Finally a mail order company creates the best way to unsubscribe from catalogs.
We get way too many catalogs for people who don’t really buy that much stuff. It all goes into the recycle. To me its a waste of paper and resources to print the thing, and get it to my door, only to be recycled into pizza boxes.
I have tried to unsubscribe from catalogs by tearing off the mailing label, and postal mailing it back to the company, asking to be removed from their mailing list.
This works only some of the time. Depsite several requests by postal mail, I keep getting a door mat catalog, even though I only bought one rug years ago.
Drives me a bit crazy.
With my efforts to declutter from years of collecting and keeping stuff I might use one day, I’ve managed to slim down the stuff. Selling off stuff on Ebay has been a great way to declutter.
Catalogs should be an easy one to keep from entering the house, right?
Not always.
But FarmTek, who has great agricultural equipment, makes it super easy to unsubscribe from catalogs. There’s a page on their site to just type in your info, and you are done.
FarmTek makes it super easy to unsubscribe.
I bet there are other catalogs out there too that have the same page on its site. Just type into search ‘unsubscribe from catalog’ and the name of the catalog.
Selling on Ebay is a great way to get rid of stuff. We talk about this in a how to sell post here, and on the GardenFork Radio Podcast. But I learned recently that what you are selling it is not always worth what you think it is.
Take this antique gumball machine for instance. It has been in the basement for years, with me thinking it was worth lots of money.
Looking on Ebay, I was sure this would sell for a couple of hundred dollars. There were several similar items listed wiht nice prices. But they weren’t auctions, there were the Buy It Now or Make Offer listings. The sellers had a set price in mind. Which might not be based on the real market value of the item.
Selling on Ebay, A Reality Check
Here’s the thing. You probably think the gizmo you have is worth more than it really is. Ebay is very good at determining a realistic selling price for your stuff. It can be a kick in the head.
But I wanted to get this thing out of the basement, where it had been for years, so waiting around for someone to match my price wasn’t an option. Decluttering was the priority. So here’s how I get rid of stuff by selling on ebay.
I set the starting bid at $1.00 .
This gets the interest of a LOT of people, and some will bid it up a few dollars. They are now invested in the auction. And there will be a bunch more people ‘watching’ the auction, and may bid at the last minute. Ebay will send those who click the “Watch” button an email when the end of the auction is happening soon.
AND your item will sell for about what that kind of thing is selling for these days. Probably less than you want. BUT its out of your basement. Your mind will be free-er, if that’s a word.
The flip side of this is stuff I think will sell for nothing sells for something. I also had a generator transfer panel that was missing some parts (easily bought new). I listed it at $1, thinking it wouldn’t sell for much at all. Then I watched the bid price rise.
Not bad for something out of your garage!
A Few Key Things For Selling On Ebay
Be Honest
Start bid at $1.00
Answer any questions
Ship via US Postal Service, not UPS
Sell As-Is
Add in a packing fee if need be
An honest description is key to your integrity on Ebay and in real life. Karma is boomerang here and now. If the buyer is not happy, they can make their displeasure known on Ebay, and you lose your credibility to sell other stuff. I check a seller’s rating before I bid on items. You should too.
The bid at $1.00 gets eyeballs, the price will rise to close to what its really worth, so relax.
Answer any questions submitted through Ebay and allow those questions/answers to be posted to the auction page, it shows you are open and honest.
UPS has an awful website for trying to print out a shipping label, its incredibly clunky. USPS is integrated into the sales process of Ebay. Use them.
You are selling a used item as-is, with no warranty or returns. Reiterate that several times in the description. Describe all the scratches and dents. Disclose everything.
For the gumball machine, I had to buy bubble wrap to safely ship it, so I added a $15 packing fee. Save your shipping boxes and packing stuff for your own shipping.
What are your tips for selling on Ebay? Let me know below.
