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Post by ScrappyJac on Jan 13, 2015 15:53:55 GMT
It is time to purge some of my supplies. I did a big purge last year when moving, but it is time for another round. The supplies aren't the "latest and greatest", but they are decent quality supplies (prima got flowers, foof-a-la bag-o-buttons, chipboard shapes, etc). I can't decide if it is worth the effort to sell or if I should just donate them. What route do you go when purging?
My goal for 2014 was to drastically cut down my spending. After the year, I realized that I am using more digital supplies than physical. I have a room filled with physical supplies and really need to pare down to absolutely favorites. There just isn't a need for me to keep such a huge stockpile. So, the items I would be getting rid of are things that I "like" but no longer "love".
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scrappington
Pearl Clutcher
in Canada
Posts: 3,139 
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Post by scrappington on Jan 13, 2015 16:10:06 GMT
you can try to sell it as a "lot"
but you will not get a lot for each individual.
If you want to wait on someone being interested, having someone come by or you drop off. Have someone haggle with you..etc. etc. etc.
Do you have other friends you could share with or trade with?
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Post by ScrappyJac on Jan 13, 2015 17:03:20 GMT
you can try to sell it as a "lot" but you will not get a lot for each individual. If you want to wait on someone being interested, having someone come by or you drop off. Have someone haggle with you..etc. etc. etc. Do you have other friends you could share with or trade with? Those are all the factors that is making me debate the idea of selling. I have done both in the past....sold when I could get a higher return and donated when it wasn't worth it. I think the reality is that because these are good quality supplies that I like, I am having a harder time getting rid of them. Mentally, it would be easier to part with them if I have the incentive of making money. However, the value might not be worth the time/effort. Both sides of that debate is keeping me in limbo right now. I think most friends are in a similar boat...trying to pare down their stashes. I always give them first "dibs", but I expect they already have similar supplies in their stashes. |
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Post by icedcoffee14 on Jan 13, 2015 17:03:43 GMT
I donated a bit to my daughters preschool a few years back. I also have saved a lot of items that can and could be used for school projects. There have been days when glitter I saved was a huge time saver for a last minute project.
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Post by crimsoncat05 on Jan 13, 2015 18:17:45 GMT
I voted 'donate' but depending on what's around you, you could try to sell them-- we have a chain of stores here that 'recycles' books, DVDs, etc. and they also take craft supplies (stamps, SB paper, etc). You take your stuff in, they decide what they want, and they either give you cash or store credit for the things they think they can re-sell. Or, donating to Goodwill / Salvation Army, etc. can get you a tax deduction, depending on how much you donate over the course of the year. I had a scrappy garage sale a number of years ago, but for the amount of work it was and what $$ I made, it really wasn't worth it, in the end.
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Post by papersilly on Jan 13, 2015 18:24:00 GMT
try selling them as a "lot" first. then donate.
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Post by scraphappyinjax on Jan 13, 2015 18:24:49 GMT
I had a scrapbooking/crafting garage sale the Saturday before Christmas. I purged A TON off stuff from my scrapbook room and made $400. I had 2 ladies come and buy out all of my stuff. It was nice holiday spending money. I advertised on Craigslist so it was free. If you have the time I'd try selling it first before giving it away.
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Post by gmcwife1 on Jan 13, 2015 19:05:56 GMT
My friends and I do a garage sale. I usually make about $300.00 at each one. I've done several of them over the years. We are now trying to do one yearly at a local church.
After the sale we make a donate box (boxes) and one of the gals takes it to a couple of schools or retirement homes.
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tsabhira
Full Member
Posts: 250
Jun 26, 2014 3:38:01 GMT
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Post by tsabhira on Jan 13, 2015 22:17:11 GMT
If I had no close friends or kids to give my extras, I'd try to ebay it in a couple of themed lots first. At least make back a little money to spend on more stuff, right?  Plus the person getting a nice deal will be thrilled. |
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Post by Aheartfeltcard on Jan 14, 2015 13:56:26 GMT
try selling them as a "lot" first. then donate. Yes ^^^^ |
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gloryjoy
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 3,332
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Post by gloryjoy on Jan 14, 2015 14:09:32 GMT
I would have a one day sale, maybe like a garage sale. Or if your scrapbook store has a garage sale (mine does) bring it there and try to sell it. You could even do a flea market type thing for one day.
