More Options for Holiday Cash

Try earning extra cash for the holidays and clearing out unneeded items at the same time. There are a number of good options for putting your old stuff to work for you.

eBay - usually offers specials around the holidays, allowing you to list at no cost. Fees can be higher, but you have a very wide exposure. Accepting Paypal is the easiest way to be paid, but not yet required through eBay.

etsy.com - similar to eBay and growing in popularity, etsy is a good place to list handcrafted items (according to the rules, they are supposed to be something you yourself made) and vintage/collectible items. Fees are lower than eBay.

Craigslist - a local option, best for large items that would not ship well. Since it usually involves meeting face to face, you should take precautions, perhaps meeting your buyer in a public place, and accepting only cash.

Have a garage sale if the weather isn't too bad. Better yet, organize with your neighbors and have a neighborhood sale. Advertise in advance and you could pull in a lot of shoppers.

Not usually good for cash, but if you are shopping for your children, say, you might be able to take their outgrown clothing and toys to a consignment or resale shop and swap their items for new things. Resale shops might give you a better price for your items if you are willing to take it in store credit instead of cash, but make sure there are things you'd like to have from that store first.

The last option won't get you cash, but it's worth mentioning.

Hold a swap - this takes some organization, but can be a lot of fun. If you are part of a local group of some kind (gym, church, school, club, etc.) have everyone bring extra items they would be willing to sell at a garage sale, have everything given a "credit" value, and basically "shop" from each other's surplus. Because there will likely be un-claimed items, it's best to consider items you brought as something you'd be willing to donate. Let people take home their un-traded items if they like, but everything else can go to charity and get a tax deduction for your organization.