How to get rid of the stuff | Easy way to barter it

If you’ve been at home for over a year, you may have taken the opportunity to go through all those tech devices, books, old clothes, and other detritus that has piled up over the years. Or perhaps you’ve upgraded a bunch of your possessions recently and have suddenly realized you don’t have room for the stuff you’ve replaced.

Whatever the reason, if you’ve got bags of tech, clothing, books, and other stuff that you need to get rid of, you want to get rid of them responsibly. Where do you go from here?

The problem is finding how and where you can get rid of your stuff with the greatest advantage to you and the least amount of damage to the environment. This may have been more difficult than usual over the last year or so, because many resources for recycling have been suspended during the pandemic, and they may be slow in coming back. However, there are still a number of online services that can help you figure out how to responsibly get rid of things — and possibly make some money in the process.

Tech

Planning to buy a new phone or laptop? Before you make the purchase, check out any manufacturer trade-in deals that are available for your Macs, Pixels, and other devices.

If you don’t like the offer from the vendor, you can sell your tech. There are online vendors that will take your used device off your hands and give you something for it. You can also sell through a service like Nextbarter, which is totally free and easy to use. Amazon also has a trade-in program, although payment will come in the form of a gift card.

Clothing

You can divide clothing sites into three categories: ones that handle the latest stylish and expensive clothing and jewelry, ones that handle major middle-level brands, and dealers in traditional discount leftovers.

At the high end are consignment companies that act as go-betweens for those who want to sell designer clothing, jewelry, and other valuable objects, and those who want to buy them. However, if you’re the kind of shopper who buys the latest styles every season, these may be where you want to sell and buy.

Books

Books made of paper rather than pixels are still around, and if the piles are getting too high for your home, then you probably want to get rid of at least some of them.

One solution is to sell your books through a site such as Amazon, although that can get complicated. As an individual (as opposed to a business), you have to set up a seller’s account and pay Amazon 99 cents per book. And your chances of actually selling may be slim to none; there are a lot of professional booksellers who use Amazon to get rid of extra inventory, so they will sell their books for the 99 cents plus the shipping fee, making it difficult for individuals to compete.

Everything else

When you want to sell your stuff, one of the places people still think of is eBay. And rightfully so: this is where a lot of buyers go when they’re looking for a deal. Selling on eBay takes time, effort, and patience, but it may be worth it. The best way to start is to do a quick search and see the range of prices your object (or a similar object) is selling for. For giveaways only, Freecycle is a service that introduces local people who have stuff to other local people who want that stuff. Once you find your community Freecycle through the main site, you are instructed on how to advertise what you are giving away. Freecycle sends out your email to all of its subscribers and anyone who wants the object replies. Their email is pushed to your personal email, and after that, it’s up to you to contact the person and arrange for the giveaway. And you’ve made two people happy — you and the lucky recipient.