Whatever didn't sell after that day I would donate, it wouldn't even come back in my house.
Another thing I have done but not sure if this would work for you, I take it to a crop and just let everyone take what they want from the box. I don't charge them anything, I just like to see people get use out of things I no longer want or need. Then I donate what is left in the box.
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Post by crimsoncat05 on Jan 14, 2015 15:40:28 GMT
"Another thing I have done but not sure if this would work for you, I take it to a crop and just let everyone take what they want from the box. I don't charge them anything, I just like to see people get use out of things I no longer want or need."
^^^^^ this is a good one, too. I go to a 3-day crop and always collect a bag of 'I don't like this but someone else probably will'stuff that I take with me. There is a communal 'swap' area where everyone puts their unwanted items so other attendees can take what they want to use from it.
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Post by ScrappyJac on Jan 14, 2015 16:35:27 GMT
Thanks for all the responses! I don't attend crops or know any local scrappy groups, but I do plan to give some friends a chance to grab anything they want first. Then, I think I will list it all as a lot, then donate if it doesn't sell.
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Post by streetscrapper on Jan 14, 2015 22:57:29 GMT
I don't have the patience or time to go through the process of selling scrappy things I no longer love so I always donate them to schools or anyone who wants them.
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Post by amyl on Jan 14, 2015 23:56:02 GMT
We have a girls home here that loves scrapbook supplies. The girls have to create books as part of their therapy. I would look into something like that. I would much rather give to something like that than sell. My 2 cents!
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Deleted
Posts: 0
Jun 11, 2024 1:58:37 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Jan 15, 2015 15:25:09 GMT
I donated a lot of my stash to my children's daycare. The teachers loved it and came up with all kinds of fun projects for the kids to do.
So worth it in my opinion! |
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Post by anniefb on Jan 15, 2015 16:07:26 GMT
I sell some stuff, donate other pieces. Just depends what condition/how new things are and whether I think I'll have a reasonable chance of getting some $$ for it. Over time, the value does add up. I've probably made several hundred dollars over the last few years and to me it's worthwhile spending a bit of time listing things.
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Post by crazy4scraps on Jan 16, 2015 5:34:33 GMT
I checked other because I would try to sell first and then donate whatever was left. I have friends that do a semi-annual scrapping/stamping garage sale that they've been doing for years. They have a HUGE following and all of their sales are well attended, so I'm going to go that route first to see what I can get some money out of and then donate whatever doesn't sell to their charity fundraiser crop and take the tax write off. That way I don't have to bring it back home.
Before we moved I did a major purge. I didn't know about my friend's sale then (they are in another state) so I took a bunch of stuff to one of the only LSS left in the area for their garage sale. I got rid of about 4-5 big boxes of stuff and ended up getting over $600 in store credit! Can't complain about that.
I don't think selling individual things on Craigslist or eBay is worth the hassle unless it's a bigger ticket or more sought after item. Themed lots that could go for more might be worth the trouble depending on what it is. There's also the FSOT board here that might be worth a try. It's free so at least you have nothing to lose by posting it!
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Post by Eddie-n-Harley on Jan 16, 2015 5:53:58 GMT
A local company to me does consignment craft sales. So I've sold with them. They give you the option of picking up your unsold items and then end or donating them. I've taken them back so far (I've sold twice) just so I could see what was/wasn't selling. If I do it again, I will probably just let them donate the stuff. I really don't need it back.
Another time, a friend of mine set up a swap meet for a bunch of local crafters. That was kind of fun. We had it in the library's community room, everyone set their stuff out on a table, and you just kind of said, "Hey, I like these stamps, is there anything on my table you'd like?"
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Post by threegirls on Jan 16, 2015 13:32:04 GMT
If you have several friends that also have scrap supplies maybe you could all get together and have a garage sale. Post it on Cragslist for free and mention that it is a multi-seller garage sale. Whatever is left, donate.