Want to sell on ebay to make money or declutter? Selling on eBay is easy, if I can do it, you can do it. One of my friends makes a living on buying antiques and collectibles at yard sales and selling on eBay, and I’ve learned how to use eBay from them. We’ve talked about selling on ebay on this GF Radio episode, and the realities of what your stuff is worth here.
I use eBay to get rid of stuff I don’t need. I’m big into decluttering now, and have instituted the One Year Rule: If I haven’t used the item in the last year, out it goes.
I either sell on eBay, or use our block association email list to give things away, or I just put it on the sidewalk outside our house. Stuff disappears! And the declutter process makes you feel great.
We just moved into a row house, and in the basement we found a metal and porcelain chandelier. Someone at one time really liked this style of lamp, but it wasn’t something we were going to use. But I was thinking it must be a style that some people like.
I went to eBay.com and typed into the search “metal hanging chandelier” and scrolling through the search results, I found several lamps that looked like ours. They all used several key words to describe the lamp style:
Tole, Italian, Shabby Chic, Vintage
How To Sell on eBay
Here’s my steps to selling on ebay.
1. Take good photos. Your cell phone takes good photos, you can use a fancy camera too. I’ve found the best photos are with daylight coming through a window, and the sale item on a white background. We have a white tile table that I photograph items on. Cluttered backgrounds make for bad photos and are a turn-off for buyers – clean white background = good sales.
Take good close-up photos
2. Write a good description and BE HONEST. If the item has scratches on it, you have to state this in the description. Take a photo of the scratches – you can load 8-12 photos per listing for free on eBay. Use the keywords you found in similar listings in your title and description.
3. Don’t use exclamation points and bold type and ALL CAPS. Shouting doesn’t work when trying to sell on ebay. It makes you look like a 9 year old.
4. Be personal. In the description of the lamp we posted for sale, I wrote about how we found it in the basement of our new home, and how it would look nice in a shabby chic decor home.
5. Research what similar items are selling for. Have an idea of its worth, but pay attention to what’s not selling as well.
6. Start the bid at .99 . This might seem counter-intuitive, but it works most of the time. You will get a lot more interested buyers, and the market will prevail on pricing. There will be those buyers that want the item and are ready to pay a market price for it. Your auction price will rise close to what the market is paying right now.
7. Be explicit in payment requirements and shipping. I always use PayPal for payment, unless the person wants to come pick it up in person, and then they can pay in cash.
8. State your return policy. If you are selling a camera or computer, you might offer a refund if the item is DOA ( dead on arrival ) because of a shipping problem. For items like antiques I don’t offer a returns, I sell them as-is.
9. Ship the item promptly. State in your auction how many days it will take to package the item and ship after the end of the ebay auction. Contact the buyer through ebay and send them a tracking number.
10. After the buyer receives the item, ask them to leave positive feedback, and do so as well for the buyer. Remember, Karma is Boomerang.
The auction for the ceiling light ended and we were stunned to see it sell for over $200! I messaged the buyer and they explained a bit about Tole lamps. They lived in California and it fit their house decor well. Good for them.
What are your how to sell on ebay techniques? Let us know below:
I’ve been on a decluttering mission for a awhile now, but I’m always stuck by what to do with that has value. Can’t bear to just throw it out, so I have found a solution.
There was this 50 amp generator plug lying around in my shop, and I will never use it, so I looked on ebay, and these plugs sell for about $65 new on the site. I took some photos and posted it, starting the bidding at $1, plus I added a Buy It Now for $35. The plug sold in a few days.
How cool is that? The plug I didn’t need got to someone who needed it and I got some paypal spending money. What fun.
I did the same thing with my older weather station that was partially broken. The unit has several pieces, and some had failed, but I couldn’t stand just throwing it in the trash. Knowing that many people had the same weather station, I thought someone could use the parts to repair their own station.
Up it goes on ebay, with the bidding starting at $1, and I sold it for $40. I was very surprised yet very happy. I get rid of clutter, and the stuff goes to good use, not a landfill.
