Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with resale

moving on up?

dances_with_sneetches — Tue, 29 Sep 2009 12:05:51 -0800

I own a row house. The house next door is for sale due to foreclosure. If I were to buy the house and connect it to mine, does owning two adjacent properties have a synergistic effect on house/resale value? More details, if helpful. I knew the house's previous owners fairly well and know the ins and outs of what probably would need fixing. The house itself is a decent price, about 20% cheaper than it would have been if it wasn't a foreclosure (or in a better economy), but not an exceptional price.

The neighborhood is okay, a tiny (30 home) gated community, right on the border between a very expensive area and a housing project. The neighborhood does not have many foreclosures although the local economy is in bad shape.

The two houses are virtually identical in plan and I would be going from a 3 small bedroom, 2 bathroom house to 6 small bedrooms, 4 bathrooms.

If the answer is: buy it because you want it, then, my answer is, not that interested, but it would be nice to have that kind of space. If the answer is: this sort of thing makes for a good investment, a six bedroom house is worth much more than two three bedrooms, then may be it would be worth it.

I want your money. That's what I want.

santojulieta — Sat, 29 Aug 2009 11:33:53 -0800

What can I do with my old DVDs and magazines? This is a two'fer question. I have a variety of older stuff like standard DVDs and old-but-popular magazines that I no longer want, but I do want to reap some financial benefit from those items. Here's the question then:

DVDs - I still like the DVDs I have, but I'd like to replace many of them with BluRay copies. Is there somewhere I can trade the oldies in for Amazon or Best Buy or other retailer credit? Or a similar solution. FWIW, I've sold before with OK luck on half.com.

Magazines - I have four or five years of Martha Stewart, MS Wedding, ReadyMade, and some other magazines that are in excellent to OK condition. How can I convert these to cashmoney?

Is it worth it to refinish our attic?

desjardins — Wed, 22 Jul 2009 08:30:43 -0800

Is it worth it to remodel our attic into a living space? Will it increase the resale value of the house enough to offset the cost and effort? We're living in our father-in-law's 100 year old, four bedroom house. The long term goal is to fix up the house and sell it when the market recovers. We're not looking for a payday; we just want to get rid of this albatross. There is a ton of work that needs to be done on the house. Have you seen The Money Pit? Yeah. Not nearly that bad, but some days it sure feels like it.

You'd think with four bedrooms, the place is big enough for three adults, but the bedrooms are very small and 2 are being used as home offices. So, my husband wants to refinish the attic (previously) to increase our space and privacy (we're newlyweds, we're living with his single-but-not-celibate father, so you fill in the blanks). I am not happy with the space/privacy as it stands now, but I could live with it if I had to. He has the tools, the technical knowledge, and access to people who can help him. This will be entirely DIY if we can help it.

My concerns are that he already works full time at a stressful job, and though he may think he can get this done in a few months, it will probably actually take longer, especially if we have other unexpected expenses. Our plan is to get the entire house into sellable (saleable?) condition in a year, and live in it for however long it takes to sell. Hopefully two years max. Honestly, the only upside I can see is if the remodeling will increase the resale value enough to offset the hassle and expense. Do people really want refinished attics? Is this something that I can just call up a local real estate person and ask? Do you know a reputable real estate agent in Oak Park?

I need some objective opinions. I will provide as much detail about the house as I can in the thread without giving the exact location - you can see the general area in my profile.

Paris Shopping on the Cheap?

odayoday — Fri, 31 Oct 2008 07:08:53 -0800

I'll be in Paris for a few days next month, and I'd like to check out some thrift stores. I'm not looking for anything fancy or designer, just maybe some cute skirts or sweaters. Most of the articles I've seen online talk about places where you can get couture for a fraction of the price, but that's not really my thing. Also, this might be silly, but I'm a size 8 US...would resale shops have things in my size? Any advice that can point me in the right direction is greatly appreciated!

