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Where Do You Sell Your Unwanted Stuff

About a month ago I did some spring cleaning around the house, and I came up with a pile of things to sell. Typically I sell my stuff on eBay, either .ca or .com, although I have also sold things on amazon.ca, as well as craigslist. That got me thinking about where people sell their stuff.

During that same spring cleaning frenzy, I came up with a pile of CDs I didn’t want anymore, and so I brought them to a used CD store. I didn’t actually bring them to one locally, because living in a big city, I figured they had enough stock. So I brought the CDs with me when I went out of town to visit my sister during Easter. And I sold all but one and made $38. Not bad.

This got me thinking about selling in general.Where do people typically sell stuff they don’t want anymore? Consignment shops? Garage sales? Pawnbrokers?

I actually went to a pawnbroker last year with a couple of my dad’s old watches, and while I didn’t manage to sell them, I found the experience interesting because when I went in there, the clerk asked me if I was selling or pawning. I told her I was selling because I don’t want the watches back (my dad passed away a number of years ago and the watches are sitting around, unused by me. ) I always thought pawnbrokers were places to sell your stuff, rather than a place that loans you money for your stuff. Are you confused about pawnbrokers like me?

The definition of the word pawnbroker (according to Merriam-Webster) is: “one who lends money on the security of personal property pledged in his keeping.”

See that word up front? Lend. Lend! I had completely forgotten that pawnbrokers lend you money for the items you bring to them, and that you can buy back the item they lend you the money for.  I guess seeing pawnbrokers in the movies, and all those down-on-their luck characters who lose the pawn ticket to that beloved item didn’t quite sink in. For some strange reason, I had confused the two activities performed by a pawnbroker. Most will either buy your item outright, or lend you money for it.  I always thought that it was just the former, and had forgotten about the latter. But the kicker of the pawnbroker is that you often have to repay them within a certain period, otherwise they have the right to sell your item. (I think this is where my confusion lay, the fact that they can still sell your item.)

At any rate, I would imagine that with the state of the economy, and people scrambling to make money for their families, that pawnbrokers would be doing brisk business. Although I wonder how many of those people who bring their items in are actually defaulting on their “loan”? How can the pawnbroker afford to keep lending out money if no one’s repaying? And then is anyone buying up the defaulted items? I suppose if you were looking for some deals, then a pawnbroker’s not a bad place to go shopping, but who can afford to buy many of these items right now? I know I can’t.

So how about it dear readers, are any of you planning on making a trip to the pawnbroker? How about having a garage sale? Or putting up those unused items on Craigslist or eBay? Any of you having any success at making some extra cash?

Buyer Beware: Picking stocks from the TV

Interesting. Picking your stock portfolio based on Jim Cramer’s advice isn’t the best thing for your portfolio. According to the article on Yahoo.com, Mr. Cramer’s picks haven’t beaten the market over the last two years. Now while his show Mad Money states that you should do your own research before purchasing any stocks, I’m sure a lot of people buy a stock simply because Jim Cramer talked about it. The stock market is a volatile place to be placing your money, so it’s always wise to do research before buying. My brother in law spends several days to a week researching a stock before buying it. I don’t like to spend that much time researching a stock, which is why I don’t invest in equities. I do invest in mutual funds, and I do research those before investing, but thankfully the tools available for that are a little easier to manage than the stock market research.

So do you invest in the stock market? If so, do you research, and how much?

I was reading Lazy Man’s blog post the other day about how much women spend at the hair salon, and it reminded me of how furious I got the last time I went to mine. I’ve got medium-length hair, and I also colour it, so typically a trip to the salon runs me well over a hundred dollars. Thankfully I only go every two to three months, so I can usually save up at least half the cost before I have to go. The last time I went though, I was so furious, that it got me thinking I should change salons.

A little background before I continue: I have been going to my salon for well over 5 years now, and so my junior stylist is now an intermediate stylist, so a hair cut no longer costs me $40, but rather closer to $75. A visit to the colourist runs me close to $90, so if I do both in one visit, I’m almost at $200 after taxes and tips.

Because I have medium-length hair, the colourist always has to charge the time as well as the labour to me, which is fine. I was just peeved the last time because he charged me for a highlight AND colour, when he said he was only going to charge me for the highlight (even though he did do the colour. I’ve been seeing him for over 5 years, so he usually does this kind of discount for me).  The last trip cost me $240, and I was steaming mad, fuming! I vowed right then I wasn’t going back to that colourist for sure, maybe even not the stylist either (you women out there will understand when I am hesitant to get rid of the stylist, because it’s hard to find a good one these days).

My sister, who lives in a different city, and also gets her hair cut & coloured when she goes to the salon, mentioned that she only pays $80 for a cut and colour, so with tip it’s about $100. I think I might just start going to see her stylist, because even with the cost of gas and the 2.5 hours it takes me to drive there, I STILL would save money! Sheesh, can you believe that?

So how much money do you ladies spend at the salon? Any ways you have managed to save some money?