Erik and Kelly of Root Simple talk about decluttering on their podcast. This got me started, plus just wanting to clear up the place to have room for projects. When your desk and shop table are filled with stuff, you can’t get any work done.
So I am much happier knowing another way to get rid of stuff, yet make sure it goes to good use. How about you? Appreciate your thoughts in the comments.
Build these DIY Storage Racks to store long stuff in your basement or garage using recycled lumber. These storage racks are good for long things, like lumber, kayaks, poles, canoes, etc.
I had some 2″x3″ lumber left over from a project, and I didn’t want to throw it away, so this recycled lumber became these cool DIY storage racks to hold lumber. What’s nice about this is you don’t need long pieces of lumber to make this happen, each piece of the brackets aren’t that long. You can adjust this design to the lengths of lumber you have.
I used 2 1/1″ coarse drywall screws to put this together and to secure it to the wall. I have a few favorite tools, and one of them is the Flip Bit, which is a screw bit and a drill bit in one piece that makes drilling pilot holes and screwing stuff together go real fast. I used 3 screws in each bracket to attach it to the wall. This DIY storage rack will hold quite a bit of weight, if you plan on something very heavy, switch out the drywall screws for wood screws, which have more lateral strength.
I use a laser stud finder to locate the studs in the drywall. If you are going to set these brackets into brick or cement, use a hammer drill and masonry bits. The cheaper stud finders don’t work, I think. You get what you pay for when buying these. The good ones last and will save you time in future DIY projects.
As a bonus, I had some metal shelf brackets laying around, and I screwed them to the bottom of the rig and hung my ladders. So I was pleased at what a space saver these DIY brackets are, one step further in my declutter project! Its great to get stuff up off the floor. Makes it much easier to clean and move around.
Build these DIY rolling garage shelves and make your basement or garage more organized and save some bucks. Shelving units with wheels are expensive, here’s how I added caster wheels to my existing garage shelving units.
You can build the DIY rolling garage shelves either as a light-duty or heavy duty version. Light duty would be for a shelving unit that doesn’t have a lot of heavy material on it. Light stuff might be beach towels, blankets, pillows, things like that. A duty shelf would be one that has tools, screws, nails, that sort of thing on the shelves.
You can build this with scrap lumber that you have laying around. One special tool that you will need is called a hole saw. If you don’t have a hole saw kit you might be able to borrow one from a neighbor or you can buy a hole saw kit here online. Don’t buy the cheapest hole saw kit, it will break.
I used 1 1/4″ and 1 5/8″ drywall screws to pu this together, it depends on if you are using 2x4s or something thinner. Its good to have a box of both on hand anyway. For the lumber, you can use cast off studs from a renovation, spare pieces of plywood, metal studs (for the lightweight version). This is really a use what you got kind of project.
I got the caster wheels for this project from an IKEA desk that I had taken apart, but you can find these wheels at the hardware store or at tool supply stores. I have also taken wheels off of furniture that has been put out for the trash. You can also buy wheels online here.
Adding wheels to your shelving units does increase the height of the shelving unit. So if you have low ceilings in your basement, keep that in mind. Your new DIY Rolling Garage Shelves might hit the ceiling now if you have tall stuff on the top shelf.
Assembly of the DIY rolling garage shelves:
holes line up with legs of shelfShelf sits in holes of the wheel baseHave an assistantAssemble upside downHeavy Duty ShelvesLight Duty Shelves
Rick and Eric talk about NUTS Nagging Unfinished Tasks and how to declutter you life.
First we deal with some GardenFork news
Some new changes to the GardenFork site, and a suggestion to try our web host, Blue Host, info here: https://gardenfork.tv/bluehost .
Then we move on to NUTS nagging unfinished tasks. To Eric, these are those unfinished things that clutter up your mind and keep you from getting the importantant stuff done. Rick suggests not to bring home projects that wont get finished, finish what you already have started at home before bringing home any more.