How much do you spend on fixing up a car for resale?

Justinian — Mon, 06 Oct 2008 12:36:37 -0800

Now that I have an actual garage, I'm selling my long suffering street-parking car and getting a nicer one. What types of things should be fixed up before selling it, and which will cost more to fix than I'll get back? Now with bonus Los Angeles specific subquestion! I moved into my new place about a year ago (which has an actual garage) and it's time to sell my poor old car and get a new one. My old car is a 99 Corolla... but since I walk much of the time, it only has 20,000 miles on it. A 99 Corolla generally wouldn't have a very good resale value, but these moderately old Toyota's just keep going and going and going and it has so few miles on it that somebody is going to want it.

My question is how much money do I spend fixing it up to get it ready for sale? Since it was parked on the street or in a "carport" for so long there are a lot of little nicks and imperfections on it. What is cost effectve? Just cleaning it up really well? The passenger side-mirror is also busted. I'm assuming that, on the other hand, should be fixed before selling. What's the best way of addressing scratches that can't be buffed out by hand and is it cost effective to do if I'm selling the car?

In other words, how do you determine whether you'll get more additional money from the sale than you'll spend on fixing it? To completely fix it up would be thousands of dollars as it would require a new paint job. Obviously that can't be cost effective. So where is the line?

BONUS LOS ANGELES SUBQUESTION: Does anyone have a recommendation for a bodyshop in the Fairfax district or West Hollywood area and environs where I can get the things I do fix done? The body shop I usually use is very expensive but the car was under warranty until this year, so I didn't care.

Buy. Sell. Trade.

sixcolors — Tue, 09 Sep 2008 10:31:58 -0800

Interested in buying and then selling stuff. I am running into two (and I assume, very common) problems. 1. The high quality stuff I find tends to be too expensive to buy. 2. The cheap stuff I find is really crappy. I know in order to make money, you need to buy low and sell high. But, this seems a LOT easier in theory than in practice! What am I doing wrong? I am interested in selling video games, dvds, CDs/tapes/records, magazines, and books. I am also interested in selling vintage collectibles and jewelry.

I search thrift stores and pawn shops, and have little luck in finding quality items. When I do, it is too expensive. I don't know much about garage sales, is there a way I can find out who's having one? Are there any other places that I should check? Any other methods I should use? Any other items I should try selling?

I'd prefer to sell things through ebay, but craigslist is an option also. I heard of people selling things through resale shops, but I heard that it is really hard to make money that way.

eBay clothing sales - do I charge in-state sales tax?

kmtiszen — Sun, 07 Sep 2008 20:31:58 -0800

Am I required to charge sales tax for clothing sold from a home-based eBay business out of New York City? I've recently decided to start a home-based business selling vintage clothing on eBay. I know that I'm not required to charge sale tax on out-of-state purchases, but just wanted to make sure that this applies for clothing items sold in-state as well. The way I understand it, clothing under $110 is exempt from sales tax. Am I understanding this correctly? Will I be responsible for remitting any tax to New York State each quarter?

I just received my sales & use tax "Certificate of Authority" and I want to be sure I'm making the IRS happy.

Again, my little business is based in New York City.

Thanks for your help in advance!

Help me get rid of this stuff and make a couple bucks too.

CwgrlUp — Sat, 06 Sep 2008 15:39:23 -0800

I need info about consignment shops. I have several bags of clothes and shoes that I'm thinking of trying to sell through a consignment shop. It's too much for ebay and craig's list is pretty non-existant. What info do I need to know when I'm looking for a good shop? What percentage is good for my cut of the money? Should I be concerned with location of the shop? I was thinking something close to home but there are places on busier roads than mine. Please give me some insight into this. Thanks.

Best Mac resale solution online?

jeffmacintyre — Fri, 08 Aug 2008 09:58:43 -0800

What's the best Mac resale solution online? Describe your experiences. I'm looking to unload a Santa Rosa-era Macbook and wondering how people rate their experience using the sundry Apple resale sites out there (see below). I have just posted to Craigslist in the past but just want a simple, straightforward process that will give me best value for the machine--and hopefully be a service I can use again in the future, too.

