes here, I will try the stuff them in a box and list on ebay thing. Thanks for all the suggestions.

[Illinois Marge]

If you are just going to get pittance for them, please consider donating them (and take a tax write off). Many senior centers or nursing homes have activity centers. I volunteer teach a craft class at a resource center for lower income people and a donation of stamping supplies would be welcomed. Please check if there is an option like that in your area.

[biblesistersmom]

Illinois Marge, that is a great idea!

[APandi]

Sometimes Senior Centers, Nursing homes or school art teachers are glad to receive stamps and everything that goes with the stamps such as paper etc. Be sure to check first! There is no money involved but you know the things will be used.

[UnderstandBlue]

I haven't had any luck with Ebay either. I use the BST forum here and I had an invitation only sale in my home where I made $1700 selling most things for $1 - financed the remodel of my craft room so I can actually use what I have

[Phantom]

I have used the BST forum here and it worked very well for me.

I've also participated in customer garage sales at stamp/scrap stores. That's easier because there's no shipping and it attracts the right audience.

If you have friends who would like to get together for a sale, maybe there's a local place you could set up at. Here, I would use the public library. There's a fee if you're selling something, but if a group split the cost, it would be very reasonable and you could advertise.

[gregzgurl]

Schools will take anything craft-related and be thrilled! Budget cuts mean that teachers (and librarians and others that would use the stuff) have to pay for things out-of-pocket, and they don't make nearly enough to share their hard-earned dollars around like that...

[Barbara Jay]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Illinois Marge

If you are just going to get pittance for them, please consider donating them (and take a tax write off). Many senior centers or nursing homes have activity centers. I volunteer teach a craft class at a resource center for lower income people and a donation of stamping supplies would be welcomed. Please check if there is an option like that in your area.

Financially you will do MUCH better if you list the sets that are in high demand on e-Bay; then donate the others and take a tax deduction. A lot of people even on our B/S/T are looking for stamp sets (even the rare ones) at pennies on the dollar.

Why bother spending a lot of time packing and shipping them only to practically give them away when you can take all of them in one car load to the Good Will or a Senior Center /Nursing Home and get a generous tax deduction .
This applies to paper and tools as well .

[lesliespringer]

I know when I go to donate items, usually children clothing, shoes, books, toys I am asked if I want a tax donation sheet. I usually say no, because I don't know how much I have to claim in donation's to receive a tax deduction.

So, the next time I donate like 10 boxes of stuff, would I get a a decent tax deduction?

[SophieLaFontaine]

I think if your itemized deductions are generally greater than the standardized deduction, then you could add your donations. I have never in my life had my itemized deductions be larger than the standardized deductions, so I never bother with tax deductions from donated items. But I think tax laws vary by state?? So I'm not sure on this either. I just know that for me in my state, the standardized deduction has always been far greater than the itemized one.

[Barbara Jay]

Quote:

Originally Posted by lesliespringer

I know when I go to donate items, usually children clothing, shoes, books, toys I am asked if I want a tax donation sheet. I usually say no, because I don't know how much I have to claim in donation's to receive a tax deduction.

So, the next time I donate like 10 boxes of stuff, would I get a a decent tax deduction?

You can get a list of prices from the Good Will for most items. Just keep a list of what you donated and if you are every audited ( I never have been ) you can show them exactly what you gave. If you give rare stamp set print the sale prices from e-Bay . The Good Will suggested donation prices for tax purposes apply to a donation to any place .

[Barbara Jay]

Quote:

Originally Posted by SophieLaFontaine

I think if your itemized deductions are generally greater than the standardized deduction, then you could add your donations. I have never in my life had my itemized deductions be larger than the standardized deductions, so I never bother with tax deductions from donated items. But I think tax laws vary by state?? So I'm not sure on this either. I just know that for me in my state, the standardized deduction has always been far greater than the itemized one.

That is true, but most people with a mortgage would likely be filing the long form with deductions .

I guess even if I could not take the tax deduction it is not worth my time to pack and haul things to the Post Office only to end up with a dollar or so. Gas for a car is not free. I'll make a casserole to save the dollar I would have gotten LOL

I have sold a couple of things where I miscalculated the postage and it COST me money to send the things

[Illinois Marge]

Quote:

Originally Posted by lesliespringer

I know when I go to donate items, usually children clothing, shoes, books, toys I am asked if I want a tax donation sheet. I usually say no, because I don't know how much I have to claim in donation's to receive a tax deduction.

So, the next time I donate like 10 boxes of stuff, would I get a a decent tax deduction?