We talk about getting rid of stuff and how to sell on ebay, or using craigslist to give away free stuff. Rick tells about a new social network called NextDoor.com which allows you to keep in touch with your neighbors on your block or town.
We move on to home made pizza ovens like the DIY Pizza Oven we built , and the weber grill pizza oven that Eric wants to try out. Rick thinks you can just cook pizza on weber grill without any extra equipment or hacks, but we know Eric is into pizza oven hacks.
I’m on a quest to get rid of stuff I don’t use, so I have this suggestion when you are decluttering your home:
Sell stuff on ebay.
I’ve had 4 fishing reels in a box at the bottom of the basement stairs for how knows how long, thinking they are worth something. Today I put them out on the sidewalk. Then I went out and took them back in. Then I went on ebay.
One of the fishing reels I need to let go of.
A quick search on ebay shows that some fishing reels are worth money, some are not. I don’t think the ones I have are worth much, but if you add it up, sell a few reels, sell some of that other stuff in your basement, and you might have a few bucks in your paypal account. nice. Its surprising how fast a few dollars can add up, and you could buy something you can really use on ebay then. I need some more video lights.
We sold what I thought was a real ugly lamp for a couple of hundred bucks. Read about it here.
The declutter is also a mental thing for me, its like I have this virtual mental list of stuff to do, and a lot of it jams up your brain. So part of letting go of stuff also helps your head, I think. Plus one less box to remind you of at the bottom of the stairs.
So just another nudge to you all that want to declutter your home, that stuff in that box can go to someone who can use it, and you might make some nice coin.
Full Disclosure here, we’ve made a video with ebay here, and have their affiliate ads on the site, but I do really sell stuff on their site when I want to get rid of stuff. Some of it sells, some does not.
Mike and Eric talk bout Mike’s electronics fabrication startup, DK Pinball, and his recent trip to the Midwest Gaming Classic with his PIG pinball interface device. Through this story we learn again that most of us learn by failure, and not to be afraid to try, to not come up with excuses for not doing stuff.
Kinda like the GardenFork mantra, Go Out And Do Stuff.
Because Mike asked, he was able to secure a prime spot at the Gaming Classic to show people his Pinball Interface Gagdet, which allows pinball machines to be modified to flash lights or LEDs, to control motors or servos, signal relays. The PIG makes modifying your pinball machine that much easier. Get more information about the PIG from DK Pinball here.
So remember, the worst they can say is no.
Mike talks about the importance of working for free, either to learn how to do stuff, or be able to trade labor or time in a shop. Mike worked for free at a shop and was then able to use their laser CNC machine, which is a computer controlled cutting machine. neat.
The talk then moves toward starting a small business, and your career in general. Eric speaks highly of Rich Gee, Executive Business Coach. So if you are looking for someone to help with your career with advice and an action plan, Rich is the guy.
Mike talks about the challenge of hiring your first employee, and what a hurdle that is. Its harder than one might think. Eric suggests using a payroll service, even though it may sound expensive, it will save time and headaches for you, allowing you to focus on being in business, not pushing paper around.
we then move on to how you work in your workshop. Do we spend time cleaning our workshop or working in our workshop? Does stuff get stacked up in your workshop, what about de-cluttering your workshop? Mike tells us how to organize the workshop.
Eric talks about the number of cables one has just to connect all the devices one has on a desk, and Mike suggests Spiral Wraps to organize computer cables.
We then close with dog food thoughts and viewer mail.
Catalogs should be an easy one to keep from entering the house, right?
There was this 50 amp generator plug lying around in my shop, and I will never use it, so I looked on ebay, and these plugs sell for about $65 new on the site. I took some photos and posted it, starting the bidding at $1, plus I added a Buy It Now for $35. The plug sold in a few days.
You can build this with scrap lumber that you have laying around. One special tool that you will need is called a hole saw. If you don’t have a hole saw kit you might be able to borrow one from a neighbor or you can buy a 
