In between episodes, I’ve also been busy selling stuff. Every so often, I get on this kick to see
what I can sell. Timehop reminded me
yesterday that three summers ago, I sold $300 worth of Skip’s “old techy stuff”
on Amazon. Usually, my interest to sell
is sparked by the desire to buy something else.
This time, I just wanted to de-clutter a bit. I started with two cameras that were both in
great condition but neither had been used in over a year. We take 95% of Layla’s pictures with our
iPhones. Skip occasionally will get out
his work cameras and snaps a few of the two of us (and I am always so impressed
with the quality!). Anyway, I posted
about the cameras on Face.book and Skip’s Aunt Jane bought one of them; although I had several people offer to purchase the other, I worked out a trade
deal with a mama friend of mine with an almost two-year old little
southern-belle with fabulous clothes.
Rebecca is going to send me some of Georgia Grace’s awesome
hand-me-downs and I am sending her the camera.
WIN-WIN!
From cameras, I moved on to cloth diapers. I could write a whole post on cloth diapering
(and I would, but let’s face it, there’s 6 seasons more to go!). Bottom line, I love using cloth. Mom washed them while I was in school, so I
was a tad scared they’d lose their “charm” when I had to do the washing and
line drying and stuffing, but they didn’t!
I bought two small lots of gently used cloth diapers while I was
pregnant with Levi. I kept them and started using them with Layla, although
they were mostly boy colors and patterns.
Some of them were just too bulky for our little runt and some were just
too boyish, so I took some photos, posted in a cloth diaper Face.book group and
my crunchy mama Face.book group and ended up selling them all. I listed them as a lot- 14 diapers for $75-
which was a great deal but they were more than a few years old since I’d
purchased them used in 2013. The first
mom to show interest only wanted a portion of them and ended up taking 5 for
$44. I put the rest on Craigstlist and sold them for $50! (making almost $20 more than I'd hoped for!) To reward my efforts,
I bought Layla 8 new Alva brand diapers in some really adorable patterns and
still had some money left over! (Side
note: We started using cloth when Layla was 4 months old because she was so
tiny she didn’t “fill out” a one-size cloth diaper until then. She sleeps in disposable and we used them a
little on vacation. Tomorrow, I will
have to buy disposables for the FIRST TIME since she was born almost 9 months
ago. We’ve been using diapers we got as
shower gifts and had from preparations for Levi since she was born! I say that
because when people see $75 for 14 diapers, it sounds expensive, but it’s so
affordable- and even more so if you can resist the adorable prints and only buy
what you NEED.)
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| The New Stash |
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| Modeling one of my favorites |
After my diaper victory, I decided to list a play yard
(formerly known as a pack and play formerly known as a playpen). We’d gotten it when we first got Amoura, and
just never used it. I listed it on
Face.book on the Rowan County Yard Sale page and in my crunchy mom group and
within 5 minutes, it sold for $25! While
I was listing on the yard sale page, I noticed a lady had some random cans of
formula for sale along with some various baby items. I had some formula that I’d been saving since
Amoura’s formula days for when Kimmy got her baby. When Quinn was born, I was glad to be able to
give them 5 or so cans of formula, but still had some left that were different
brands than she drank. So, Saturday night, I took some
pictures, checked the expiration dates and made a post on the Yard Sale page. I woke up Sunday morning to a $h!+ storm on
my post. Apparently, selling samples is
“illegal” (except it’s not) and several people with no dog in the fight and
nothing better to do after midnight on a Saturday had commented about what a
horrible person I was for selling formula and why didn’t I "pay it forward." It was crazy.
I responded to one PM (private message) and explained the situation and
why I even had the formula to begin with.
The lady was nice but still “didn’t feel right” buying samples. It took all the class I had not to take those
strangers to task about their judgmental comments. It was five cans of formula, people! Instead, I just deleted the post. By Sunday afternoon, I apparently had been
added to some “Buyers Beware” list of Rowan County. I didn’t even know such a list exists, but I
guess it does. The play yard and five of
Skip’s polo shirts are the only thing I’ve ever sold on there, so I think I’ll
survive.
I’d almost forgotten about selling the polo shirts! At the
beginning of the summer, I spent about five minutes going through Skip’s closet
grabbing shirts I hadn’t seen him wear in months years. I got his permission
to sell them and posted them on the yard sale page. I came in a little high for a yard sale
(especially in Rowan County) so I got no hits.
While I was listing the formula, I adjusted the price (asking $20
instead of $30) and within a few minutes, someone offered $10. I knew what Skip was gonna say- $10 isn’t
worth the time it takes to meet- but I made the deal anyway and arranged a
meeting. Skip met the guy right after church
on Sunday and exchanged five old shirts he was never going to wear again for a
ten spot, and he even gave it to me when he got home!
So, it’s been a great month for making a little cash in the
Erdman household. I feel compelled to
add that I DO give things away. Nice
things. Things that I could sell. Much to my mother’s dismay, I gave away the
swing Layla slept in at her house the first 5 months of her life because a
teacher at school took in her niece and her newborn. I take clothes to our clothes closet at
church regularly. I’m currently riding
around a baby gate that a friend asked to borrow on Face.book and I mailed a
cloth diaper “snappi” to a mom I didn’t even know for free (actually cost me a
stamp!). But sometimes, I like a little
return on my investments. We do a lot
with a little around here. We don’t use
credit (except on Amazon Prime day-more on that later) and do not carry debt. I’m proud of the way we save for what we want
and how we manage our money. It’s an
adrenaline rush to post stuff for sale and watch for interest to pop up, and it’s
nice to have extra money to spend on Layla some new clothes or on my next
Target run. I highly recommend trying
your hand at online selling; you might make a buck, get blacklisted, or if
you’re me, both!
