The piggy bank is empty and my car is hungry

June 8, 2013 8:25 PM

Help me find the most profitable way to sell DVD's tomorrow in the Dallas area. My car is hungry!

I am totally out of money. I need to buy gas in order to make it back and forth to work for the next 4 days. I have enough gas to get to work and probably home tomorrow, but that screws me for the rest of the week. I receive my paycheck this Friday.

So, I went through my DVDs to see what I could sell and wouldn't miss not owning anymore. This is the third or fourth time I've done this.

I have the first 4 seasons of How I Met Your Mother, one season of Weeds, and the first, second and third Looney Tunes Golden Collection that I'm willing to sell this time around.

I live in far north Dallas and work in Allen. I am hoping someone in the area can help me decide where I would get the best deal. I'm thinking Entertainmart, Half Price books, or a pawn shop (I have been told of one in Plano that's supposed to pretty good and honest)

I already borrowed some money from a fellow worker 2 days ago to get me gas to to this point (felt awful to even ask). I'm not really comfortable asking anyone else there. I don't really have any other friends outside of work to ask. I do have some gold I could sell, but I'm not sure if those kinds of places are open on Sunday. Also, I'd rather not part with the jewelry I have left from previous sales of my jewelry.

So, my question is this: where can I sell my DVDs tomorrow and get the best deal?

posted by i_like_camels to Work & Money (4 answers total)

I would post like crazy on all local for-sale sites first -- don't forget to scan "WANTED" ads there and see if you can't find somebody looking for some odd or end that you happen to have and not need. I don't know jack about selling DVDs, but removing the middleman is invariably a profitable way to go, and there may be a sweet spot, price-wise, which will get somebody to rush over to your house to pick them up while still being marginally better than what a shop would offer you.
posted by kmennie at 5:46 AM on June 9, 2013

Agree with posting ads, and in the meantime call stores when they open and ask them to make an offer. I have sold gobs of books, cds and DVDs both in person and by mail to places like Powell's, and while there is some stuff that everyone wants and some that no one wants, for the stuff in the middle the prices they offer can vary a lot from place to place. As you have a manageable number of titles you can just tell them what you have and compare offers. Running your titles through a few online buy sites first will also let you know if the brick and mortar stores' offers are in the ballpark and will help you negotiate up if they aren't.
posted by payoto at 5:55 AM on June 9, 2013

Check out Movie Trading Co. in Allen. They have other locations around Dallas too. They might be able to give you a ballpark figure over the phone.
posted by averageamateur at 8:12 AM on June 9, 2013

I'd also consider offering them as a trade for your rides to and from work this week - often people think of their cars as a skill rather than a cost (e.g. they don't think too much about the cost of gas, insurance and wear & tear, just the fact they're getting DVDs for just 30 minutes of their time driving you somewhere), so you might actually get more bartering this way.

I'd post a barter offer offering the DVDs for rides to and from work this week. I bet you get a taker.
posted by arnicae at 10:19 AM on June 9, 2013