Eg.,
http://www.macofalltrades.com/
http://cash4macs.com/
http://www.sellamac.com/

Ebooks with resale/resell rights?

acoutu — Tue, 05 Aug 2008 15:35:25 -0800

Where can I find legitimate ebooks with resell/resale rights? I'd like to purchase some ebooks with resell/resale rights, chiefly in the areas of bookkeeping, small business management, invoices and contracts. (Not all in one ebook.) What are some legitimate sources for such materials? I am willing to pay a decent amount for these rights -- I am not looking for $1 ebooks. I'd like the materials to be of decent quality and not full of viruses and the like, since I will be associating my own products with them. Any recommendations? Thanks.

Are my car's dents worth fixing?

aliasless — Mon, 23 Jun 2008 14:22:21 -0800

Are my car's dents worth fixing? I have a lot of dents on my 2002 Honda Civic from living in Chicago. I've since moved to an area that is much easier on vehicles. A reputable body shop gave me an estimate of $2100 to make it look like new. The dents are all cosmetic but make my car look terrible for a vehicle that's only 6 years old.

So, is it worth it? I plan on holding on to this car for at least another 3 or 4 years. Yes, I'll mentally feel better driving a car that doesn't look like a POS, but financially, does cosmetic body work translate into better resale value down the line or would this just be a sunk cost?

MacBook with dead logic board: how to proceed?

sparrows — Wed, 28 May 2008 08:51:38 -0800

Logic board died on my friend's two-year-old MacBook (one year out of warranty). Should she pay for repair ($700 + labor), or sell the carcass for parts and buy, say, a used iBook? She's kept it in flawless condition and the screen is perfect (no bad pixels), so maybe she could get a decent amount selling it for parts? She does not have an eBay account and is not in an active Craigslist area.

I don't know the exact specs, but it's whatever was the least expensive new white MacBook in early summer 2006. (Its HD is 80GB, and I know she got the stock drive, if that helps.)

She does not have much money and this is her only computer (in fact this is her FIRST ever computer). The 700+labor quote is from an Apple Authorized Repair Center (she's a long drive from the nearest Apple Store).

Ugh. :(

Sell now or pay later?

mizrachi — Thu, 27 Mar 2008 20:49:28 -0800

My 1999 Jeep Grand Cherokee Ltd. is an unreliable, gas-guzzling symbol of all that's wrong with this world. At 78K it performs - the small errand here or the work commute there - but barely, sending warning signs all along that some bigger and more troubling defect is on the horizon. Does it make more sense for me to sell (or more likely) trade it in now while the resale is 5k (at best), or to continue to drive it while I (and it) can do so? Other factors:

He/she averages 14 mpg.
It has not seen the off-road.
Was a used gift from a generous mother.
Seems a defensive necessity here in SUV land.

How do I make prints of my artwork for resale?

Ostara — Wed, 19 Mar 2008 15:45:49 -0800

What is the best way to make prints of my art for resale? I work primarily in acrylics and pen & ink/colored pencil.

I want the prints to be high-quality, archival and fade-resistant. They also must be crisp and show detail clearly.

Thanks in advance for your suggestions!

Clean me up, Scotty!

rhoticity — Fri, 29 Feb 2008 13:47:51 -0800

What's the best way to erase my hard drive for resale if I don't have original OS reinstall CDs to work with? I have a 1.5 year old Dell laptop running Windows XP SP2 which I'm selling in the next couple of weeks (getting a Macbook... YESSSS). I'm going to make an attempt to sell it here on campus or through Craigslist before I try other methods, and so as soon as I transfer everything I want to keep over to my new computer, I want to clean the hard drive off as well as I can. The problem is that, in a misguided money-saving attempt when I first ordered the Dell, I did not request physical Windows XP reinstall CDs. Obviously I cannot just completely reformat the hard drive, then, since I will have no way of reinstalling the OS.. right? What do I do to get this thing ready to sell to a stranger?