You can only claim fair market value for the used (and usable!) clothes, household items, etc. One way to estimate is what you would pay in a thrift store (not what you originally paid). If you Google it, TurboTax has lists of approved "worth" for charitable donations, I'm sure there are other lists too. For example, here is Goodwill's donation valuation guide:
http://www.goodwill.org/wp-content/u...tion_Guide.pdf


And here is the IRS guidance:
Eight Tips for Deducting Charitable Contributions

[jeaniebean55]

Quote:

Originally Posted by lesliespringer

I know when I go to donate items, usually children clothing, shoes, books, toys I am asked if I want a tax donation sheet. I usually say no, because I don't know how much I have to claim in donation's to receive a tax deduction.

So, the next time I donate like 10 boxes of stuff, would I get a a decent tax deduction?

TurboTax has a great tool that I've used (I've never donated anything stamp/craft related, so not sure how people feel about that, but for clothing, household items, etc ... it's fantastic. easy peasy to use!) https://turbotax.intuit.com/personal...itsdeductible/

[Paula O.]

I didn't read all the responses, but I'll give you the truth. Post the stamp sets here at a cost of $5 per set plus shipping. There's so much on eBay, and nobody wants to pay anything. If you are really desperate to get rid of your stuff or want to get rid of it quickly, offer the sets here for just shipping. Nobody wants to pay bucks for anything that is more than a year or two old, unless it's coveted sets that sell on eBay for $100!

[lesliespringer]

Thanks for everyone's help!!

Yes, we have a mortgage and I have an appt with H& R Block tomorrow night. I will ask our tax man about this.

I am sure I could have made an $250 donation last year with the 10 boxes of "Stuff" I dropped off.

My yard sale was pretty much rained out. I only made about $70, everything else I just donated. I did not want to haul it back down in the basement for this years neighborhood yard sale. Now I am kicking myself. I had lots left over!

[Barbara Jay]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Paula O.

I didn't read all the responses, but I'll give you the truth. Post the stamp sets here at a cost of $5 per set plus shipping. There's so much on eBay, and nobody wants to pay anything. If you are really desperate to get rid of your stuff or want to get rid of it quickly, offer the sets here for just shipping. Nobody wants to pay bucks for anything that is more than a year or two old, unless it's coveted sets that sell on eBay for $100!

I agree people do not want to pay anything for stamps or stamping stuff , but it would be easier to just load up the car and take them to the Good Will, Senior Center, School etc. rather than go to all the work of packing , addressing labels and hauling them to the Post Office just to give them away .

[lesliespringer]

I have actually PIF'ed single stamps to my Stamping friends. I didn't want to donate them as I paid for them through a stamp of the week club. These stamps were not my style, so I asked some stamping friends if the wanted them. Just sent them off to them I don't mind doing this for friends.

I have seen posts on SCS that stamps sets do not sell, and they were being given away free, just pay postage. I tell you, theses stamp set get eaten up! People just come out of the wood work for free sets. Even if these sets were priced at 2-3 dollars, they did not sell. Then offered free, just pay shipping-They are gone!

[sdscrapper]

Quote:

Originally Posted by UnderstandBlue

I haven't had any luck with Ebay either. I use the BST forum here and I had an invitation only sale in my home where I made $1700 selling most things for $1 - financed the remodel of my craft room so I can actually use what I have

I love this invitation only idea. Would you share a bit more of how you did it and what worked and didn't?

[SophieLaFontaine]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Barbara Jay

That is true, but most people with a mortgage would likely be filing the long form with deductions .

I guess even if I could not take the tax deduction it is not worth my time to pack and haul things to the Post Office only to end up with a dollar or so. Gas for a car is not free. I'll make a casserole to save the dollar I would have gotten LOL

I have sold a couple of things where I miscalculated the postage and it COST me money to send the things

Those who are lucky enough to have only a small mortgage left might still not have enough for an itemized deduction. Even when I had a mortgage, it had shrunk to a certain point, and we had refinanced to where our interest was super low, the standardized deduction was still greater. Just double-check with the tax guy before going to all that hassle.

[CTXDalene]

As a relatively new stamper (less than 2 years), I am always looking for some of the older/retired sets. Finding them reasonably priced is a challenge. I just shake my head when I see "retired" on ebay and some of the starting prices. I need to get in the habit of checking the Buy/Sell on here.

[smhtwin]

Just chiming in with another idea for donating stamps/supplies.....

I have volunteered at 2 local hospitals for over 20 years. Both hospitals have patient groups that make scrapbooks: the parents with babies in the NICU and patients in Physical Rehab. The Rehab patients use stamps to help them strengthen their fine motor skills and they like to document their recovery with journaling and pictures. Plus scrapping is a fun activity they can do with family and friends who come to visit. Our NICU parents like to document their baby's growth and milestones with journaling and pictures too.

Both hospitals also have "art carts". These are carts that are pushed around the hospital by volunteers. They go to the patient rooms and ask if they want to make a "little something crafty". They also go in the lobby and waiting rooms and ask visitors the same thing.

