This post is NOT about weight loss (even though I’ve lost 32 pounds so far).
We have lived here for six years. A lot of our stuff has been sitting in boxes for the entire time (mostly decorations). We decided recently that we are going to sell our house and move. The first step is to clean and fix up the house, and then we need to get rid of as much of our “stuff” as we can. We are dividing things into five categories:
- Stuff we want to keep in the house until we move. Our clothes, our furniture that we use every day, computers, etc.
- Stuff that we want to keep which we will put in storage. For instance, furniture we don’t use right now, winter clothes (for now).
- Stuff we are going to sell.
- Stuff that doesn’t sell that we will just give to Goodwill
- Stuff we are going to throw away: old papers, broken things, etc…
As we are going through the boxes, we have found several figurines that we thought would be worth something. Precious Moments, Cherished Teddies, some collector’s plates, etc. I looked up the retail price of some of these things, and then looked on eBay (and other sites) to find out how much people are paying for them right now, and it’s somewhat discouraging. For instance, we have a Precious Moments graduate figurine that retails for about $50 right now. The last one that sold on eBay went for $2. Does anybody know where I could sell these things to make some money?
Another thing we are trying to sell is my guitar. My parents bought it for me when I was about eleven years old. I took lessons for a few years then, and then stopped. I started up again in college, and lasted about six months that time. Since then I’ve taken it out of the case once or twice a year, tuned it up and played a few songs. So it needs to go. The only problem is that I don’t know how much it’s really worth, and where I should sell it. Any ideas?
Words of Truth 
What is anything “worth”? It’s only worth wha someone is willing to pay for it at the time you want to sell it. No more, no less. If you have one copy of something, and there are only 50 copies of it, it could be worth a lot – assuming that there are more than one person who wants it and fewer than that available. Supply and demand is what it’s all about.
I’d suggest that at the moment, given current economic conditions, there are a LOT of things like “precious moments” figurines available and few who want to buy them. So they’re not PRESENTLY worth much.
Another aspect to this is the difference between worth/value, and price. I rather strongly suspect that a lot of the people who are presently paying over $1500 for an ounce of gold will discover that if a food shortage should arise, the worth/value of that gold will plummet to near zero, while a pound of wheat may become worth a LOT. Supply and demand. (and NEED! which determines both.)
The current “value” of your guitar is low because I rather strongly suspect that there are an awful lot of them on the market just now. Given the conditions you could find yourself in during the hard times yet to come, I’m thinking that you don’t properly value the potential of that guitar. It does not require batteries. You already own it. It has the potential to provide you and your family with enjoyment during conditions that things that provide enjoyment may be scarce. I’d suggest you raise your estimation of the value of keeping it. But since when do you take my suggestions? :-\
Just a thought.
Funny thing is that I told that exact thing to Kim last night. I held up a figurine and said, “The internet may say it’s worth $50, but it’s worth exactly how much someone is willing to pay for it.” Unfortunately that doesn’t seem to be very much right now.