For the record, there's nothing terribly "sensitive" on here, just personal/academic documents and photos, but I'd rather get it as clean as possible just in case some total weirdo gets a hold of it.

Any other tips on dealing with the less-than-stellar electronics resale market would also be appreciated.

Do they like big butts and cannot lie?

santojulieta — Mon, 28 Jan 2008 13:55:13 -0800

How does Buffalo Exchange work? There are two Buffalo Exchange resale shops in Chicago, (one of which - Wicker Park - I simply cannot find) and I'd like to know a little about how they work. Yes, I've been to the website, but it doesn't really say anything specific. Will they take my larger size (16-20 and XL) clothing? I know I can just call, but I'd rather know before I traipse across town to get there, simply to be snobbed out by some size two waif with really killer boots.

Thanks in advance for the help.

How to verify state-issued sales certificate/tax ID?

boygirlparty — Fri, 25 Jan 2008 14:18:41 -0800

How do you verify a state seller's permit/resale certificate and/or tax ID for US businesses? I know you can verify some state issued certificates online (like CA, TX and MN) to make sure that declared resale certificates and/or Tax IDs are legitimate, but is there a site or place where you can do this for any/every US state?

Having a hard time navigating Michigan's gov website in particular.

Where shall I sell these CDs?

santojulieta — Tue, 04 Dec 2007 15:46:49 -0800

What record shop in Chicago will buy my newly released but used CDs at a fair price without a lot of indie kid employee mockery? I'm looking to rid myself of my physical CDs since I no longer have the room to store them and becuase it might be nice to have some extra cash this Christmas. Much of what I'll be selling will be newer releases (within the last calendar year), but those titles range from the new Iron and Wine album to Timbaland and Korn. It seems that I've read some reviews about record shops in the area that seem to make the employees out as elitist indie kids, a la Jack Black and Todd Louiso in High Fidelity. Where can I find the friendliest folks to purchase my CDs?

I can't share but I can buy?

doorsfan — Tue, 09 Oct 2007 08:37:09 -0800

Downloading/Sharing vs. buying used CD’s…What’s the difference? Obviously money is changing hands in the second instance but isn’t the argument the music artist’s are not getting the money for their work? Isn’t the used CD market worse since money is changing hands and the artist’s get nothing.

Is the resale market considered OK because it has been done for so long?

I have never understood how this is not mentioned when we hear about these cases on TV.

Can I resell unlimited long distance minutes?

Go, now. Go! — Mon, 11 Jun 2007 17:45:01 -0800

Telecommunications question: Do any laws or regulations prevent me from getting a license to operate as a telecom carrier, buying a few consumer long distance accounts for unlimited minutes of long distance service over land lines, and then using all those minutes to serve multiple residential customers who purchase long distance coverage from me? Assume I have figured out a way that makes this technologically feasible and that I have the local portion of the call worked out and handled separately. Would it against FCC policies or federal/state law? Would I be avoiding access fees that I'd otherwise be obligated to pay for long distance services? I know you are not a lawyer, and specifically you are not my lawyer, and that I should consult a lawyer. But any ideas you have on the question are helpful.

Selling my clothes in Portland, Oregon

yodelingisfun — Sat, 09 Jun 2007 23:30:42 -0800

Any good places to sell used clothing/shoes in Portland, Oregon besides the Buffalo Exchange? I have a TON of shoes and lots and lots of clothes. Since I am moving to Denver so very soon, I'm trying to unload some stuff and get some extra money. I went to Buffalo Exchange already today and they took all the vinyl stuff, go figure but now I have lots of more regular stuff I'd like to try and sell. Everything is in great shape I just have no idea where to take it all. I do know that I am pretty much not hipster enough to go to Redlight which is the only other place I know. Any suggestions from Portland people?

Is it possible to make money in internet resale?

matkline — Tue, 08 May 2007 17:58:07 -0800

Does anyone have experience buying things off sites like Dealspl.us, Modoshi and Woot, then reselling them (with markup) on Craigslist and/or Ebay? How did it work out? Is it possible to make a living this way? Any tips?

What's the best way to sell antique jewelry (NOT ebay)

polexxia — Sat, 18 Nov 2006 10:05:55 -0800

I currently live in Utah, and my mother is sending me my great-grandmother's jewelry for me to sell as a way to help subsidize my move to California. I've sold contemporary jewelry in pawn shops before, but I think that with these pieces being from the 20s, I should be able to get more than "weight of gold"....what is the best way to go about selling these? FWIW, I live in Ogden, Utah. I don't know if I would be better off going into a jewelry store, finding an auction appraiser-type person or WHAT, so ANY help would be GREATLY appreciated. I don't expect I'll make a HUGE amount out of this, but I do want to make as much as I CAN

DealorNoDealFilter: 1985 Porsche 944 for $6.5k?

vanoakenfold — Sat, 16 Sep 2006 11:47:39 -0800

Without knowing any drivetrain/mechanical details other than what you could see from the exterior (details within) and that it last passed inspection in April 2006, would you buy a bright red 1985 Porsche 944 for $6500? I am debating about buying this sucker, just for the resale value, possibly even parting it out. Even if I could make back exactly $6500 through various means, I'd consider it worth the hassle even for bragging rights of having owned a Porsche at one time and the pictures to prove it.

I don't know anything about the drivetrain or mechanical aspects, but as I said it passed inspection this past April. The body is in excellent condition with 2 or 3 tiny hail dings on the hood, a 1/4" poked-in hole on the barely noticeable running-board thing along the passenger side, decent enough interior with no dash cracks that I can tell, nice window seals, original wheels and nice tires, nothing particularly unusual when checking out underneath.

Based solely on the above information, and that the owner (private seller) is moving soon and doesn't want to tow it, would you plop down $6500 for it outright (I've got the cash)? I don't even know how to drive a standard, but my brother will teach me, and my father has agreed to test drive it for me. Barring that future information, what do you say? What would be the max you'd put down for it, with the purposes of getting your money back by turning around to sell it again for profit?

Cowboy, take these away. But pay a price as high as you can.

jacquilynne — Thu, 10 Aug 2006 14:17:33 -0800

What's the best way to sell my extra pair of tickets? Some quite specific questions inside. I am aware of this prior thread but the advice there isn't entirely what I need.

Here's the background:

I "won" two very good floor seats to a Dixie Chicks concert in Toronto in one of Ticketmaster's online auctions. But see, I didn't think I was going to win that one. So I also bid on two tickets to the concert the next night, and won those, too. So now I have two sets of tickets to two different Dixie Chicks shows (both in Toronto in October). I would like to sell one of the two sets.

Here are my questions:

1. Given that I, the tickets and the concert are in all Ontario, am I legally permitted to sell these tickets for more than face value? More than face value plus ticketmaster fees? Whatever the hell I can get for them?

2. If I sell them on eBay is there a time that makes the most sense to sell them assuming I can sell them at a profit? The concert is basically sold out now, but isn't until late October. Should I hold onto them until early October?

3. I'm considering offering them to TicketsNow.com, which shows many other pairs of tickets for the same show at highly inflated prices. Anyone heard of these people? Are they actually legit? How much should I ask for per ticket if I try to sell them to them? (I paid $130 plus fees and they are in the 8th row on the floor.)

4. Is there anything else that I should know about this whole process before I get myself scammed, fined, or both?

I usually just freecycle my extra concert tickets so I haven't done this before, but they're usually $20 tickets to club shows. $260 plus fees is rather more than I can afford to just eat, ya know?