The scrapping groups and the art carts always welcome donated supplies :p

Might be worth a phone call if you have a local hospital nearby.

Good luck!

[Cook22]

Quote:

Originally Posted by CTXDalene

As a relatively new stamper (less than 2 years), I am always looking for some of the older/retired sets. Finding them reasonably priced is a challenge. I just shake my head when I see "retired" on ebay and some of the starting prices. I need to get in the habit of checking the Buy/Sell on here.

I'm not-so-new to stamping and I'm still looking for some older retired stamps and sets. Quite apart from the stamp prices, some people are using a weird international shipping option on eBay - you could pay $25 or more from one seller, and about $15 for regular USPS from another seller. It's hard finding the right stamp and the right postage combined, sometimes!!

[Scottitude]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Paula O.

I didn't read all the responses, but I'll give you the truth. Post the stamp sets here at a cost of $5 per set plus shipping. There's so much on eBay, and nobody wants to pay anything. If you are really desperate to get rid of your stuff or want to get rid of it quickly, offer the sets here for just shipping. Nobody wants to pay bucks for anything that is more than a year or two old, unless it's coveted sets that sell on eBay for $100!

The eBay hay day has long since passed. Because I worked for eBay till 2008, I used it rather frequently. These days, I only use it to find out what's out there, and then I keep an eye on Craigslist to purchase locally, or I look for it on Etsy. I quite honestly wish that people would stop listing anything and everything on eBay so that it would stabilize a little. eBay just isn't the marketplace it used to be. My first supervisor there made enough from her shares for the down payment on her $300K home. By the time I started working there in 2005, I had already missed out on the big money (just barely though, the stocks had just split!) The stock prices went down drastically because eBay was already over saturated, and that was 10 years ago now.

Anyhow, I digress... All this to say it is most likely not worth your time to list on eBay unless you have high ticket items. If you want to know what stuff is selling well, use the advanced search function to find completed listings only. If the item you have doesn't show up there, it's probably a waste of time.

Last thing, I'm a huge advocate for donating, it's a topic that is near and dear to me. Here are some suggested places you can look into (though I don't know about tax deductions, I'm in Canada):

Church groups, community centres, programs for new immigrants, women's prison or halfway houses, drop-in centers for low-income moms or runaway teens, mental health facilities, addiction recovery houses.

[cardmaker2]

Let me put in a personal note about the Buy Sell here. I would love to find some retired sets that I didn't know I 'needed' until they were no longer available. I do that a lot-put off buying something and then it's gone.

Trouble is few people are willing to ship to Canada :( and I have given up watching the forum for the little red maple leaf icon that tells me someone will ship to Canada...

If you decide to post here, and are willing to send to Canada, feel free to PM me I would love to do business with you. ....or I would he happy to 'babysit' your collection for you haha!

[RiverIsis]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Barbara Jay

That is true, but most people with a mortgage would likely be filing the long form with deductions .

I guess even if I could not take the tax deduction it is not worth my time to pack and haul things to the Post Office only to end up with a dollar or so. Gas for a car is not free. I'll make a casserole to save the dollar I would have gotten LOL

I have sold a couple of things where I miscalculated the postage and it COST me money to send the things

The Post Office will deliver the boxes and collect the packed boxes from your door these days.

[poppydarling]

Donating is a wonderful idea. As a relative newbie, I'd like to also say how grateful I have been for members here selling off things they don't want anymore at a very reasonable price! I tend to spend more when everything is $8 and under, and it's such a great way to get a little stash going, and the items are so loved and appreciated.

[Barbara Jay]

Quote:

Originally Posted by RiverIsis

The Post Office will deliver the boxes and collect the packed boxes from your door these days.

The Post Office will deliver and collect the boxes IF you have an account with them and a CC on file. I believe you also need to have an account with Stamps.com to print the label and affix the postage. To my knowledge there is a charge to have an account with Stamps.com or another Postage service.

Do most people who do not have a business have these Postal accounts? I don't have one .

[RiverIsis]

In the FAQ there is a 4 week risk free trial for Stamps.com. I haven't personally used them, but just was pointing out that if someone had loads to ship they could use the service from USPS rather than go to the counter. Like everything in life there are choices.

[GirlFriday]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Barbara Jay

The Post Office will deliver and collect the boxes IF you have an account with them and a CC on file. I believe you also need to have an account with Stamps.com to print the label and affix the postage. To my knowledge there is a charge to have an account with Stamps.com or another Postage service.

Do most people who do not have a business have these Postal accounts? I don't have one .

Actually no, you can print postage direct from USPS.com, and there is no charge to have a USPS.com account or to order Priority boxes and supplies. I don't have a CC on file either.