Home is where the heart is.
It’s also where you can find some hearty cash.
Consider your unwanted clothes, dated jewelry, books collecting dust in your attic and toys—all your junk, as they say, is someone else’s treasure. In return, you could make $500, or more, just by opening your eyes to what’s taking up space in your house. It’s a fast and easy way to help pay down your bills next month or buy a few fall fashion must-haves.
Here's where to look:
Your Closet: $100 to $5,000, depending on the hotness of your duds.
Got buyer’s remorse from those pumps worn once and never again? No longer care for that denim blazer you thought you just had to have?
Unwanted clothes, handbags and lightly worn shoes from your overflowing closet—preferably still carrying their price tags—price well at second-hand, vintage or used clothing stores. In this economy, resale shops are getting tons more items, as folks look to turn their unused garments into cold hard cash. In fact, the number of resale shops in the country is rising by 5% each year, according to the National Association of Resale and Thrift Shops. At used, contemporary clothing stores, the higher the ticket price is in retail, the more shop owners can demand in resale. Best to bring in items from the past two or three years, that are still in style. Depending on the store’s policy, you can generally earn up to 50% of the resale price.
At vintage clothing shops, managers there typically want clothes 20 years or older. If you’ve got a pair of go-go boots hiding in your closet from the 1970s or your grandmother’s flapper dress – those are hot items. Don’t be discouraged if one shop rejects you. Every store has it parameters of what they accept, they may have restrictions on sizes, styles and colors. Go back and look in the Yellow Pages or online for more used clothing shops in your area. Try the National Association of Resale and Thrift Shops www.narts.org, click on 'Shopping Guide' and search by zip code.
Earn the most money if you bring items in during the right season, since retail stores prefer to have items in the same timeframe as normal retailers in the area. Right now is a great time to bring in fall items like corduroys, blazers, knits and scarves.
Your Jewelry Box: Old Bling Can Make You $100.
With the price of gold at around $800 an ounce, 'tis the season to cash in on those old gold chains and mate-less 14-karat earrings. To figure how much your gold pieces can fetch do the following math:
