Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with sell

Best way to sell diamond wedding ring?

MultiFaceted — Sat, 19 Dec 2009 20:01:13 -0800

What is the best, most profitable way to sell my wedding/engagement ring? I'm a little leery of eBay or Craigslist. I think I'm approaching the stage where I'm emotionally ready to sell my engagement/wedding ring (it is one piece). I've thought about having it made into a different piece of jewelry, but can't really think of anything that I want to wear (and therefore have it remind me of the whole nonsense) and I honestly don't think I want it around any more. I've already purchased a ring to represent my new phase of life, and there's only one diamond so it can't become earrings. I also have two sentimental necklaces from my parents that I always wear, and I don't need another one. Plus, the idea of paying off some debt is more attractive than sentimentality at this point.

The diamond is a little over .75 carat princess cut set on a flat cigar band of white gold. There is an anniversary band with channel set diamonds (they're small) soldered onto either side of the band to make the complete set (so, two identical anniversary bands total). I have the appraisal with all of the relevant details downstairs. I'm thinking we paid around $4000 or $5000 thousand for the whole thing (typing that makes me want to throw up a little 'cause I wound up using the settlement from my car wreck to pay off my own ring...fantastic, no?).

I'd like to get as much out of it as I can so I can pay off the debt that I was left with after the divorce. What's the best avenue to sell it? Independent jeweler? Some other source? I am OK with separating the diamond from the rest of the gold...whatever works. I just don't know who to approach or how to get the best deal. If eBay or Craigslist is the answer, how can I make sure I don't get scammed (I am willing to take a lower price to avoid the scammers)?

I live in Missouri, so I can get to St Louis, Memphis, or Little Rock, AR with relative ease. Any other questions, just ask and I'll answer in the thread.

New Life Crisis.

CwgrlUp — Thu, 17 Dec 2009 19:01:35 -0800

We are hoping to move in the next six months. When should we put our current house up for sale? My wife just graduated (yay!) and she is in the running for around six jobs. By in the running I mean in the top 2 or 3 candidates, so things are looking very good. The thing is, several of the potential employers have told her that she will be hired and then expected to relocate there as little as two weeks later, but some will give her a couple months.

One makes their decision in January and expect her by April. One says they'll decide in February and want her there in March.

My main question is when do I put our house up for sale? We are struggling mightily to make ends meet while she looks for a job and if the house happened to sell quickly, we couldn't afford all the deposits (we have 2 dogs too) and first/last months rent etc to get into an apartment.

But, if we didn't sell it and she had to move for the job (any job she takes will have a signing bonus and moving expenses), I don't see how we could afford a new place and the old one on one income, since I most likely will be unemployed when we first move.

I'm so stressed about all of this. My dad could possibly rent out my house as a last resort, but I don't want to dump that responsibility on him. I would appreciate some advice.

I just heard about alibaba.com: now what?

defmute — Thu, 10 Dec 2009 22:08:49 -0800

can i get alibaba.com to "invent" a smell for me? i want to make a fragrance. i'm not a chemist but i want it to smell exactly like, let's say, carrots. is there a way to find someone who will be able to make that product for me? i'm at alibaba.com and it's seems like i can only find people who already have a scent created, opposed to offering to create my scent. if anyone has experience with alibaba.com or just knows what i need to do, let me know, man! word, thanks.

Alternatives to selling my car

Anonymous — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 15:58:29 -0800

SuperDumbIdeaFilter: Alternatives to selling my car... like leasing it? I'm moving to an urban area and will not be needing my car in the foreseeable future (save the occasional use that a car-sharing service would make sense for). I will be a bit poor during the transition period, which just underscores the fact that it does not make economic sense to keep my car: car payments + insurance + maintenance + gas + parking = ditch it!

Problems with this plan: I love my car. I don't want to get rid of it. I want to use it occasionally, at least down the road. In I'll be much more willing and able to afford the costs associated with it.

Is it really, really dumb to consider anything other than 'sell it'? I know just letting the car sit in a lot/driveway rotting and uninsured is a bad idea. A family member does need a car long-term temporarily (i.e. the mirror of when I need to not have a car). Could I lease it to them? Is that legally feasible (reasonably feasible, not just possible)? Is it a really horrible idea? Most likely they would pay less than I owe monthly, but I'm not averse to paying some of the monthly payment if I don't have to pay for all the rest of the associated costs (and eventually get the car back and paid off).

How ridiculously bad of an idea is all this?

(Please: no "don't mix family and money" -- I'm not ignoring that, but that's not what I'm asking about.)

email: cantbeartopartwithmysubaru@gmail.com

Words to money

schmichael — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 07:23:49 -0800

(Pro)sefilter: want to sell prose. Looking for advice. So I want to sell some work, get published. Now, for all intents and purposes, let's consider me to be unpublished. But I am confident in my words and confident in my ideas. Currently, I'm working on travel stories from my recent time in America - I'm a New Zealand citizen.

However I fear that the combination of the internet and the recession - and a generalised apathy towards the written word - means that it is particularly hard to make money writing these days.

Wise and generous denizens of Askme, I humbly request advice - preferably wide-ranging and learned - for a newcomer.

Sell a finite number of identical items on the internet

monkeystronghold — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 09:48:01 -0800

What is the best way to sell (and accept payment for) a finite number of identical items (50) on the internet? I expect the items to sell out reasonably fast, and so I'll need to be able to take orders as they are received, and stop accepting payment when the 50 are sold. I'll use it this one time and never again. The items will sell for a yet-undetermined price between $600 - 800. I have minimal coding experience.

I thought that a paypal link would be best, but then I have no way to stop people paying when the 50 are gone.

I considered just having people email, but then I have no way to separate people saying "Oh, I have the money, I'll get it to you next week" and taking the space of people who are actually paying.

I considered phone calls, but I don't know how to process the credit cards. And it would be a pain.

Is ebay an option? If so, how do I set that up? Are the fees comparable to other options?

The item will sell for between $600 and 800 and buyers will have to pay shipping.

Selling a bike: can I safely allow people to test-ride it?

fermata — Sat, 05 Sep 2009 16:01:50 -0800

Selling a bike: can I safely allow people to test-ride it? (I could have sworn I've seen this question covered, but I couldn't find it.)

I'm planning to sell a bicycle, and potential buyers may want to take it for a spin. I assume I can protect myself by holding their driver's license or something, but do I have to worry about liability issues? Is it safe for me to allow them to take test rides?

How much is my 37" 720p LCD TV worth?

greendress — Fri, 14 Aug 2009 21:53:48 -0800

How much is my used Sharp Aquos LC-37G4U (37" 720p LCD TV) worth? How much would YOU pay for it? A co-worker may be interested in buying my old TV. Neither of us is sure what would be a fair price. Can't find any of this model on eBay to make a direct comparison; found 2 listed on Craigslist in other cities -- one for $400 and one for $600 (which I'm SURE is too much) -- but who knows how much they actually got. The details:

- Sharp Aquos LC-37G4U
- Bought Feb. 2005
- 37" LCD
- 720p (does not support 1080p)
- does NOT have built-in HD tuner
- Nice condition, fully functional, still have all accessories and whatnot, e.g., stand, remote, manual

Links: Sound & Vision - ExtremeTech - PC Mag - Amazon.com

Looks like a new 37" 720p LCD can be had on Amazon for not too much over $600 -- but since technology marches on, a new one would have a built-in HD tuner, better contrast ratio, probably more inputs, and might be better in other ways.

If it were yours, how much would you expect for it? If you were buying it, how much would you pay for it?

How to buy a car from a person

exceptinsects — Mon, 03 Aug 2009 22:26:59 -0800

I am looking to buy a used car for cash from a local (CA) private party, not a dealer. What do I need to know? I am mainly looking on Craigslist, but other suggestions are welcome. I'm looking for a Toyota Echo, if it matters.

So...what should I look out for in terms of scams? (I am already aware of things like shipping cars from far away, etc.) I will of course get it checked by a mechanic but what else should I be aware of?

How should I actually pay for it? Certified check? Giant wad of cash? Goats? I'm expecting it to be in the $5k range.

I am also going to be selling my old car, which is a 1997 Corolla in "fair" condition. Is it better to try to sell it myself, or should I go to Carmax? If I do sell it myself, how should I ask for payment?

Ummm...you put your weed in there.

hal_c_on — Wed, 22 Jul 2009 13:23:26 -0800

What the frack is a roor? So I was given THESE THINGS that say ROOR on it.

What the hell is it...and more importantly...how does it work?

I know these are used for ingesting marijuana. Is it a regular bong, or some kind of fancy device that isn't referred to as a bong or water pipe. I'm not really a fan of that...but I am kinda interested in:

1. How can I clean this so it looks clean and new?...and then how do I sell it? Is craigslist a good bet since ebay doesn't really like to sell "BONGS". I've looked up laws and what I've found is that I can't sell it to anybody under 18, and I MUST clean it before I sell it otherwise its actual drug paraphernalia.

2. I'm PROBABLY not going to buy a pack of cigarettes, take out the tobacco and smoke it...or even take a cuban cigar that I have, crumple it and smoke that...but what if I wanted to. How do I use this to smoke tobacco? I know there are several parts and they connect in a specific way, how do they attach together and work? I wanted to attach them...but since I don't know much about this, I figured I'd keep it separate until I know how to not break it.

3. Also, just in case you were wondering, I won this at poker. They dude claimed that it was worth over $700 (although it was deemed to be worth a $100 bet at the table). How much is it worth? How much did he likely buy it for?

Can I get a tax deduction for selling my timeshare at a loss?

browse — Sun, 19 Jul 2009 20:13:00 -0800

Years ago, I bought a timeshare. (I know, I know! What was I thinking?!) I'm ready to get rid of it, and I'm completely aware that there's no way I'll make back my purchase price. But can I take it as a loss on my US federal taxes and/or Oregon state taxes? Any tips on the proper way to go about it (what forms to use, etc.)? Many thanks in advance, hivemind!

Someone bought THAT?

SweetTeaAndABiscuit — Fri, 26 Jun 2009 16:39:11 -0800

Help me find some hidden treasures. With an eye to both decluttering and raising some much-needed cash, I've been looking around my home for things that might be resaleable on Craigslist, eBay, etc. It occurs to me that there are probably things that would be sellable that simply haven't occurred to me. What are some unusual, obscure, or downright off-the-wall things you've bought or sold or heard that someone else has?

To Keep the Jeep or Dump the Jeep?

ElmerFishpaw — Thu, 04 Jun 2009 10:35:33 -0800

Moving to the UK. What to do with my car? Sell? Store? Roadtrip across the Atlantic? I will be in London for at least a year. Maybe longer. If I decide to keep it, I'm not entirely sure about how to store it. Parents were and option at one point but not any longer. Paying a storage facility cant be cheap. 2006 Jeep Wrangler. Bought new for $22k. 40k miles. I love it. The Kelly Blue Book is $12,000 which I'm feeling would be hard to get. Buying a new car and selling it 3 years later is generally a bad idea financially, I know. But gas prices are on their way back up and a couple years from now it might be harder to sell than now. I dont want to come back in 12 months and have to hunt for another car. But there is a chance that I will be gone for several years. Leaving for UK in 3 months. Keep? Sell?

Don't get me wrong, clotheslines are great, but help me make one AWESOME!

variella — Wed, 27 May 2009 08:10:27 -0800

Items weighing less than 1lb that make you think "WOW that's cool!" or "GOT to buy that!" on first glance? Catch: items already in your home or could do a bang-up job of creating in two weeks. The bartering comm I belong to (which also uses local alternative 'currency') is having a community centre sale. Theme: anything you can hang up on a clothesline (celebrating National Clothesline Day). I have to book a table ASAP for June 10- time to create but not much to decide if I have enough ideas or not. Food is the only forbidden item.

I'd love to participate because the theme sounds fun. I have a half dozen brand new blouses (with tags on), knitting patterns, and sheet music that I could have up. I'm willing to trade/sell these and anything else I have up for token amounts just to participate. All profits/exchanges go to me, the group considers my mere participation to be their return on giving me the space :)

Any ideas for other hangable things I could sell? Token items are fine, not looking for a huge return, just a full display of useful/fun items. I've got tons of used books but they aren't clothesline friendly.

Skills: sew, knit/crochet, papermaking, calligraphy, photography, etc., generally crafty and creative but help me brainstorm some basic and/or crazy out-of-the-box ideas!

Help me do what I need to do to wipe as much as possible from my PC before I sell it

t0astie — Wed, 06 May 2009 01:15:03 -0800

Tomorrow I'll list my ACER Aspire 3680 for sale on eBay. I want to be as sure as I can that there the lucky buyer has as little chance as possible of seeing passwords/pics/personal info. Normally, I would just format and do a clean install of XP. But I've moved house and my install disk is one of 19 packing cases stored 2500km away, so that option is out. I've listed what I've already done after the jump, but I'm hoping a more tech-savvy mefite might spot a hole in my erasure efforts. All steps taken so far have been gleaned from previous threads, but I'm just not confident I'm 100 per cent across the cleanup.

So far I have: moved every file onto a portable hard drive; uninstalled every app (Office, PhotoShop etc); reinstalled brand new up-to-date versions of free/shareware (Win Zip, Google aps, iTunes, Firefox, AVG etc); run Crap Cleaner (cleared data from browsers, cleaned the registry, uninstalled a few things I'd missed); defragged; and installed Window Washer.

The next thing I'm planning on is a final clearout of my browser and Windows info with Window Washer. Then I'll run Wash Free Space.

I'm running Windows XP.

What have I missed?

Bonus question! What, if any, value could I add to my two year old laptop to help it sell well on eBay?

How do I sell a car that's financed?

twiggy32 — Tue, 05 May 2009 20:20:48 -0800

How do you sell a car when you owe the car company money? I am moving and I need to sell my car. I owe more money than it is worth, but I am able to make the difference up. But what is the procedure when both parties need to pay the car company before the title gets released?

One skull too many.

PhoBWanKenobi — Sun, 18 Jan 2009 19:23:50 -0800

IWishIWereKiddingFilter: How do we get rid of a human medical skull we inherited? omnigut's recent question about unloading a tiger head has reminded me that I have a similar dilemma that, hopefully, you guys can help me solve. A pretty icky, spooky dilemma.

In the nineteen sixties, my father (somehow) obtained a medical skull. It's a real human skull with the plates marked up. I think it has some sort of shellac on it. Being the hippie that he was, he glued a scarab to its forehead and named it Percy. He and his (hippie) friends invented a holiday around Percy called Percymas where they exchanged handmade and recycled junk with one another. Yes, I know, they were pretty weird.

My father died when I was eight and the skull has been passed around between his friends since then. People didn't want to get rid of it for sentimental reasons, but didn't really want it, either. Because, you know, human skulls are kind of creepy. Honestly, I think it's pretty creepy, too. Somehow, at the last celebrated Percymas, Mr. WanKenobi was given Percy to "hold on to." He doesn't really want it (it definitely holds no sentimental value for him!). My mother and my sister don't want it. I certainly don't want it, but Mr. WanKenobi is moving in with me soon, and since he'll be moving across state lines to do so we should probably get rid of it sooner rather than later.

But we can't really figure out what to do with it. We don't want to do anything illegal or of dubious legality since these are human remains we're talking about. Since this question was asked, you can no longer sell human remains on Ebay. Since there's a scarab glued to the forehead, I'm not sure that a med student would want it, but maybe I'm wrong. In case it's relevant, Mr. WanKenobi is in New Jersey. Any ideas as to where we can donate it? People we can sell it to? Any ideas as to how we can . . . erm, dispose of these human remains?

Worth the trouble to try to sell my car piecemeal?

Mr. President Dr. Steve Elvis America — Sat, 10 Jan 2009 11:32:54 -0800

[Posted for a friend:] I posted this a while back. Today I was talking with someone about the car, and he offered me $400 for it. He's coming back by on Monday. Quick recap: it's a high mileage 97 Hyundai Sonata with a busted transmission. I could try to sell the car piecemeal and might end up getting more money if I did it that way (everything but the transmission is mechanically sound, the tires are new-ish, the radio is new, etc.), but who knows how long that would take. I'm thinking that it's not worth the hassle but I don't know for sure. I'd appreciate some additional perspective.

How can I sell my (uninsured, unregistered) car with minimum work/hassle?

Perplexity — Thu, 08 Jan 2009 15:41:58 -0800

How can I sell my (uninsured, unregistered) car with minimum work/hassle? It's a 2003 Rav4 with about 33k miles. Blue book is something like $8k.

It's been sitting unused in a downtown Boston parking lot for several weeks now. The insurance has expired, and the registration has been revoked for this reason. I want to sell it with minimal hassle/effort.

I don't want to deal with having numerous random people come check it out / test drive it / etc. I'd rather not have to reinsure / reregister it.

I recognize that I'll receive substantially less money doing it this way.

What should I do?

Thanks!

Where do I sell gold ingots?

Ziggurat — Sat, 13 Dec 2008 20:51:48 -0800

Where do I go to sell some 1 oz gold ingots. They're bullion (i believe that's the term) and definitely have no value beyond that of the gold itself. To maybe complicate matters slightly, I'm in Vancouver, in Canada. Bonus question: Would I expect to get something close to the price per ounce when I sell these? Or is it like the currency exchange rate, where you actually get a small but significant % less than the going rate.

What should I do with my old books

willnot — Wed, 22 Oct 2008 07:54:29 -0800

What is the best thing to do with a box or two of old books? They're mostly paperback and mostly genre fiction (SciFi, Horror, Fantasy). The less work for me the better with the provision that I'd like the books to be read again if possible. I had thought about donating them, but this question about old text books suggested that it was a hassle for whoever got the donation.

Is that just true of outdated text books, or is that true of fiction books as well? Is it really better to just toss them or is there somebody out there who might want them (with a relatively easy way to get them to that somebody)?

Help me sell my Excel spreadsheets!

jseven — Wed, 01 Oct 2008 19:55:01 -0800

How can I sell my Excel spreadsheets online? I create custom, complex, spreadsheets that I would like to sell online. What would be the best way to make this happen? I know enough about how to setup a basic website, but I'm really looking for suggestions on how to handle the transaction side of the business. I have no idea how to take payment and once the payment is received pass them either the file or the activation code for the file automatically.

I am open to using a service etc. but I'm looking for any ideas to make this happen.

Thanks,
J

Help with House

CollectiveMind — Wed, 01 Oct 2008 07:29:25 -0800

Under financial pressure. My house isn't selling. I want to avoid foreclosure and don't care about making a profit. It's the original mortgage; a 30-year fixed at 5.5% in good condition (attractive older house and well maintained) in a decent neighborhood (property values steady as those in more expensive neighborhoods fall). If I price it only to pay off the mortgage and cover commissions, would it attract buyers? Doing so would drop its price 20% below comparables. This would undercut the neighborhood, but not like a foreclosure would. Advice?

Where can I sell used clothes in Chicago?

Elminster24 — Tue, 09 Sep 2008 12:38:55 -0800

Thrift Filter: Where can I sell old clothes (slightly worn) in Chicago (preferably in/near East Lakeview) and how much can I expect to get for them? I have a huge suitcase full of clothes (mostly tshirts and some pants) that no longer fit me. They've slightly used, and many are luxury designer brands. Rather than just donate them, I'd like to try to sell them to raise some money to put towards my fall wardrobe which is very sparse.

Please recommend some places in Chicago (preferably in/near East Lakeview since I live near the Belmont Redline stop) that I can go to sell these.

Also, as I've never done this before...what is the process like? Do I just show up with a suitcase full of clothing and ask them to appraise it? How much can I expect to get for things (I understand its a bit hard to know this over the net but any first hand experience would be appreciated)?

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.