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PaperAngel
Drama Llama
Posts: 7,449
Jun 27, 2014 23:04:06 GMT
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Post by PaperAngel on Jan 17, 2015 3:36:16 GMT
Since we itemize our taxes, I always donate unused or gently used scrapbook supplies/tools. Suggestions:
Daycare
Church preschool/children/VBS ministry
Kindergarten class
Elementary art class
After school art program
Children's hospital
Ronald McDonald House
Orphanage
Juvenile delinquency center
Boys/Girls Club
Battered women's home
Women's prison
Retirement center
Goodwill
Salvation Army
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Deleted
Posts: 0
Jun 11, 2024 1:58:37 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Jan 17, 2015 15:46:48 GMT
I'm about 1/2 sell, 1/2 donate. I sell pretty randomly, just when I have the spare time to list, ship, etc. Usually just use ebay and in the past Craiglist, although I am a member of the FB group and would like to try that (and here....eventually).
My donations are to a friend for a card making group she started at her church, to my monthly scrap club (just bring stuff and let them take what they want), and to my kid's school (used up a lot by volunteering for making mini scrapbooks last year, and am planning to do that again this year). And I guess I regularly put scrappy and stamp stuff in with my Goodwill donations.
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Post by artsyk on Feb 8, 2015 5:11:16 GMT
I picked sell...because some items are really hard to just donate...dies or specific tools, items designed for events that wherever you may donate it wouldn't need it. So, I would sell and then donate after, or trash it if it wasn't worth it. I did a big purge in Sept, because my LSS was having their big garage sale. I had like 9 or so bins of stuff and got a store credit of over $600...which is really nice since I am really picky about what I buy now.
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bklyngal62
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 4,023
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Post by bklyngal62 on Feb 8, 2015 22:22:28 GMT
I don't know anybody that scraps by me and hard to even get to the post office sometimes so I said donate. I just purged alot this week. Filled up 2 boxes and had about 10 post bound scrapbooks that I don't use anymore and donated them to a senior center and a classroom for special needs children that make cards to sell during the year to make money for a end of school field trip. I still have lots to go but it was a start for me.
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mallie
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 3,253
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Post by mallie on Feb 8, 2015 22:36:18 GMT
I have tried to sell my purged stuff -- all new stuff. I carefully wrapped the stuff up, labeled it, advertised it. It was a waste of my time and annoyed the crap out of me, to be honest. People wanted to pay $1 for a huge box of brand new paper, stamps, pads, etc. After trying a few times, I ended up donating it and taking tax deductions.
There is no LSS here, so no opportunity to sell thru an LSS garage sale or anything like that.
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Post by epeanymous on Feb 9, 2015 0:57:24 GMT
I usually donate. I don't think there is much of a market for old supplies here -- when I have tried to Freecycle, I can't even get people to take things for free. I donate things that seem appropriate for donation, give some things to my kids, and trash things that do not seem to me like anyone would want them at all.
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Post by iammikki on Feb 9, 2015 17:39:00 GMT
I love the idea of selling things, the little extra money would be nice but it fits into my "Ain't nobody got time for dat", because I'd have to work out payment and then I would have to ship it which I am terrible at. Donating is easy and it feels good.
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Post by myboysnme on Feb 9, 2015 23:27:01 GMT
I picked other but my actual answer is a combination of both. I would either try to sell and donate what doesn't sell, or donate some and sell some that might bring a few dollars.
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Deleted
Posts: 0
Jun 11, 2024 1:58:37 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Feb 11, 2015 15:54:12 GMT
I would try selling them in a lot. When I pared down, it helped by selling by themes; Christmas, Halloween, boy, girl, misc. paper, etc... If they didn't sell after being listed for a while, I donated to the thrift store. Stamps were the hardest for me to sell.
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christinec68
Drama Llama
Posts: 5,142
Location: New York, NY
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Post by christinec68 on Feb 11, 2015 22:20:20 GMT
It depends on the value and the trouble it would take to sell the items. I sold some QK dies but gave away tons of papers and embellishments plus all of my ribbon. I am mostly down to things with value like my cricut expression, gypsy, cartridges and some other things I need to decide about. They are all stowed under the table...out of sight, out of mind.  But it is something I need to address in the next month or two. |
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Plus the person getting a nice deal will be thrilled.
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But it is something I need to address in the next month or two.